Johnny B Goode Drum Part?

AzHeat

AzHeat

Platinum Member
I'm trying to learn a bunch of songs (40+) to sit in with a band for an upcoming gig. The song always seemed like a non-issue to play and I can't really hear the drums on the original recording, that was till about an hour or so ago with a pretty incredible set of ear buds. I think I'm hearing a jazz pattern on the ride, which seems period correct. I can't really hear the ride much at all, but more like stick noise on my L80s, but there appears to be more than just a simple straight pattern Is that right, or am I hearing things? I've watched a few YouTubes and they are all over the place. Leaning toward the Jazz pattern, but want to be accurate. What do you all think?
 
That was a tough one to nail for me as a kid; just trying to get the slightest swing on it. Not an easy song to master imho.
 
TJK said:
That was a tough one to nail for me as a kid; just trying to get the slightest swing on it. Not an easy song to master imho.
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It was way easier, when I thought it was a straight ahead drum part, but as a swing...not as much.
 
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Listening to this one, it seems like a jazz ride pattern, at least most of the time anyway. A lot of early rock from that period sort of straddled the straight/shuffle line and I agree this one's a little blurry.
 
Here's one with one guitar part - it sounds like what you're saying it is.
Fred Below was a trained jazz guy.

 
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That slight swing, played against the straight notes that everyone else is playing, is what makes the tune.

Most drummers miss it. You may get some surprised looks when you play it :)
 
sumdrumguy said:
That slight swing, played against the straight notes that everyone else is playing, is what makes the tune.

Most drummers miss it. You may get some surprised looks when you play it :)
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Yep, I've heard a lot of guys play straight eight notes on the cymbal, and it comes out sounding like a generic sped-up rock beat. Ya gotta give it some swing with your right hand..
 
Vandalay said:
Yep, I've heard a lot of guys play straight eight notes on the cymbal, and it comes out sounding like a generic sped-up rock beat. Ya gotta give it some swing with your right hand..
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And most guitarists play it like 70s rock so the whole swung eighth note thing goes out the window. I hate playing this song because the other band members never get the feel right and I wind up having to play like they do.
 
Peter256 said:
I hate playing this song because the other band members never get the feel right and I wind up having to play like they do.
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What's a drummer to do?

I want to say that the drummer is the only one swinging anything, so the other guys playing straight should be fine.

At least the audience isn't thinking about that.
 
Try playing flam taps with your hands (right hand on cymbal, left hand on snare) to help get a bit of swing going.
 
Peter256 said:
And most guitarists play it like 70s rock so the whole swung eighth note thing goes out the window. I hate playing this song because the other band members never get the feel right and I wind up having to play like they do.
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My experience as well. Most other band members do not hear or play the swing feel.
 
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As silly as this sounds........Has anyone considered the high school dance scene from Back to the Future?

There's a pretty good close up of the drummer playing Johnny B Goode as Michael J Fox is wailing away on the guitar.

I'm sure that dude playing the drums is an actual drummer. He's got the trad grip, he's got the swing and he's got the moves.

I'm sure he's swinging the hell outta those hats......but there's a great close-up of him playing the groove.
 
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Benthedrummer said:
As silly as this sounds........Has anyone considered the high school dance scene from Back to the Future?

There's a pretty good close up of the drummer playing Johnny B Goode as Michael J Fox is wailing away on the guitar.

I'm sure that dude playing the drums is an actual drummer. He's got the trad grip, he's got the swing and he's got the moves.

I'm sure he's swinging the hell outta those hats......but there's a great close-up of him playing the groove.
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This is a great shout.

And yes, as others have mentioned, your stock "jazz" ride cymbal pattern straddling the line between swung and straight is the way to go. All this early rock 'n' roll is basically rhythm and blues which is an evolution of big band music. Some of that 60s Blue Note stuff has that swing/straight tug of war going on too. "The Sidewinder" is a classic example.
 
I once played a musical with some actual hand drummers from Africa. In a lot of cases, when they would start grooving, they would agree on the beats, but be all over the place on the offbeats. So some would be swinging pretty hard, some would be swinging a little, and some playing straight 8ths. These guys didn’t read music, and they were improvising the whole time. It was fascinating to see how the roots of the “swung versus straight” tension still exist in the music that Africans brought with them to this country.
 
Benthedrummer said:
As silly as this sounds........Has anyone considered the high school dance scene from Back to the Future?

There's a pretty good close up of the drummer playing Johnny B Goode as Michael J Fox is wailing away on the guitar.

I'm sure that dude playing the drums is an actual drummer. He's got the trad grip, he's got the swing and he's got the moves.

I'm sure he's swinging the hell outta those hats......but there's a great close-up of him playing the groove.
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Not sure why I didn't think of that. It's the clearest I've heard the ride. Can't hear the kick though. I'm thinking on 1 and 3, but I see people playing it on 1, 2, 3, & 4.
 
larryace said:
I want to say that the drummer is the only one swinging anything, so the other guys playing straight should be fine.
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Exactly. The drummer is the one who swings. That's the special sauce of early rock n roll.

Here's a nice clip of Steve Jordan playing the song with Chuck...
 
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