Top Drummers Who Perform in Gloves

Son of Vistalite Black

Son of Vistalite Black

Well-known Member
Appraising this list of drummers who perform (or performed for a while) whilst wearing gloves, it seems there was a specific moment in time when covering one's hands reached a peak.

Can't be sure if this is a waning trend, but Son of Vistalite Black seems to recall that a couple of these examples are one-time endorsers of drum-specific gloves who now play bare-handed. If a drummer is on this list, rest assured that he is pictured wearing gloves a some stage of his career. As usual, the scoring algorithm weighed both the drummer's overall career accomplishments and the extent to which he advanced gloved drumming.


10. Vinnie Paul (R.I.P.) – Pantera

9. Eric Carr (R.I.P.) - KISS

8. Phil Rudd – AC/DC

7. Dave Grohl - Them Crooked Vultures (and seemingly only with TCVs).

6. Stewart Copeland - The Police

4. Mario Duplantier - Gojira

4. Tomas Haake - Meshuggah

3. Joey Kramer - Aerosmith

2. Rick Allen - Def Leppard

1. Peter Criss - KISS


Honorable Mentions:
Tico Torres - Bon Jovi
Nick Menza (R.I.P.) - Megadeth
 
I don't know about "top drummer" but the first guy I remember seeing, that stuck in my mind, with gloves was Alan Gratzer from REO Speedwagon.

I wore baseball batting gloves for awhile. Eventually I just dutched them and built up calluses.
 
Is it my failing memory or didn't Nicki McBrain wear them for awhile..maybe still does?. I had to for quite awhile when my callouses started to split which was semi painful.
 
I wore them on the Straits tour. Not really out of choice, but it was a high energy and very long show. The lights were hot and I perspired a lot. I suffered from bad blisters at the start of the tour and there was no recovery time. So I resorted to gloves to 1) cushion the pain from my blisters and 2) help me grip the sticks.
Since 1992 I've never used them again.
 
Jason Bittner used them back in the 2000s but I don't think he does anymore. I've also seen a couple of Gregg Bissonette vids from around 2009 where he was wearing a glove on just the right hand but I'm guessing that might have been due to an injury, as I haven't seen him do it since. Dave Grohl still seems to be using them - you can seen him wearing gloves here at the Taylor Hawkins tribute:
 
Came here to say Aquiles Priester too!
 
Don Brewer wore gloves at the Modern Drummer Festival.

Sean Pelton wore an oven mitt for a bit on his right hand.
 
Frank Beard of ZZ Top. I've seen pictures of him playing with gloves, but I don't know if that was a regular thing for him.
 
NYC session guy Gerard Awad uses them now. I'm fortunate to know him as he's now in AZ doing work in a local Tucson band. Says he loves the laid back, relaxed schedule and easy songs compared to what he was doing on the east coast.
 
Blk Diamond said:
Nigel Olsson, long time drummer for Elton John, is often photographed wearing gloves while playing drums.
Click to expand...
Ya beat me to it.
I found this Rolling Stone interview with Nigel and it’s pretty comprehensive and interesting read (gloves do come up 😏)
www.rollingstone.com

Nigel Olsson Reflects on 50 Years of Playing Drums for Elton John

Nigel Olsson reflects on his lengthy career drumming for Elton John, his side interest in auto racing and whether or not he'll retire.
www.rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com
 
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