Drummers who are also celebrities

bermuda

bermuda

Drummerworld Pro Drummer - Administrator
Staff member
Who do you think is a drummer who is a mainstream celebrity? That is, not just known to musicians, but by the public in general. Buddy Rich would be a prime example due to his frequent appearances as a guest on The Tonight Show. And of course Ringo, because The Beatles. But what other drummers have wide exposure to a mainstream audience?

Yeah, we all know who played with Led Zep, the Stones, The Who, U2... but could someone on the street name those drummers?

I'm thinking:
Questlove
Max Weinberg
Dave Grohl
probably Travis Barker

Who am I missing?
 
bermuda said:
Who do you think is a drummer who is a mainstream celebrity? That is, not just known to musicians, but by the public in general. Buddy Rich would be a prime example due to his frequent appearances as a guest on The Tonight Show. And of course Ringo, because The Beatles. But what other drummers have wide exposure to a mainstream audience?

Yeah, we all know who played with Led Zep, the Stones, The Who, U2... but could someone on the street name those drummers?

I'm thinking:
Questlove
Max Weinberg
Dave Grohl
probably Travis Barker

Who am I missing?
Click to expand...
We're missing "Bermuda" lol
 
DrumEatDrum said:
Tommy Lee has, arguably, become more famous for his marriages/divorces to Heather Locklear and Pamala Anderson than as a drummer.

Then of course the drummers turned frontmen: Phill Collins, Don Henley.
Click to expand...

But of course!
 
Fred Armisten outed himself as a drummer via the NetFlix release of 'Stand Up For Drummers'...along with numerous visits to Jimmy Fallon.

I'm a bit at a loss to identify more 'current' icons.

hmm...interesting...i'm starting to lose the sense of what a 'celebrity' is due to the fragmented entertainment environment going on.

Hope I'm not hijacking, but who would everyone say is the biggest 'new' celebrity to arise in the last 10 years? - the fact I am not sure is very telling...I'm not media isolated...or am I?

Google search of 'celebrities who are drummers' returned a near geriatric/deceased list.
 
Last edited:
What about Justin Bieber?
 
Otto said:
Fred Armisten outed himself as a drummer via the NetFlix release of 'Stand Up For Drummers'...along with numerous visits to Jimmy Fallon.
Click to expand...
He played with Devo too here in Oakland, I saw him at blue bottle coffee and had to look up what he was doing in the area. Solid drummer. I chose not to be weird and bother him while he had his coffee but I've heard he's a nice guy if you go up.
 
I'm sure our old friend Lars would qualify. Not sure just how big you need to be to be considered a "mainstream celeb" though.

Even the most famous drummers in the world aren't exactly household names (except for those turned frontman of course).
 
Extremely.

Was Jughead the drummer in the Archies?
The roles the teens played in the fictional band were: Archie Andrews – guitars, vocals. Jughead Jones – drums. Reggie Mantle – bass.

Yep. Even has his own wiki page

en.wikipedia.org

Jughead Jones - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

"He has also professed a love for jazz music, once detailed in an issue of Jughead Magazine where he develops an obsession with an obscure jazz drummer named "Crazy" Willie Jim. After collecting his records, Jughead finally met Jim, who was now very old, ailing and reclusive, playing on a street corner. Jughead convinced Jim that he was trustworthy and they became fast friends. Jim even played with The Archies at one of their gigs. Jim died very soon after, so Jughead sat in with Jim's friends on the corner to play one last, mournful version of "St. James Infirmary Blues"."
 
Last edited:
justin beiber

billy bob thornton

jude law (unsure if he still plays, but he was photographed moving house with a definitely played set of drums a few years ago)

russell howard ( UK comedian)
 
Cactus Moser.
 
toddmc said:
I'm sure our old friend Lars would qualify. Not sure just how big you need to be to be considered a "mainstream celeb" though.
Click to expand...

He's had some notoriety with regard to the illegal downloads via the original Napster et al, but beyond that brief period (early-mid 2000s?) I don't think he possesses any mainstream status.
 
Dr_Watso said:
He played with Devo too here in Oakland, I saw him at blue bottle coffee and had to look up what he was doing in the area. Solid drummer. I chose not to be weird and bother him while he had his coffee but I've heard he's a nice guy if you go up.
Click to expand...
I’ll give Fred credit…he kept a strong beat and didn’t screw up Jocko Homo with its 7/8.
 
bermuda said:
Yep.



Most people don't know that he can play drums, in fact I had forgotten about that until you mentioned it! So, he's really known as a pop singer.
Click to expand...
What about Cactus Moses? He had so much physical therapy after he loss his leg from a motorcycle accident and also his hand didn't work right either... I love his determination and I think he's a pretty darn good drummer... he never gave up! That has to count for something.

 
Last edited:
bermuda said:
He's had some notoriety with regard to the illegal downloads via the original Napster et al, but beyond that brief period (early-mid 2000s?) I don't think he possesses any mainstream status.
Click to expand...
The fact that I only had to use his first name should be a hint that he does 😉

But I take your point- hence why I asked how does one quantify mainstream? Even if said drummer is in one of the biggest bands on the planet (which he is) doesn't necessarily translate to them being in the public consciousness.

As for your intial list, if we take drumming itself out of the equation, the mainstream public probably knows these guys through:

Questlove- The Tonight Show
Max Weinberg- Conan O'Brien show in the 90's? (sure, everyone knows who Springsteen is but most wouldn't go out of their way to find out who drums for him)
Dave Grohl- Turned frontman so....
Travis Barker- Kardashians
 
  • Like
Reactions: iCe
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top