Some great interviews with some great drummers!

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Okay, except for Mickey Dolenz.

Maybe Dolenz wasn't a great drummer but he had imho a great voice.

Here are two separate interviews with probably two of the most recorded drummers on the planet (who were not on that original list Truzzi found)...

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Interesting interviews, sticksy3 thanks for posting the links.

It makes me laugh though, the Beatles fans that fume about and try to discredit Bernard Purdie's claims. Of course it's not mentioned in any of the books - the people who wrote them don't want to destroy the myth of the 'perfect pop band'! Why would Bernard need to lie about it? His track record speaks for itself. Is he frightened of saying too much in case he gets sued? Possibly. There might be a piece of paper in a vault somewhere, that he signed all those years ago, that he's forgotten about. Respect the man. If he says it happened, it probably did. Don't try and brand him a liar.

Not that I've got anything against Ringo, incidentally. His style of drumming appeals to me greatly. Some drummers try and boss what the rest of the band is playing, but not Ringo. He played what needed to be played, nothing more, nothing less.

I didn't know too much about Hal Blaine before reading that interview, but one of the songs mentioned, 'Strangers In The Night' (a hit for Frank Sinatra) was written, by the late, great Bert Kaempfert, who himself had connections with the Beatles. For classic easy listening, check out any of Bert's recordings. 'Bye Bye Blues' from 1966 is a nice place to start.

"At the turn of the decade into the 1960s, Kaempfert was still busily at work in his duties as a producer. He was well aware that a new generation of listeners had come along, whose interests lay far from the beautifully crafted instrumental music that he favored, which was an outgrowth of the pop sides of such '40s artists as Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Glenn Miller — they preferred music drawn from country and R&B sources. He had signed a Liverpool-based singer named Tony Sheridan, who was performing in Hamburg, and needed to recruit a band to play behind him on the proposed sides — he auditioned and signed a quartet from Liverpool called the Beatles, and even cut a couple of interesting sides of theirs, "Ain't She Sweet" (sung by rhythm guitarist John Lennon) and the instrumental "Cry for a Shadow" (co-authored by Lennon and lead guitarist George Harrison) during his sessions for Sheridan; with its pounding beat and raw singing, the former wasn't Kaempfert's kind of music, but "Cry for a Shadow," with its rich melodic line and sonorous guitar, was perhaps as close as this new music ever came to his own. The Beatles' own sides didn't emerge until a couple of years later, when events made it economically feasible to do so, but Kaempfert's recording of the Beatles, even as a backing band for Sheridan, proved a vital catalyst to their entire subsequent success."

More info here

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As much as I love Purdie, what Jeff says is IMO ringing true.

"Ask ANY drummer how easy it is to replace drums to instruments recorded without a click. It's extremely difficult."... yep, it is EXTREMELY difficult without some form of timing guidance, but not impossible - I mean, a lot of the "great bands" of the time used session drummers because time was money (still is!).

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and

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are prime examples of those hire guys brought in to record instead of the band's original drummer. However, Mickey also points to legalities... if it were untrue, why is it not brought up legally? Hard to truly decide, I guess.

But those guys tracked with the rhythm section, didn't they?
Plus, if time is money, aren't drummers usually broke?

"Ask ANY drummer how easy it is to replace drums to instruments recorded without a click. It's extremely difficult."
- Not if you're as good a drummer as Bernard Purdie.


"Plus, if time is money, aren't drummers usually broke?"
- Not if you're as good a drummer as Bernard Purdie.


The way I see it, Bernard was paid not only to play but also to keep quiet about it. Over the years he's occasionally let slip and talked about it and who can blame him. Honestly, why would a man with his reputation in the industry lie about such a thing?

Richard Bell

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"This whole Purdie thing is a total "crock" and here's why. At the time Purdie says that he was doing these overdubs The Beatles music had already been released in America on VJ Records (and other small lables) and those of us with these original releases can compare with the Capitol releases. I did and you know what? THEY'RE EXACTLY THE SAME. Not only are they the same as the VJ releases but their also exactly the same as the Parlophone releases. And Purdie himself says that the sweetening was for the Capitol releases.

"Sorry, this bird has flown."


--

er...if Purdie is such a great drummer, and he overdubbed Ringo's parts, (which I doubt) why is it that Ringo gets such a bad rap as a drummer?

The logistical evidence mentioned above by Jeff, etc, is pretty damning, I'd say right now.

It's hard enough to get drummers to overdub a kit nowadays - even over drum machines/sequencers - but in '63? On 2 or 4 track? Doubtful!

There are definitely some drum overdubs on the '64ish recordings, but nothing Ringo couldnae handle.

It's also the case that ALL of the Beatles, AND Mal Evans AND Neil Aspinall would shake and rattle bits and bobs of percussion hither and yon, and there are NINE people playing drums/percussion on 'Strawberry Fields..' ALL AT THE SAME TIME!

It's also no secret that Macca played drums on a few tracks (not to mention many of the lead guitar tracks - much to Harrison's chagrin!)

Also, remember those Anthology albums that came out a while back? Is that Purdie or Ringo? Pete Best (and maybe Andy White, but maybe not Jimmy Nichol) is on it.

If it IS true, that Purdie played Ringo's parts on those recordings, I'd like to know, AND I'd like to see him credited - The Beatles' recordings are marvelous, but I'm not too bothered about this 'myth' thing - spurious or otherwise.

Right now, I'm not buying Purdie's story, but who knows? I'm gonnae have tae investigate further - I've never heard this particular story afore - thanks for this, guys!

Al.

P.S. Oh...is that Purdie on those Harrison/Plastic Ono Band records or Ringo?

Well, I've read everything I could find on Purdie, and there is no doubt that the guy is a great drummer - just look at his CV!

However, the following quotation speaks volumes, does it not?

"Weinberg: Why won't you name the tracks?

Purdie: Because if I need that information to get me some money"

There's a theory that Purdie may have been hired to overdub Pete Best's parts on the Tony Sheridan sessions, and that Purdie, who admits that he'd never heard of the Beatles hitherto, may be confused about exactly what songs he allegedly overdubbed, but it's only a theory.

There's a well-known story in Edinburgh that a local songwriter sent a tape to EMI in the 70s, and his song 'Helen Wheels' subsequently turned up on Macca's next album.

Hmm...just one question:

If Macca really trawled through demos looking for songs to steal, wouldn't the (alleged/probable) writer of gems like 'Yesterday' and 'Maybe I'm Amazed' steal something better than shite like 'Helen Wheels'?

If Macca is really stealing songs from fledgling songwriters, why are there so many turkeys on his albums, next to the occasional gem?

Never underestimate the lows to which people will stoop for a buck!

There is, of course, another theory that the entire Beatles thing was an elaborate fabrication from beginning to end.

Anything's possible, I s'pose!

Paul could be dead, and John & George could be jamming with Elvis somewhere.

"Why would a man with his reputation in the industry lie about such a thing?"
Why wouldn't he put the claim up on his web site then?
Or try to shake down Apple for the more money he so obviously wants?

How many rich people think they have enough money?
Or famous people who think they have enough fame?