The B List: 10 Singin’ Drummers
Drumming is one of the hardest jobs in rock and roll. Each one of your four limbs are in charge of performing completely different acts, yet they all need to be coordinated with each other and everyone else in the band. I have a hard enough time just trying to get both of my arms to sync up when I play the bass — I can’t even imagine bringing my legs into the equation.
For a few brave and talented souls, drumming by itself isn’t enough. So for this week’s B List, we celebrate the 10 best drummers who can also carry a tune:
1. Levon Helm
Levon Helm is one of our favorite musicians of all-time, so it’s no surprise that he kicks off our list. The Marvell, Arkansas native provides the incredibly soulful voice behind The Band’s classics like The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down, Ophelia and Up On Cripple Creek. Levon sang while laying down the shuffling, syncopated drum beats that propelled some of the greatest songs in the history of rock and/or roll. Helm’s voice is sounding great these days after he was unable to sing for a number of years due to throat cancer treatment. The Levon Helm Band killed it at the Beacon in March, and tonight, they play at Central Park’s Summerstage.
Read on for nine more drummers that can sing as well as they drum…
2. Phil Collins
Phil Collins is probably best known for his saccharin love songs, but he is also a kickass drummer. After running through three drummers over the course of two albums, the members of Genesis found Collins when he answered an ad they had placed in a UK newspaper. Then when Peter Gabriel quit the band in 1975, Phil stepped in as the lead vocalist. Collins has been running the show ever since, with Chester Thompson playing drums throughout most Genesis concerts. But don’t think Phil has lost his invisible touch on the skins: During each of Genesis’s reunion concerts, Collins performs a complicated drum duet with Thompson that shows off his ridiculous skills.
3. Don Henley
Don Henley is another guy who is better known for his saccharin love songs than his prowess behind the kit. During Henley’s tenure in The Eagles, he played drums on the studio tracks and during most of the live shows. It’s always a high point of an Eagles show when Henley jumps on the kit to lay down the smooth beat of Hotel California. He also had a sweet head of hair, and that counts for something.
4. Ringo Starr
One of the reasons The Beatles achieved such a high level of success was that each of the members of the band oozed with personality. Drummer Ringo Starr was the main target of screaming girls during the Beatlemania days. People wanted to see Ringo play so badly that they put his kit on a riser during live shows, a move that is commonplace today. Ringo sang lead on a number of epic tunes including Yellow Submarine, Octopus’ Garden and Don’t Pass Me By. After the Beatles broke up, Starr’s singing experience helped him achieve great success as a solo act.
5. Roger Taylor
We’ve gotta give some love to the man behind the high notes in Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Roger Taylor is a revolutionary drummer who created the arena rock sound, while also adding brilliant vocals to Queen’s greatest hits. Taylor wasn’t content to just drum and sing — he also played bass, guitar and keyboards throughout his career. Let’s not forget his role in writing major hits such as Radio Ga Ga and A Kind of Magic. Is there anything Roger Taylor can’t do?
It’s too bad that Karen Carpenter’s name is always going to be associated with the battle with anorexia that killed her rather than for her skills as a singer and drummer. Hell, most people don’t even know that Carpenter got her start behind the kit.
Karen formed The Carpenters with her brother Richard in the mid ’60s. The pair went on to record some of the biggest sugary-sweet pop tunes of the century, including We’ve Only Just Begun, Close to You and Top of the World. Karen started out as the drummer and singer for the tandem, but as they became more successful, the record company wanted her out front instead of hidden by a drum set. Carpenter’s skills on the kit were lauded by everyone from Buddy Rich to the readers of Playboy Magazine, which named her the Best Rock Drummer of 1975. We were robbed of Karen’s drumming and voice when she died in 1983 after a long struggle with anorexia.
7. Dave Grohl
When I first heard Nirvana’s All Apologies, what stood out most was drummer Dave Grohl’s beautiful high harmonies during the end of the song. Grohl did the majority of the backup singing in Nirvana before becoming well known for his voice as the leader of the Foo Fighters. These days Grohl does more drumming for other bands than he does for the Foos. Grohl recently spent time behind the kit for Queens of the Stone Age and Tenacious D.
While I don’t think the Monkees belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you gotta give it up to Mickey Dolenz for his talents singing while drumming. Dolenz’s lead vocals can be heard on such classics as Last Train To Clarksville, I’m A Believer, and my personal favorite Monkees tune, Pleasant Valley Sunday. Throughout the Monkees reunion tours, Dolenz would often play drums, and he showed that contrary to popular belief he was actually talented behind the kit. This summer Dolenz will appear in Rob Zombie’s Halloween prequel.
9. Kris Myers
When Mike Mirro told the members of Umphrey’s McGee that he would be leaving the band to pursue a medical career, not only were they losing a drummer they were losing a vocalist. Luckily for them Kris Myers’ application was at the top of the stack when they recruited a replacement. Not only is Myers an animal behind the kit, he also has a distinctive voice with which he sings both lead and harmony vocals. Check out Words and JaJunk for a taste of his skills holding down a beat while singing sweet harmonies. Covers including Runnin’ With The Devil, Instant Karma and And Justice For All show off Myers singing lead.
10. Peter Criss
Peter Criss was the drummer for Kiss during their heyday in the ’70s. The man behind the cat makeup also sang lead on a number of Kiss classics including Beth, Black Diamond and Hard Luck Woman. Beth is one of the most famous rock ballads ever written, and the song’s success continues to keep Criss’s pockets full. Criss left Kiss in 1980 and has since joined and left the band a number of times.
Honorable Mention: Meg White, Jon Fishman, and Tommy Lee
- Previously on HT: Unnecessary Listing: Singers Who Play Bass
February 8th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
“Best” lists such as these are naturally subjective. My own subjective opinion is that the best *musical* talent on this list is easily Karen Carpenter. What sets KC apart from these other clearly talented drummer/singers? I can think of three things off the top:
1) Unique sound. No other singer here (and perhaps elsewhere) can match her voice on the basis of purity of tone and naturalness. Her lower register in particular is without equal among male or female singers.
2) Professional control and execution. Even talented musicians need to work hard to be consistent players. KC had an incredible ability to consistently deliver great (virtually flawless) vocal and percussive performances. Any musician reading this understands how difficult it can be to consistently deliver their material (no matter your instrument).
3) Exceptional coordination. As DanTheMan said, playing and singing *well* at the same time is REALLY hard. KC did this as *lead* singer and frankly made it look easy. Check out some of the Carpenters’ live concerts on YouTube. It’s humbling watching her simultaneously sing and play. You get a sense of just how unique her talent was.
My opinion is based not simply on technically superior drumming or singing but on raw musical talent. Great drumming requires talent in meter and rhythm but it doesn’t require any talent in harmony or melody. However, great singing requires talent in all four. Just on this point alone, I think you can make the argument that singing requires more talent than drumming (but that’s another discussion).
January 11th, 2009 at 11:43 am
A relevant playlist can be found here: http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/pl/wailers-and-flailers/319340.html
November 13th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Hi
I would like to introduce a new name to the singing drummer supporters.
Ghapi (pronounced guppy)
Please go check out his site: http://www.ghapi.co.za
Some of his video’s are also available on YouTube
Greetings from Pretoria, South Africa
September 12th, 2008 at 7:17 am
One name that was missed out – Kevin Godley, the bearded member of 10cc and Godley & Creme – a proficient drummer, he also had a strong commanding vocal, esp in Godley & Creme’s material, and on 10cc tracks he had lead vocals on (all four original members sang), esp “Fresh air for my mama”.
May 20th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Les Mckeown from the Bay City Rollers played drums on SATURDAY NIGHT.
And sang lead vocals
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:58 am
[...] Now everybody can (fake) sing and drum to Hotel California like Don Henley (not fake) originally did.Credit: 10 Singin’ Drummers – Glide Magazine [...]
April 18th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
5705 but theres no reply
Oh yes Cityboy sported a singing drummer.
And Paper Lace.
April 12th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Another bulimic drummer has to be Fat Larry .
Plus that guy from the Four Seasons oh what a night he had.
The Osmond brother who played drums could carry a tune as i recall.
Anyone know of a vocal/ harmony group who sported a drummer?
March 11th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
You have got to be kidding me. This is one of the most pathetic lists of drummers ever. Aside from Roger Taylor and possibly Dave Grohl…are you saying Karen Carpenter is a better drummer than Neil Peart of Rush, Keith Moon of The Who, John Bonham of Led Zepplin, etc etc…Whoever made this list needs to expand their horizons…
November 9th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
Put it this way. I’m a guitarist who sings “average” at best and can keep a beat on the drums. I’d have no fear jumping into some band to substitute as the drummer at the back of the stage. I however, would NOT jump into some some band and sing lead. That’s way too hard. So it takes more of someone to be out front and center.