And The Beat Goes On...

Since I did bass players the other night, it's time to salute the other half of the rhythm section. Thus, I give you my Top 20 Rock Drummers of All-Time...

20) PHIL "PHILTHY ANIMAL" TAYLOR (Motorhead)  Brother Lemmy once gave this assessment of his band:  "We may not be the best band in the world, but we are definitely the fastest!"  Little Philthy is living proof that speed don't kill...
19) MIKE "SMITTY" SMITH (Paul Revere & The Raiders)  The first Rock drummer I ever listened to on a regular basis, young master Smitty made his contemporaries (like Ringo Starr) look like amateurs.  Not to be confused with singer Mike Smith of the Dave Clark Five.
18) RICK ALLEN (Def Leppard)  Anyone with the personal fortitude to lose an arm, then re-learn how to play the drums (mostly with his feet) deserves a spot on my list.  He was already a pretty decent hard Rock drummer before his tragic accident, and his comeback three years later was nothing short of miraculous.
17) BENNY BENJAMIN (The Funk Brothers)  Motown's house drummer was outstanding—when he wasn't all fucked-up, that is.  Drugs and booze and personal demons did him in at age 43 when he died of a stroke.  Check him out on Stevie Wonder's "Uptight"—you can't miss him.
16) MITCH MITCHELL (Jimi Hendrix Experience)  This guy makes my list for his performance on "Fire" alone—quite possibly the greatest steering wheel finger-drumming song in the world!  Mitch was pretty good on Jimi's other stuff too...
15) HAL BLAINE (Session musician)  This man has probably played on more Top 40 hits than any other musician on earth, and hardly anyone knows his name.  He played on everything from Paul Revere & The Raiders and the Mamas & The Papas to the Carpenters (displacing Karen on the skins) and The Partridge Family and countless others.
14) JEFF SIMON (George Thorogood & The Destroyers)  Extremely-overlooked skinsman, and that's a shame, because he's pretty darn good.  Excellent timekeeper, and when the Delaware Destroyers hit their stride in concert, they're like a runaway freight train.
13) FRANK BEARD (Z.Z. Top)  Nothing flashy here, but rock-steady and solid all the way. Doesn't always appear to be having a good time in concert, though...
12) CARL PALMER (Emerson, Lake & Palmer/Asia)  Not unlike Chris Squire of Yes on my bass player list, CP would've scored much higher here with more exciting material, especially from ELP. Asia's "Time Again" was a nice showcase for his chops.
11) ERIC SINGER (Kiss)  Second-best drummer Kiss ever had named Eric.  With all apologies to the Cat Man, he's the second-best drummer Kiss ever had, period, and an excellent replacement for the late Eric Carr.
10) DENISE DUFORT (Girlschool)  One of the best hard Rock drummers ever, gender be damned.  And as Charlie Daniels once sang about Elvin Bishop, she "ain't good-looking, but (she) sure can play."
9) CHARLIE WATTS (Rolling Stones)  Quite possibly the greatest timekeeper in Rock history.  His drum kit looks like something right out of the Sears catalog, but he likes it, and that's all that matters.
8) KEITH MOON (The Who)  Bet y'all thought I'd rank Moon The Loon #1, didn't ya?  Surprise!  I don't even think Moon is the best drummer The Who ever had (keep reading)—and this is coming from a mondo Who fan!  Lovable as he was, Moonie was too erratic, especially toward the end, and I actually think he's a bit overrated—his constant fills and rolls were really overkill to me at times.  Awesome drummer, yes, but there are better ones in my book...
7) TOMMY ALDRIDGE (Black Oak Arkansas/Ozzy Osbourne/Whitesnake/Ted Nugent)  Journeyman drummer who is one of the best bashers of all-time.  I've never seen anyone just beat the living shit out of the drums in concert the way he did while touring with Nugent opening for Kiss in 2000 during "Great White Buffalo".  Even my hands were hurting afterwards!  I wish I could've caught him during his BOA days too...
6) NIGEL OLSSON (Elton John Band)  Most underrated drummer in Rock history.  Love to watch him play live because he looks so calm and effortless while pounding away.
5) JOHN BONHAM (Led Zeppelin)  If John Entwistle was "Thunderfingers", then Bonzo was "Thunderhands".  Love the intro to "When The Levee Breaks".  This man died far too young at 32, and for such a stupid reason too.
4) BUN E. CARLOS (Cheap Trick)  For a dude who looks like he belongs in the fictional Larry Davis Experience on "The Simpsons", Bunzuela (AKA Brad Carlson) certainly packs quite a wallop on the skins.  The Dream Police album highlighted his talents in numerous places.
3) ZAC STARKEY (The Who)  There are basically two different types of drummers—bashers and timekeepers.  The late Keith Moon was a basher, and his replacement Kenney Jones was a timekeeper.  Well, Ringo's little boy is both a basher AND a timekeeper, and he blows his old man (and Moon, for that matter) away.  I just wish he'd stop wasting his time with those Oasis pussies...
2) NEIL PEART (Rush)  Is there anything this man won't bang on with sticks?  This virtuoso's drum kit is so huge, what with all his bells and (literally) whistles, it needs its own ZIP code!  While most in-concert drum solos are exercises in overkill and/or interminibility (I hope that's a word!), Peart's solos are always highly entertaining, and he makes it look so effortless.  And if you watch him real closely, he eventually does crack a smile now and then...
1) ERIC CARR (Kiss)  A bit of a sentimental choice, given that he's no longer with us, but this little dude was just unreal on the drums!  The guy certainly brought some musical credibility to the band during the early '80s, too.  And based on everything I've ever read about Eric Carr, I wish I could've met him—he seemed like a damn nice guy and totally devoid of ego, too.  And it was exactly 16 years ago tonight that he lost his battle with heart cancer.  R.I.P., Little Caesar...