The 15 Greatest Rock Drummers Poll

you should take Bonham and Moon out of the running because come on dogg

also maybe use a list that isn't completely batshit insane

But then without Bonham and Moon, wouldn't Liebezeit own this one?

I actually prefer most drummers of the list than Moon or Bonham.

sorry to interrupt the party, but why isn't Robert Wyatt on this list? I'd take him over Moon or Bonham in a heartbeat.

People actually enjoy the drumming of Chris Frantz?? Frankly, I'm shocked!

where the fuck was clem burke in that article

i voted for s morris obv

Where's Mo Tucker?

Oh, there she is.

Moe Tucker is 32 better than Ziggy Modeliste because he made time strut but she was a beta earthmover.

Watts, but no Earl Palmer no credibility.

i second the need for earl palmer to be added to this poll.

No Karl Burns!

In his absence, I voted for Tony Thompson, who is the 2nd best drummer ever, with Leibezeit 3rd.

No George Hurley, no credibility.

Write-in vote for Hamish Rosser.

OOh Jaki vs. Stewart Copeland. That is kindof sexy.

See, you made me pull out The Police, ILX. I <3 you.

Of course my fave drummer in the world is still Donald Johnson from A Certain Ratio. But I've been trying to keep this inside on ILX and I can't keep it inside anymore. Sorry. He's not just a funk drummer, dude is funky drummer.

When I saw the Walking On The Moon video when I was a kid, Stewart Copeland playing drums on the side of the space shuttle (or whatever it was) was just the coolest thing EVER.

oh god is it on you tube

list was so frustrating when it came out and even more so now for some reason. all the right names are there but the order is so arbitrary. its like they wanted to cover the cannon without making a rolling stone list. i voted for tony thompson but partially because hal blaine wasn't in the top 15, which seems like a joke. also, earl young. i wonder if the list was remade now, would the ever-increasing popularity of yacht rock have ensured rick marotta a place for his pattern on "peg"?

Rashied Ali is the correct answer.

I'd say he's more of a jazz drummer

i love rashied ali but i have done more headbanging to elvin jones than anyone else. and tony williams had more influence on rock.

I should never post having just woken up. Jaki Leibezeit is the correct answer.

ugh

I voted Topper, mainly because I was so excited to see him on the list at all. Very overlooked, IMO. That guy could play anything (he particularly shines on Sandinista).
Moon, of course, is the most fun to watch.

I mildly contrarian vote Dinger just because of the lameness of this list that is Chris Frantz. There's good drumming that you don't really notice and then there is drumming you just don't notice.

Hahaha A+++

ugh

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Wednesday, December 24, 2008 1:48 PM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

?

Stewart Copeland sums up my entire junior high existence, really.

God, a drummers list that actually has a load of drummers I like on it...

Oh god, Jaki Liebezeit or Stephen Morris. Cannot choose between them. And it was hard hard hard narrowing it down to those two.

"a place
for his pattern
on peg"

say that ten times fast

This list kind of sucks. I'll vote Lombardo.

it's a list of such wildly different drummers that i hate the idea of even starting to think about who is the "best" "rock" "drummer".

on a purely gut level, the guys i like and have listened to the most are probably bonham and purdie.

Oh my god, I just looked at the link. Hahahaha. Brutal.

It's a great list, but it still blows chunks. Where's Clem Burke, Pete De Freitas, George Hurley, John Maher, Mel Gaynor or Chuck Biscuits?

i don't know any of those dudes besides clem burke

People actually enjoy the drumming of Chris Frantz??

seriously, is this a joke? Frantz is terrible!

he is but his drum machine imitation is perfect for the music. but yeah, it's weird to put dudes like that on a "greatest drummer" list.

although i suppose everyone complains when it's just a list of chopsy dudes and not moe tucker or whatever

i was at stylus at the time and didn't participate in this list, don't remember if i abstained or just didn't know about it but god i hated it at the time. it looks like it was assembled by people who don't give a shit about drumming but wanted to list anyone who played in a band they like.

exactly!

That's how it comes across.It also looks like an attempt to piss off people who actually know and give a shit about drumming.

It's a great list, but it still blows chunks. Where's Clem Burke, Pete De Freitas, George Hurley, John Maher, Mel Gaynor or Chuck Biscuits?

― Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Wednesday, December 24, 2008 8:30 AM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i don't know any of those dudes besides clem burke

― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Wednesday, December 24, 2008 8:40 AM (35 minutes ago) Bookmark

Pete De Freitas - Echo & The Bunnymen
George Hurley - Minutemen/Firehose
John Maher - Buzzcocks
Mel Gaynor - Simple Minds
Chuck Biscuits - lots of bands (D.O.A., Black Flag, Descendents, Danzig)

Alan Myers really needs to be on here too

For all the fame of the Bo Diddley beat, I'm surprised Clifton James and Frank Kirkland are rarely mentioned by name.

jazzbo is otm about topper headon. makes that band listenable.

it looks like it was assembled by people who don't give a shit about drumming but wanted to list anyone who played in a band they like.

looks that way to me, too. The problem I see is that a lot of rock drumming involves a very limited role for the drummer. I like Stephen Morris' drumming in Joy Division, however he doesn't do anything particularly intricate or to indicate that he's a "great drummer." Ditto Mo Tucker. Since Zach Hill got axed from the list, I vote Dave Lombardo.

The problem I see is that a lot of rock drumming involves a very limited role for the drummer.

Cosign. I see Chris Frantz getting a lot of not-love on this thread and I say "Huh?" Listen to, say, Buildings and Food or Fear of Music, where they were basically a four-piece-plus-Eno, and tell me he's not on it.

Dude walked past me at a show once and I was glad to slap him on the back. Super glad.

its just weird to cite Frantz at all given how many "guest musicians" played on Talking Heads records

I don't really know who any of those people are so I voted for Mo Tucker.

Despite crazy list, Bernard Purdie!

The problem I see is that a lot of rock drumming involves a very limited role for the drummer.

its tricky. the best rock drumming involves coming up with a compelling and musical part that, while never overshadowing the song itself, gives the song contour and makes it impossible for the listener to imagine any other part going sounding any better. Hal Blaine, the Motown guys, Earl Young and Al Jackson, Jr. (Booker T & The MGs) were the masters at this sort of thing. Some of those simple patterns on those old records may seem boring but could you imagine an Otis Redding record with a shitload of 32nd note triplet fills? the emotion of "try a little tenderness" would not even be noticed! that is what i would call bad drumming!

It ain't a bad list. My only complaint is that is missing far too many metal drummers.

tony thompson!

predictably I think scott asheton should be on the list (though I'd still vote tony)

then again I'm a loser cause I have no idea who

Dave Lombardo
Glen Kotche
Klaus Dinger

are

oh yeah the guy from neu! well he was good but sort of a one-trick pony

the drummer from wilco? yagaddabefuckinkiddin

so shoot me -- i liek ringo

wilco guy is good drummer tho srsly

No Kenny Aranoff no credibility.

(And hell, I'd take Stephen Adler over a couple of those guys.)

haha mo tucker

i voted moon

Where is Bill Bruford?

Stewart Copeland is just as good tho (plus Klark Kent, man, no band makes me happier).

Not listed:

Not listed:

oh yeah the guy from neu! well he was good but sort of a one-trick pony

Damn good trick, though. I voted Dinger.

The correct answer is Paul Thompson.

No Phil Collins, no Manu Cache, no credibility. But went for Keith Moon.

Considered Tony Thompson, but Bernard Edwards was the main deal about that rhythm section.

Gonna have to vote METAL.

no ziggy modeliste from the meters? he's a legend for "cissy strut" alone. i played that song note-for-note perfectly on my drumset... and it sounded like absolute shit. god knows how he got such an amazing sound out of his hi-hat, but he did.

Jaki Leibezeit- hypnotic groove.
Charlie Watts- cool dude, cool style fit his group really well.
Bernard Purdie- dude could probably walk in off the street and hit it with anyone.
Tony Thompson- kind of hard to argue with the rhythm of Chic, huge drum sound on the Power Station hits.
John Bonham- he pretty much could do anything in a big rock band.
Stewart Copeland- very unique stylist, plays kind of backwards and does some really weird stuff with high hats and then there is the reggae thing, which was somewhat unique for a rock group at the time.
Dave Lombardo- the guy is the godfather of a certain kind of metal drumming.
Glen Kotche- never really noticed that Wilco's drumming was mind boggling.
Klaus Dinger- more hypnotic drumming, don't think he can touch Jaki, still he's cool.
Chris Frantz- Talking Heads did groove.
Stephen Morris- he is pretty unique, probably one of the first drummers to fully incorporate electronics and drum machines.
Dave Grohl- dude played the big beat on the biggest hit of his day, I don't think Nirvana hits the same level without him.
Topper Headon- see Dave Grohl, the guy had some skills and probably allowed The Clash to expand their sound like they did.
Keith Moon- same really as Grohl or Headon, as his style fit what The Who wanted to do. He is pretty unique.
Moe Tucker- she had a unique groove and way, which had to add to the ambiance of the Velvet Underground.

I'm glad that Jeremiah Green was included in the article. The vastness of the first two Modest Mouse albums...

Back when Steven Drozd played the drums, he was pretty powerful.

Ringo!

voted Moe, but i absolutely love Charlie and Topper as much. Hurley was godlike as well. Janet Weiss may very well be my favorite in the last twenty years

See now the person I really wanted to vote for is MITCH MUTHAFUCKIN MITCHELL and do not tell me he is not a rock drummer because come the flock on.

And Ms. Weiss, yes absolutely. I also like Chester Thompson. Ms. Gina Schock is also worth consideration.

And, just because no ILx poll is complete without a chorus of dorks attacking the very premise of the question: Different flavors of greatness abound.

Whom do you like because they play things that are awesome (cf. Bonham)?
Whom do you like because they are extremely entertaining as performers and trainwrecky individuals (cf. Moon)?

Who is technically/rudimentally most impressive (Jojo Mayer)? Who plays the most unusual/surprising things (Copeland)? Who plays the most tasteful and appropriate-for-the-context things (Gadd, Keltner, etc.)? Whose drumming is too good for the music it's accompanying (Collins)?

Yup. Anyway here's the original thread on this list:

"John Bonham is the best drummer" ever sez Stylus

Keith Moon somehow does almost nothing for me on record (I barely notice he's there) but whenever I see live footage of the Who he's just goddamn mesmerizing, like someone built this whirling eight-armed machine to play the drums. Staggering.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Klaus Dinger 2

:-(

I find it amusing Bonham ended up 4th place on the poll below Jaki Leibezeit.

Come to think of it Moe Tucker at 2nd and Jaki Leibezeit at 3rd was nothing short of predictable considering its an ILM thread. Has anyone done a Can vs VU in here before?

Moe Tucker #2? I fucking quit.

I mean, she's great and all, but really?

(I voted Morris.)

Chris Frantz 0

OTM

Sure, he was steady and set the groove, all of that, but if we're looking for an exemplar of that strength than Phil Rudd's yer man.

"Moe Tucker #29? I fucking quit." is what I almost told Stylus when this list came out

which one of these is the drummer for Gay Dad

The right drummer won this poll. I would have placed John Bonham a distant second and Stewart Copeland tied with him for second.

Jaki Liebezeit (not "Leibezeit") is misspelled here, but it looks like the misspelling comes from the original article. Why is it that many English-speakers seem to have difficulties differentiating between "ie" and "ei"? "Atheism" is often misspelled as "athiesm" too.

seriously, is this a joke? Frantz is terrible!

Oh man, he almost ruins early THeads for me

cause we pronounce them the same, tuomas, and were taught "i before e except after c"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a_XVM7LGnk

moe tucker #2 huh?

ILM is loaded with VU fans.

Kieth Moon
Mitch Mitchell
Billy Ficca
Charlie Watts
Mac McNeilly [86, Jesus Lizard]

...in more-or-less that order.

so. john densmore but no jeff porcaro.

Dale Crover.

Tru dat. Dale Crover is monsterous.

xpost Mitch Mitchell would be in my top 5 as well...

Neil Peart is not in my top 5, but I'm surprised he's not included here... Same goes for Bill Bruford.

Rolling Stone listed Neil Peart as #1
I'm surprised to see him at #22 in this article

John Maher sadly lacking from this list.
I would have put Steve Morris in there too.

ummm... mick fleetwood anyone?

Guy Evans.

Chris Cutler.

ummm... mick fleetwood anyone?

i love what he does but would never argue he was a great drummer

ummm... mick fleetwood anyone?

i love what he does but would never argue he was a great drummer

This is actually precisely what I might say about Keith Moon. And I love Keith Moon. Mick Fleetwood though...

I mean, Rattlesnake Shake fer chrissakes, y'know? There's a reason that band is named after its rhythm section.

Also, wheres the Cozy Powell/Carmine Appice love?

Reni is also overlooked. The snare bit before the verse comes in at 0:19 is just so beautiful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfzQLZtCZSY

I used to think Reni was a great drummer until I found out "Fools Gold" was a sample.

I think it was him, on a loop.

mick fleetwood is def a great drummer imo.

wtf @ moe tucker votes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8LhaL6vajc&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjSM1THKJf8&feature=related

go jaki

Ken Buttrey. His drumming on "Harvest" and "John Wesley Harding" is so perfect.

early tea party triumph -- moe tucker at #2 but no elitists like bill bruford on ballot

no sib hashian? im out of here.

God, i remember this disaster. Probably the worst poll of its kind ever on ILM.

sib would get my vote for best drummer hairdo ever

thats right.

Sib's fro was righteous

Interesting to note that while in the Bonham vs Moon thread the former feels like the winner in this poll Moon, Tucker and Liebezeit are over Bonham.

Also I dont get the love for Moe Tucker.

Where the hell is Proscriptor Mcgovern? Fuck this list.

Also I dont get the love for Moe Tucker.

― Moka, Friday, June 13, 2014 5:45 AM (18 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OTM. It's utterly ridiculous. Plus she's a Tea Party idiot. Who can't drum for shit.

can we repoll this shit

Why? Moonie won!

OTM. It's utterly ridiculous. Plus she's a Tea Party idiot. Who can't drum for shit.

― Prince Kajuku (Bill Magill), Saturday, June 14, 2014 12:07 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

She wasn't a Tea Party idiot when she was in the Velvets, iirc.

fwiw, I never understood the hate for Tucker. Beyond being perfect for the Velvets, she defined an approach that many drummers still haven't caught up with (not unlike Moon's innovations, but from a different angle).

There was no Tea Party back then. It's a recent scourge on the nation.

I had no idea people are so down on Chris Frantz's drumming! What do people think about the other members of Talking Heads as musicians?

There was no Tea Party back then. It's a recent scourge on the nation.

I know; I was being sarcastic.

No Bill Bruford?

i like moe, she's really good on 'heroin' especially. i'm way more amazed that anyone thinks dave grohl belongs on this list.