Jazz historian and author Scott Yanow writes, The first drummer to be a superstar, Gene Krupa may not have been the most advanced drummer of the 1930s but he was in some ways the most significant. Prior to Krupa, drum solos were a real rarity and the drums were thought of as a merely supportive instrument. With his good looks and colorful playing, he became a matinee idol and changed the image of drummers forever. In 1934 Krupa joined Benny Goodmans band, where his featured drum work made him a national celebrity. His tom-tom interludes on their hit Sing, Sing, Sing were the first extended drum solos to be recorded commercially. In the 1937 film Hollywood Hotel a rehearsal sequence shows Benny Goodman and His Orchestra playing Sing, Sing, Sing and Ive Got a Heartful of Music including Krupas famous extended drum solo. Then on January 16, 1938, the day after Krupas 29th birthday, Goodman and his group gave the premiere performance in N.Y.C.s Carnegie Hall. Keith Moon and John Bonham cited Krupa as a dynamic influence upon their style. And Buddy Rich called Krupa the beginning and the end of all jazz drummers. In 1982, the 1937 recording of Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra featuring Gene Krupa on drums was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. So here it is. A 20th century masterpiece sounding as powerful now as it did in those FDR, late depression days when America was learning to swing!
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 20:00:01 +0000
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