Worst Rock Drummers

[Dave James]

With all this talk of what an exceptional drummer Ringo Starr turned out to be, it got me thinking about really bad rock drummers. We all know the Pete Best story, sacked by the Fab Three for his shortcomings, but my choice for the all-time worst drummer in rock is Dennis Wilson. I was watching a YouTube video of the Beach Boys tonight and his ham handedness just jumps off the screen. Not only did he play too loud, but anything beyond the most rudimentary 4/4 time signature would have tied him in a knot. This is not a Beach Boy thing as they are one of my all-time favorite bands, but Dennis was dreadful.

Up over and out.

[Shawn]

let's pick on bad drum machine programming instead. or how about lame country drummers? or maybe bad death-metal-polka drummers....

[Chas]

There are too many to list .

Elvin Jones' first impression of Ginger Baker still brings a smile to my face :

"Nothin' happenin' . Cat's got delusions of grandeur with no grounds . They should make him an astronaut and lose his ass" .

[BruceH]

Mo Tucker of The Velvet Underground could barely seem to keep time, though it didn't seem to matter with them.

Heavy metal drummers and "art rock" drummers almost always seemed to bug me, partly because they so often tried to do too much, if you know what I mean. Of course, the fact that I tend to not like those styles of rock doesn't help.

[AllenLowe]

I agree about Mo Tucker. An amateur.

[BruceH]

I agree about Mo Tucker. An amateur.

Yeah. In this case, it's much like when one of those French New Wave directors used a non-actor for a supporting role in a film. The movie still works, but it would probably have been a bit better with an actor.

[Dave James]

In the Warhol crowd, it's certainly possible that the guy had never even had a set of sticks in his hands but he was acting like he had.

Up over and out.

[Elissa]

Mo Tucker is not a guy.

[Dave James]

In the Warhol crowd, it's certainly possible that the guy had never even had a set of sticks in his hands but he was acting like he had.

Up over and out.

Edited for gender content:

In the Warhol crowd, it's certainly possible that this woman had never even had a set of sticks in her hands but he was acting like she had.

Guess this shows you how much I know about the Velvet Underground.

Up over and out.

[Quincy]

In the Warhol crowd, it's certainly possible that the guy had never even had a set of sticks in his hands but he was acting like he had.

Up over and out.

Edited for gender content:

In the Warhol crowd, it's certainly possible that this woman had never even had a set of sticks in her hands but he was acting like she had.

Guess this shows you how much I know about the Velvet Underground.

Up over and out.

You have the Yankees ("Mo" Rivera) on the brain right now and that's understandable.

[paul secor]

Ginger Baker

[Teasing the Korean]

Actually, I think Mo's drumming was the perfect fit for the Velvets' approach.

[Teasing the Korean]

Dennis was the babe magnet, so his drumming didn't matter.

He also turned out to be BY FAR the group's best songwriter after Brian. And he was a hell of a singer.

And Hal Blaine played drums on the vast majority of those records, so it doesn't matter.

Up over and out.

Edited October 29, 2009 by Teasing the Korean

[Elissa]

Actually, I think Mo's drumming was the perfect fit for the Velvets' approach.

exactly - it's not as if lou reed's guitar playing was leaving her in the dust.

[CJ Shearn]

Lars Ulrich, Tommy Lee, Joey Jordison

[kenny weir]

I dunno about "worst", but ...

Michael Clarke?

"Journeyman" or "servicable'' would constitute high praise.

[Elissa]

I dunno about "worst", but ...

Michael Clarke?

"Journeyman" or "servicable'' would constitute high praise.

do you mean the headhunters one?

oh, sorry, you mean the byrds.

Edited October 29, 2009 by Elissa

[clifford_thornton]

I like Mo Tucker - she was right for the band, and that's what matters.

Ginger Baker's solos can be pretty ridiculous, but his tunes are interesting.

[AndrewHill]

Meg White and Phil Collins.

[BruceH]

Actually, I think Mo's drumming was the perfect fit for the Velvets' approach.

Yeah, it kinda was. Like I said, it certainly didn't seem to hurt them. But I remember how startled I was when a more musically inclined friend told me in college that he was sure I could drum better than Maureen Tucker. So I listened closely to the drum parts and had to admit he was probably right.

[BruceH]

Mr. Weir: "Neil Peart couldn't drum his way out of a paper bag."

[Dave James]

Dennis was the babe magnet, so his drumming didn't matter.

He also turned out to be BY FAR the group's best songwriter after Brian. And he was a hell of a singer.

And Hal Blaine played drums on the vast majority of those records, so it doesn't matter.

Up over and out.

I'm talking about live Beach Boys, not the studio version. There's no comparison between the two. Not only did Hal Blaine and Jim Gordon play drums with them on a regular basis in the studio, but the band has also included at one time or another, among scores of others, Glen Campbell, Billy Hinsche from Dino, Desi & Billy, John Cowsill from the Cowsills and Daryl Dragon from the Captain & Tenille. Brian had so little faith in his cohorts ability to play his music the way he envisioned it that he hired studio musicians to put down instrumental tracks while the band was on the road. They added the vocals later, when they were available.

Speaking of Clarks, I love the Dave Clark Five, but Dave Clark himself, while effective, was not very sound.

Up over and out.

Edited October 29, 2009 by Dave James

[JETman]

Meg White and Phil Collins.

Phil Collins was considered quite a facile drummer in his time. May not be your cup of tea, but listen to any Genesis album between 1973 and 1981.

[Teasing the Korean]

I'm talking about live Beach Boys, not the studio version.

Well, during the early years, the girls were screaming so loud that you couldn't hear him.

By the early 70s they got Ricky Fataar and then later a string of other drummers.

There is a video that you've probably seen of them, circa 1968, where they're doing "Good Vibrations." It's the five piece line-up with Bruce, no Brian. It's a very effective, minimalist version of the tune. Whatever Dennis is or isn't doing in this video works. Not sure if it was really live or if they recorded it in advance and lip-synched.

[Ken Dryden]

There are so many poor rock drummers it's too long a list to make.

"Drum machines are the Cheez Whiz of musical instruments."

Ken Dryden