The Roots of Rock Drumming

Edited by Daniel Glass & Steve Smith

This history is presented through the eyes of the players themselves, in detailed interviews with 22 of the men who invented rock drumming. Featured drummers include Bobby Morris (Louis Prima), Dick Richards (Bill Haley and His Comets), Earl Palmer (Little Richard, New Orleans & LA studio), DJ Fontana (Elvis Presley), JM Van Eaton (Sun Records studio), Buddy Harman (Roy Orbison, Nashville studio), Jerry J.I. Allison (Buddy Holly and The Crickets), Hal Blaine (LA studio), Idris Muhammad (Curtis Mayfield, NY Studio), Sam Lay (Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chicago studio), Bernard Purdie (NY studio), Roger Hawkins (Muscle Shoals studio), Sandy Nelson (drum solo hits), and New Orleans stylists Smokey Johnson and John Boudreaux, along with British rock session players Brian Bennett, Bobby Graham, and Clem Cattini, followed by a younger generation of commentators who witnessed the rise of rock in their youth: Jaimoe, Carmine Appice, Steve Gadd, and Jim Keltner.