what are some great books about drummers you have read.

Road Bull

Silver Member
I am visiting family and about to head off to find something to keep me occupied.

When I searched, I got a lot of great recommendations about drum rudiments, patterns and whatnot, but little in the way of books about, let's say, Elvin Jones, John Bonham, so on, and so forth...

Care to recommend a book that you enjoyed?
 
John Bonham | A thunder of drums... brilliant and rings true!
 

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Ahhh... I knew I could depend on you guys. Thanks for some submissions. Stuck at a mall where books are a forgotten relic if a bygone era that has turned and left me standing here. This truly is a land rich in crap. LOL. If it weren't for family, I would skip it.

Now, I will have to see about finding a bookstore that may have one of these nuggets of joy in stock. This is what I get for planning a trip off the cuff.
 
Bill Bruford's autobiography. The guy can write as well as being a great drummer/artist.
 
Mick Fleetwood's Autobiography was good.

The big book about Keith Moon is pretty good.

The Wrecking Crew by Hal Blaine is a must read.
 
Agree with the Bruford and Erskine books. Both are very good.

I also really enjoyed "So You Wanna be a Rock & Roll Star" by Jacob Slichter. Hilarious and sadly true too. More about his short stint at the top of the charts and the music business than drumming, but very well written and insightful. I think it's out of print but there's a Kindle version and I got mine on half.com Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Wanna-Rock-Roll-Star-Machine-Gunned/dp/0767914716
 
Joey Kramer Hit Hard.. good read about fighting depression, drug use and the rise and fall and re-rise of an empire called Aerosmith
 
The Big Beat: Conversations With Rock's Great Drummers by Max Weinberg with Robert Santelli. Originally published in 1984 (cover shown below). Reissued publication in 2004. Interesting interviews. Very good read.
 

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Fleetwood by Mick Fleetwood,
Nick Mason's Book
Bruford's
all are very funny and interesting, pretty light reading.
 
Ditto on Mickey Hart's books, Bruford's excellent biography and Moon, the Keith Moon biography.

I'd also recommend:

Mister, I Am The Band - a very thorough look at Buddy Rich's career.

Peace,

MT
 
I just finished reading "Diary of a Rock Tour" by Gordon Marshall. There's some hilarious stories and anecdotes of life on the road.
 
"Traps the Drum Wonder", a biography of Buddy Rich written by Mel Tormé. Excellent book.

I'll second (third?) that. What a fun read.

I own the Bill Bruford book but have yet to read it.

I really liked Neil Peart's "Masked Rider" book though it's not much about drumming. His second book "Ghost Rider" was good but not as much fun of a read.

I wish more guys like Rod Morgenstein would write books about drumming. Rod is such a positive guy. His enthusiasm seems truly infectious and he's had such a varied career.
 
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