Drums were probably the first musical instrument created by humans. Drum beats are natural —be it heartbeats or the sounds of nature. The oldest drum ever found goes back over 7,500 years. In modern music, drums always played a role to set the beat, keep the rhythm and energize the music. But the role of percussionists started changing around the time of WWII. Drummers like Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa started moving drums from the back row to center stage where it took on a more important and dominate role; leading to the drums becoming an instrument of personal expression and improvisation. Buddy Rich became a band leader, a practice once limited to horns in big bands and pianos in small groups. Buddy Rich has been called the world's greatest drummer.

Return To Vinyls Sponsors the Buddy Rich Tribute Concert Featuring Joe Pulice and a 15 piece big band Sheldon Theatre Red Wing MN Saturday February 7th 7:30 pm

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The copyright of all music in this podcast series is held by the individual holders. The theme and end songs are licensed from Fresh Music Library. All commentary is copyright by David Husom. All rights are reserved. Contact the author for educational use of this material.