The Grand Master Buddy Rich

again i don't normally hollarback but absurd statements bother me .to say buddy rich did not have rock chops is the most rediculous thing i've heard yet,being as rock was in it's formative years in the fifties all things drums were borrowed from jazz.Buddy thought that rock was a lesser form of music (much like country music is today)and had no intrest in lowering himself to play it.but i'm sure if he did he would have taken great amusement in destroying john bonham in a drum battle.the thing is if buddy respected you as a player such as ed shaunessy he took it easy on you .If he did not he had no problem shameing you off the stage.arrogance YES.As far as bebop is concerned he did'nt care for the way that the bass drum was used to accentuate the time...but to think he could'nt do it is ludicris and ignorant.And to miss a cymbal here and there let he amoung us without sin cast the first stone!
 
bigbang said:
again i don't normally hollarback but absurd statements bother me .to say buddy rich did not have rock chops is the most rediculous thing i've heard yet,being as rock was in it's formative years in the fifties all things drums were borrowed from jazz.Buddy thought that rock was a lesser form of music (much like country music is today)and had no intrest in lowering himself to play it.but i'm sure if he did he would have taken great amusement in destroying john bonham in a drum battle.the thing is if buddy respected you as a player such as ed shaunessy he took it easy on you .If he did not he had no problem shameing you off the stage.arrogance YES.As far as bebop is concerned he did'nt care for the way that the bass drum was used to accentuate the time...but to think he could'nt do it is ludicris and ignorant.And to miss a cymbal here and there let he amoung us without sin cast the first stone!

Bold words, my friend. Bold words.
Buddy's attempts at playing rock music weren't really happening. God bless his soul, he's the greatest drummer who's ever lived, but he was centric on jazz. He never played amazing latin stuff, certainly his rock wasn't the most traditional grooving approach ever- because as you said, he felt that was an inferior form of music. However, you need to learn it in order to play it properly. In that respect, John Bohnam was a better player than Buddy. It's even cooler since JB respected many forms of music. Buddy respected only a few. As for country being considered inferior, I don't know if I should even lower myself with a reply but I will. The dudes playing in Nashville are some of the heaviest mothers on the planet. I don't like the style much, but country music is happening most of the time. Outside of NYC, you won't find a scene with better musicians.
 
not saying that the session musicians are inferior(we all have to work)however it is written with the lowest common denominator in mind ..the average joe six-pack who would not understand anything more than four beats to the bar.As for buddy a man with that much raw talent could do anything he put his mind to , unfortunatly his ego was in the way most of the time.And i'm not sure but i think ther still might be a "scene" in a small town called los angeles........
 
bigbang said:
not saying that the session musicians are inferior(we all have to work)however it is written with the lowest common denominator in mind ..the average joe six-pack who would not understand anything more than four beats to the bar.As for buddy a man with that much raw talent could do anything he put his mind to , unfortunatly his ego was in the way most of the time.And i'm not sure but i think ther still might be a "scene" in a small town called los angeles........

I think the argument here was that Buddy indeed didn't put his mind to it, regardless of talent. His attempts at playing rock music were less than stellar, most likely because he afforded the style so little respect. That's hardly an excuse. It's sort of like a drunk driver saying that they shouldn't be judged as a drunk driver because they could have chosen to stay sober.

If you make a choice it's entirely fair for people to judge you by it. Buddy chose not to play rock or latin music well, and he never employed much in the way of the phrasing innovations from bebop or later jazz styles, so it's quite fair to say he wasn't particularly endowed as a stylistic chameleon. He was, nonetheless, a bloody great big band drummer. I think you're just letting your love of his playing get in the way of reality a little.

By your reasoning we should be praising Einstein as a pioneer in computer science. Sure, he never had much to do with it... but hell, he was a smart guy - he'd have been great if he'd tried!
 
you just said what i've been saying,His arrogence and ego got in his way.buddy rarely practiced (if at all) but if he had let it go (his arrogence)he would have made a fine rock drummer.It's not rocket science it's drums.And the analogy with the drunk driving is moot and makes no sense.It's not fair to judge anyone because they refuse to do something it's their choice ..leave it be.
 
I hope the young folks will read this and understand something important.

Buddy Rich was 100% ambidexeterous in hands and feet.
His speed was equal or better to anyone today
He could play lightning fast heel toe, with both feet.
He had a metronome-like accuracy
He had an ear for the music he played.

IOW: there is no musical style that he could not play physically. He could summon the speed and power to play rock or grace and subtlety for jazz.

No, he did not conquer rock or latin music. But he had the skills to do so. But he hated country music and rock drummers with a passion. He was narrow minded musically, but that aside, there is no drummer today that can do something Buddy could not. His barriers were strictly attitudinal.
 
bigbang said:
buddy rarely practiced (if at all)
The reason he didn't practise was because he was playing on average 5 nights a week for most of his life. He didn't need to practise. Performing WAS his practise...
 
finnhiggins said:
If you make a choice it's entirely fair for people to judge you by it.
That makes perfect sense to me. It also reminds me of a few years ago when Garth Brooks, who at the time was at the top of the Country Music charts, declared that Rock Music was easy, and he recorded and released a rock album to prove how he could be a rock star as well. It sucked, the critics hated it, and no one bought it. He did his absolute best, and he was horrible. (Amazon lists 214 of the CDs new and used starting at 65 cents)

Just because you are the best at something (as many would say Buddy was), doesn't mean that you can be the best at anything else. Buddy did not have the ability to be a great rock drummer, or a great Latin drummer. That doesn't take away from what he was, but there's no need to pretend that he was more than he actually was.

Say he was a pioneer. That's a fact. Say he was the greatest drummer ever. Fine, that's an opinion. But it's just silly to say things like "His speed was equal or better than anyone today" or "He never made a mistake while drumming." No need to make him into more than he was. Any one of us should be so talented!
 
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all i'm saying is that if he had applied himself to it he could have done it.This is something i see alot of usually from other musician's not drummers , the fact that you play a certain style ( such as country ) means you can't play rock or jazz or what have you.You guy's as drummer's above all know this not to be true. I played a job last night with a rock band and run into some girls there who saw me the week before with a country band, they were totally amazed that i was playing rock.It's all just drums and we should all be practicing different styles.
 
Of course it's all opinions. These comparisons of Buddy to Vinnie,Donati,Lang, etc....
I feel Buddy was far better in his fluidity, speed, and swinging attack. Buddy
didn't play the non-swinging, "worked-out" math equations for each limb.
 
Buddy Rich Stick Click Trick?

Anyone have info or a video that explains on to do the Buddy Rich stick trick. Not his "secret weapon" technique. But the trick where he stops playing the drums and actually does a groove by hitting the sticks together. Can anyone help?
 
Re: Buddy Rich Stick Click Trick?

Man I want to know how to do that trick to, But I know how to Spin with my fingers! but if I ever learn that Buddy Rich thing I would want to show off with that to :D
 
Re: Buddy Rich Stick Click Trick?

ok so he did the stick trick for like a second I still don't know how to do it.and most people don't know how to do it but WOW! he is the GREATEST drummer EVER!
 
Re: Buddy Rich Stick Click Trick?

I just learned how to do this yesterday, and now I've got it pretty down packed but of course not as fast as buddy. What you do (of course start in traditional grip) is play RRL RRL RRL on the sticks, and that's basicaly it, it won't sound right at first, it just takes some time.

Donovan
 
Re: Buddy Rich Stick Click Trick?

If you can get a copy of Marco Minnemann's DVD "EXTREME DRUMMING", he shows his version of that trick. It's either right on or "Extremely" close. ;-)
 
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