Classic rock is a genre that’s often known for its incredible guitar riffs. Some of the greatest guitar riffs of all time come from our favorite classic rock bands and songs. But, that doesn’t mean the drummers of the classic rock era aren’t important. It’s quite the opposite.
There are plenty of bands from the classic rock era that are known for their fantastic drummers. Even though drummers are often the unsung heroes of their respective bands, in the classic rock genre, they tend to get some more love than in many other genres of music. In its most simple form, a drummer “is a musician who plays the drum set,” notes Better Team. “Drummers provide rhythm and beat to a performance” and “play the drum during studio recording sessions.”
So, the drummer of any band is very important, and that’s certainly the case in classic rock music. In honor of the players who are the heartbeat of the band, Audio Ink Radio presents three classic rock bands known for their drummers.
Classic Rock Bands With Great Drummers
Led Zeppelin
While Robert Plant, Jimmy Paige and John Paul Jones all got plenty of attention in Led Zeppelin, the band was also famous for their drummer, the late, great John Bonham. He was actually named the No. 1 drummer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
“Heavy, lively, virtuosic and deliberate, that performance laid out the terrain Bonham’s artful clobbering would conquer before his untimely death in 1980,” Rolling Stone noted. “At his most brutally paleolithic he never bludgeoned dully, at his most rhythmically dumbfounding he never stooped to unnecessary wankery, and every night on tour he dodged both pitfalls with his glorious stampede through ‘Moby Dick.'”
Rush
Neil Peart was the heart, soul and primary lyricist of the Canadian rock band Rush. He had such a unique style of drumming that became the blueprint for progressive rock drummers everywhere. Rest in peace.
Rolling Stone ranked Peart No. 4 on their tally of the greatest drummers, noting, “As Rush’s high-prog ambitions flowered in the mid-to-late ’70s, Peart revealed himself as both an obsessive craftsman and wildly ambitious artiste – traits that also surfaced in his fantastical lyrics – using esoteric implements such as orchestra bells, temple blocks and timpani to flesh out his baroque parts for songs such as ‘Xanadu’ and ‘The Trees.'”
The Who
Keith Moon crafted some of the greatest drum lines in the classic rock genre as the drummer for the Who. Often called one of the best drummers in rock history, Moon was praised for his distinct style of playing drums and often wild behavior. He became one of the pioneers of the genre and influenced many rock drummers. He’s another drummer gone too soon.
The staff at Rolling Stone ranked Moon their No. 2 best drummer ever. “He famously refused to play drum solos and instead treated drums as the Who’s lead instrument,” they note.
So, these classic rock drummers all deserve some love for being considered one of the most important pieces of their bands. Also check out some incredible classic rock albums in this Audio Ink Radio feature.
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