Drum History

In the roaring 20's, drummers would have beautiful hand painted artwork on their bass drum heads that would be illuminated by a lightbulb on the inside of the drum. This lightbulb looked great but also served a very necessary function, as well..keeping the calfskin heads from going out of tune when the temperature changes! Jim Messina is an icon in the vintage drum community and is the host and ow...

Paul Francis, a 30 year employee of Zildjian, takes us back to 1618 when Avedis I discovered the alloy that changed music for ever. We go on a deep dive into every detail of Zildjians amazing history, including the struggles with trademarks, jealous cousins trying to steal the formula, and all of the amazing innovations that have been made along the way. We learn the whole family timeline and the...

Nick takes us back to a time when trap drummers were king and could be found in every theater around the country. He shares his vast collection of sound effect Instruments with us and plays examples of some of his favorite pieces. He also tells us the full history of trap drummers and describes what it would have been like to be a working drummer in the early 1900's. Life was very different back t...

Herbie is a 32 year veteran of the Remo Company and shares the full history of the company with us, including the controversial debate between Evans and Remo and who was first to invent the synthetic drumhead. Remo is one of the most famous names in drums and it all stems back to one man, Remo Belli. Herbie was good friends with Remo and worked closely with throughout his career and shares many st...

Learn the full history of Country Western drumming from its early jazz origins, to the "behind the curtain" days at the Grand Ole Opry, all the way up to the arena drummers of today. Before drummers became an integral part of Country music, they had to fight for the right to be on stage...and it didn't happen overnight. Matty Meyer is a Nashville drummer who has a deep knowledge and appreciation f...

Founded by George Way, Camco is one of the most iconic brands in Drum History and it only existed for 17 years... Without Camco, we wouldn't have the iconic round lugs that were later made famous by DW and the classic 5000 pedal that we all know and love. Joe Luoma takes us through the history of this extremely sought after drum brand from the beginnings as the Geo. H. Way drum company, through th...

Dr. Clark wrote her dissertation on the origins of the jazz ride pattern and shares the full amazing history with us! She teaches us about the pioneers who brought the famous pattern to the forefront of jazz music and the variations that made it evolve over time. Colleen does an amazing job of explaining where things began in 1917 and ended up in 1941 with what we know as the jazz pattern today, b...

Starting in 1849 as a maker of drumheads in Ireland, Rogers Drums has had a long life that is full of innovations such as the Dyna-Sonic snare, Swiv-O-Matic hardware, and countless iconic drum sets. Jeff and Po take us through the various eras of Rogers history in great detail, and we also learn about the recent resurgence of the iconic brand. Po Shy covers the first half of Rogers Drums that incl...

Drumming since he was 18 months old, Buddy Rich turned into one of the worlds most beloved drummers thanks to his incredible speed and tenacity on the kit. His story is full of tragedies and triumphs that shaped him into the one of a kind person that he became. His incredible passion and unwavering dedication to being a drummer took him to the top of the drumming world, but ultimately lead to his...

Daniel Glass explains the very beginnings of Rhythm and Blues drumming and the impact it had on all genres of music that we know today! Join us as we explore the tumultuous journey that African American musicians had to endure to be able to perform and innovate the music that they loved. Daniel is an expert in the world of Drum History and has an extensive background that features live performance...

Yamaha has been involved in musical instruments since 1887, but didn't began making drums until 1967. Since then, they have made a huge impact on evolution of drums and drumming technology. Jim Haler, 16 year employee of Yamaha Corporation, gives a full run through of the full history of the company with tons of great stories and information along the way. Learn about the origins of all of the cla...

Did you know Mozart was the first person to use Hot Rods in his music? Matt takes us from the beginning of drum sticks in the 7th century up to when they got the sizes and shapes that we know today (5A, 5B, 7A..etc). We cover many of the pivotal moments since the beginning of recorded history and use Matts great book as a reference. Check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Drum-History-Matt-Dean/...

Did Papa Jo Jones invent the Hi-Hat with the help of a plumber? Find out in this episode! Jaz takes us from the beginnings of drumming in Africa through the advent of the modern drum set as we know it today. The amount of different cultures drumming styles that blended together leading up to "double drumming" goes much deeper than I ever thought. Dr. Jaz Sawyer is a drummer and educator based out...

Keller has quietly made drum shells for many of the worlds greatest drum brands - learn about how the company got its start in 1946! I talk with Justin Owen, Special Accounts Manager at Keller Products, about how this company has been at the center of the drum universe for over 70 years and managed to remain out of the limelight. - you can visit Keller’s drum shell website here: https://www.keller...

Evans or Remo - Who was first? Learn about the dramatic history of these two companies along with the origin of drumheads from the very beginning. Ben is a former employee of Evans and gives us the entire history of the drumhead, leading up to the controversial invention of the synthetic head. Find out which of these iconic brands was the first to create the drumheads we know today! - Ben O'Brien...

A large collection of Gene Krupa's gear has been in a storage unit since 1973 and has recently been discovered! If that wasn't enough...It was all purchased by the legendary Charlie Watts! Our friend Brooks Tegler was the man who authenticated this collection and shares the story with us. Are the myths true about Gene playing a Dynasonic? You'll have to listen to find out! Brooks takes us through...

Mark takes us on a journey through the amazing history of what was once known as The Slingerland Banjo Company. Slingerland grew into one of the most well known names in drumming history and had a major role in the evolution of the drum set! Follow along with the conversation by visiting Mark's website: www.coopersvintagedrums.com Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for daily drumming videos and p...

Mike was one of the earliest pioneers of teaching drums online - He shares the history and evolution of this game-changing technology with great stories along the way! Mikes Lessons vs. Drumeo? Find out what makes these two giant platforms different and how they feel about each other. Mike is the co-host of the Modern Drummer podcast and the head honcho at www.mikeslessons.com, find him on social...

"That Great Gretsch Sound" has been around since 1883, join me as I talk with John Sheridan about the full history of this iconic company! John is an expert on Gretsch and co-wrote "The Gretsch Book" with Rob Cook. John takes us through the 136 year history with amazing facts and stories and also some information that you won't hear anywhere else! Here is the timeline on the Gretsch websites I use...

It all started with a Cockatoo named Snowball on YouTube dancing to the Backstreet Boys... That is what got Dr. Ed Large interested in studying the rhythmic abilities of animals including birds, primates, and even a sea lion! This episode dives deep into the history of how Rhythm works in both humans and animals and what he has discovered over the course of his research. Read about many great thin...

Angela Sells takes us through the history of female percussionists dating from thousands of years ago up to modern times. She has a PhD, is a writer for Tom Tom Magazine, a professor of Womens Studies and also plays in a Seatle based rock band! Female drummers have had to work very hard throughout time to be able to do what they love. Give this a listen and then go check out some of the great fema...

Bill Ludwig runs us through the fascinating history of Ludwig Drums! Grandson of the Ludwig founder, William F. Ludwig, his family has had a long and winding history with the Ludwig drum company - founding it in 1909 with a subsequent sale of the company in the early 80's. They have gone through many ups and downs in that time, from losing the rights to the family name, to Ringo changing the world...

We explore the entire life of the legendary Gene Krupa! I speak with Brooks Tegler about Genes beginnings in the early 1920's through his false conviction in 1943, all the way up to his death in 1973. In addition to being being such a revolutionary musician, Gene was a true gentleman and had a very rich and interesting life. Gene is responsible for many innovations in drumming that took the drum s...

Rob Cook, founder of the Chicago Drum Show and Author of "The Leedy Way", gives us the complete history of the Leedy Drum Company. The amazing story begins with U.G. Leedy producing snare stands in his apartment in Indianapolis and evolves into becoming the largest manufacturer of drums in the world. Rob also teaches us about George Ways involvement in the rise and fall of Leedy. Rob is the author...

Do you know what the Speed King Squeak is? Think John Bonham... In 1937, the Speed King changed the world of drumming by being the most innovative pedal of the time. 81 years later, Vincent of Polyphonic Drums is keeping the legacy alive by restoring Speed King's and making them play like new. He shares the whole story of the pedal with us in this episode - from the journey through world war 2 thr...