Drummage 1960s 1 of 2

This is not a definitive list, a history, or an argument. Just some favorites... and I'll let them speak for themselves, mostly...

In general, what I really like about drumming from this decade in the pop/rock realm is that most, if not all of the non-jazz players listed below most likely trained in jazz, which resulted, at least to my ears, in more swing, more groove, and more melodicism and sensitivity in the construction of parts than in any other decade. Yeah, that's a big claim, and there are plenty of great drummers whose foundation lies solely in rock who are able to do all that the following drummers can do and yet... there is something really special about this decade, isn't there?

Ronettes "Be My Baby" Hal Blaine

Classic riff, really nice fills. Even the singer agrees (see second video around 2:13)! It's rare for a drum part to be one of the predominant hooks of a song...

Martha & The Vandellas "Heatwave" Motown Drummer TBD

An astute fan of Motown's early 1960s records will note that a small handful of fills are utilized across multiple records. Each drummer that was part of the Motown band in the 1960s had their own fills and commonly used these fills to identify themselves. I used to have a magazine that featured a chart describing these fills and their respective owners, but I no longer do, so the performer on this record will have to remain anonymous for the time being. As for the performance... infectious swing/shuffle of a kind that slowly disappeared from most mainstream pop drumming to be replaced with straighter 8th and 16th note feels. 

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles "Tears of a Clown" Motown Drummer TBD

At the risk of giving two credits to the same drummer, given the paucity of information on who played what, here is another Motown classic. Good groove, good energy, great sound...

Otis Redding "Try a Little Tenderness" Al Jackson Jr.

Possibly my favorite drummer, Al Jackson Jr. specialized in the kind of straightforward yet irresistible parts that always served the song. For the most part, anything he played could be played easily by anyone who has spent even just a few months learning the instrument, and yet I don't actually think there is another drummer who could play the way he did, with the same attention to the small details, the same reserve, the same willingness to let the song speak (some of his most classic performances see him straying only once or twice from strict timekeeping). Oh, and he grooves like a motherfucker! This performance sees him leading the band from ballad tempo all the way to the possibility of death by hyperventilation for the horn section while staying funky the whole time...

Lee Morgan "Search for the New Land" Billy Higgins
Further along the theme of understated funkiness, here is a classic performance by Billy Higgins. I really love the casual yet crisp approach Higgins has to timekeeping, and his comping style, which is here dominated by repeating figures instead of a wholly-improvised approach. Definitely one of those myriad figures in jazz unknown to the uninitiated but certainly important to the development of his art form and an inspiration to many players outside of it.