The Greatest Drummers Ever According To Me

I recently bought the TD-17KVX electric drum set from Roland, so I thought this would be a good time to do a list of the best drummers of all time. I always like reading lists like this, and I love how worked up people get over them, so I like to write them to. I know I will get a lot of messages from people telling me to die, because I did not choose the same drummers they would have chosen for their list.

A drummer playing the drums

Look, this is my list. These are the drummers I like. I am fully aware that most people would choose different drummers for their own lists. You’re free to do that. There is no need to attack me because my favorite drummers are not the same as yours. So please, save us both the time and don’t send me hateful comments.

If you’d like to let me know who you would include on your list, then please do so. I always love reading other people’s lists. Just don’t attack me for mine. Accept that I have different taste than you do. Most of us can accept that, so why can’t you?

Enough of that. Let’s get onto the actual list. We’ll begin with my favorite drummer of all time, mainly because he is in my favorite band of all time. Well, not mainly. He is also an amazing drummer and deserves to be on this list, though I don’t know that most people would put him first.

 

Danny Carey

Danny Carey is the drummer of tool. If you’ve not heard their music, you may still be familiar with them from my post about Maynard James Keenan, the lead singer of tool. Clearly I love this band.

One reason for that is that every member is extremely talented. Among those members, Danny Carey gets the most accolades. That should tell you something. He is always near the top of best current drummers lists and also of the best of all time.

There are definitely a few drummers that most people will put ahead of him and that is completely understandable. Most of those drummers you will find further down on this list. I put Danny Carey first, because I like his music best among the others. That is not to say that I don’t like the rest of their music too. I’m a huge Led Zeppelin fan, for example. But I like Tool better.

 

John Bonham

John Bonham is the drummer, sorry was the drummer, of Led Zeppelin. He died many years ago in 1980, but his legacy lives on. I didn’t do any research on this, but I would guess if everyone on earth made a best drummers list, John Bonham would top more of those lists than any other drummer.

A drum set

And he would be in the top five on just about all of them. How could he not be? His drumming with Led Zeppelin changed rock and defines their music, although every member of that band was also one of the best ever.

 

Keith Moon

Keith Moon is another drummer who has died. He was a drummer for The Who and he was also a maniac, similar to John Bonham. Both struggled with alcohol during their lives and both died from alcohol.

It seems the “live hard and die hard” model is especially prevalent among drummers. Drugs were also a big problem. I can only imagine what they would get up to toady with many countries relaxing their cannabis laws. I suppose not much would change, since weed was always readily available and people grew it indoor everywhere.

Back to the matter at hand. Keith Moon teamed up with John Entwistle to form the rhythm section of The Who and made this band one of the most popular of all time. These two drove the band.

 

Neil Peart

Neil Peart is the drummer for rush, the Canadian band that is famous for its progressive music, its highly talented musicians and its large fan base. Among the musicians, Neil Peart and the bassist and lead singer Geddy Lee are considered some of the greatest that their positions to ever grace the world of music.

They’ve been affiliated with the band rush their whole lives and are still playing. This band is almost like a science project, in the way that they approach music and that is what many of their fans love. They are highly skilled and highly technical and they make music for people who really appreciate good music. Neil Peart is a very large part of that.

 

I’ll end this list here, so as not to make it too long. These are my top four drummers. I know there are many more I could have included and I’m sure I will hear about that from all of you. Again, I welcome comments, but not hateful ones. Feel free to disagree with me, but don’t tell me how you want to kill me because I chose Neil Peart over some guy you like better.

Who Are The Best Singers Ever?

great singer liveListing the best singers ever is an impossible task. But I’m going to try anyway.

You may remember that I mentioned that I wanted to learn how to sing. Specifically, I want to learn to sing like Maynard James Keenan from tool. He, along with rappers like Dr. Dre and many others I’ve previously mentioned, shaped much of my youth. For that reason I want to sound like him. But if I had to list the greatest singers of all time, I don’t think he would make it on. He is my favorite, but he is not generally considered one of the greatest ever.

Even among the singers that are generally considered the greatest, it is impossible to pick the best and not have most people disagree with you. Then you also have to take genres into account. Are we talking about the best rock singers or the best opera singers or the best country singers?

In my case, obviously, we’ll be talking about the best rock singers. We might add pop to the mix, but personally, I don’t feel pop singers are generally very good. Anyway, let’s get started.

 

Freddie Mercury

This list will be in no particular order, so don’t read too much into Freddie Mercury being the first name on it. That said, most do consider him perhaps the greatest singer ever. He had an incredible vocal range, he was amazing live (something many singers struggle with) and, perhaps most notably, he had a stage presence that puts him above just about anyone else. There are other singers with one of these qualities that are great, but it is very rare to have a singer who excels at everything. Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, is one of those rare people.

 

David Bowie

I know that many wouldn’t consider him among the greatest singers, but his body of work earns him a spot on this list. And, let’s be honest, he is a great singer no matter how you judge great singers. I remember when I first started getting into David Bowie’s music. I realized that I had actually heard many of his songs before. I just didn’t know they were by him. That, to me, is truly the mark of a great singer. You know his work without even knowing that you know his work.

 

Chris Cornell

I’m putting Chris Cornell on this list, not because he recently died, but because he is an amazing rock singer and one of my favorites growing up. I especially loved him with Soundgarden. But that’s not saying much. Everybody loved him in Soundgarden. He has, sorry had, a huge vocal range and he sings with a ton of emotion. That is very important. Moreover, he generally sounds great live as well as on studio albums.

 

Layne Staley

Layne Staley was the lead singer of the grunge rock group Alice in Chains. He, like so many of his peers, died prematurely. In fact, three of the top four grunge acts had their lead singers die early. Nirvana, Alice in chains and Soundgarden all lost their singers, although the lead singer for Soundgarden, Chris Cornell (who was mentioned above), lasted a bit longer than the rest.

Layne Staley was famous for having absolute perfect pitch. It’s like he never missed a note. But more than that, he infused so much pain and suffering into his voice. It helps that he experienced all of that pain and suffering himself, but many others do that as well and they are not able to transmit that to their music. He could, and he did it better than almost anyone. For that reason he is on my list, even though many would not put him on their list of best singers.

 

Stevie nicks

I decided to add Stevie nicks, who was a singer with the group Fleetwood Mac, but also did a lot of solo work, because she shaped the way rock ‘n roll musicians who are women would be in the industry. She had an amazing voice and an even better stage presence, but more than anything, it was the fact that her personality led the way. She was a cult figure and still is. For this reason she definitely deserves a spot on this list, even if there are probably better female singers from a technical standpoint.

If my list were longer and had more time to think about it clearly, I would definitely add many other singers to it. But it’s not and I don’t have the time, so this is it for now. Please let me know in the comments below how much you disagree with my choices. I know it will be a lot. You should also check out my list of the best drummers of all time.

I Want To Learn To Sing Like Maynard James Keenan

I always take on new projects and have now decided I’m going to learn how to sing. I’ve been doing a lot of research and the first step for me is to work through all of the basic vocal techniques. This article on musicaroo.com teaches you a bunch of tips and techniques you can use to improve your singing, so I am going to do that first. Once I’ve done that, I’m probably going to hire a vocal coach to get me to the next level.

And for me, the next level means sounding like my favorite singer. He is Maynard James Keenan, the lead singer of my favorite band, Tool. He is also the lead singer of A Perfect Circle and Puscifer. But tool is what he is best known for and it is my favorite band by far. I love Maynard James Keenan, because of the way he uses his voice like another instrument. Many singers just sing, but he adds a whole new element to the music with his voice.

He’s a bit of an enigmatic character, to be honest. He was in the Army in the 1980s, but decided to go to design school after that. He always had a love of music and this is where he let that blossom. Today he is not just a singer and musician, but also a record producer, a winemaker, an actor and he does many other things. Mainly those things involve charities, but apart from that he has always been a recluse. He does not like the limelight.

Even when he sings on stage, he sings in the shadows. The rest of the band is upfront, while he is in the back where no one can see him. I actually like this about him. I’ve always been a bit shy myself and if I were ever to become a professional singer, I would love to be able to hide in the background like he does.

The following video shows how Maynard stays in the background when he sings.

Growing up, Maynard lived in an intolerant household after his mother remarried. His intelligence and his creativity were not allowed to grow or emerge at all. His mother actually had a cerebral aneurysm when he was 11 and this affected the rest of his life. In fact, he wrote several songs about this incident.

This is probably why he decided to be so over-the-top later on as the lead singer of Tool. He performs on stage in a variety of outfits, from almost naked and painted completely blue, to have a mohawk and gas masks and many other things. He is definitely an unusual character, but is highly intelligent and this shows in his songwriting. Most of the lyrics he writes are very intelligent and draw upon a number of inspirations. They are also convoluted and very hard to figure out, but that is one of the great things about Tool.

One of the things I don’t like about Maynard James Keenan and Tool is how long it takes them to bring out new albums. They usually go 5 to 10 years between albums. They say this is because the creative process can’t be hurried and they want the albums to be perfect. In a way I love this, because the albums are perfect, but I also get impatient and want to hear more new tool music. I want to hear Maynard sing more.

If I become a singer like I want to, I will definitely try to be a bit more productive than he is. That said, perhaps it is not fair to say this about him, since he actually sings for three different bands and not just for Tool. Not only that, he has also been a guest vocalist on many other bands’ songs and albums.

Maynard James Keenan is my favorite singer. Now that I have decided to learn to sing, I hope I can match his singing ability soon. I know will take a long time and a lot of hard work, but I hope to get close to him someday. I know he has a lot more natural talent than I do, but I do believe anyone can develop their vocal cords with the right techniques and training and become a really good singer. Let’s see how it goes.

Andre Romelle Young – My Favorite Music Producer

Andre Romelle Young popularly known as Dr. Dre has charted the course of his music career with extraordinary energy and passion. With style and flourish, Dr. Dre has guided a generation of young and innovative hip hop stars in America to the summit of stardom in both music and entrepreneurial ventures. He ranks near the very top on my list of favorite music producers. I love Maynard James Keenan from Tool as well, but I like him more for his singing ability. though he is a great producer, too.

Dr. Dre was born on 18 February 1965 in Compton, California, USA. He grew up amid the violence and poverty that roiled his neighborhood to become one of the most committed hip hop producers in the United States. He combines the skills of a rapper, record producer, songwriter, and entrepreneur with admirable harmony and devotion.

 

Important Information about Dr. Dre

Dr Dre in concert

Dr Dre performing. Photo by Jason Persse.

Dr. Dre initially attended school in Vanguard Junior High School within his Compton neighborhood. However, he had to shift to Roosevelt Junior High School to escape the gang violence that often lashed through Compton. He nurtured his passion in music and entertainment while in high school after failing to qualify for an aviation course for which he aspired.

Gradually, the youngster who would transform into a prolific producer began frequenting at a club that was popularly known as Eve After Dark to witness up-close the live performances of various rappers and DJs. It was here that he began honing his skills as a great mixer and master producer.

 

His Strong Work Ethic and Passion

What distinguished Dr. Dre from other musicians of his time was his strong belief in the virtues of hard work and dedication to a noble course. Despite the challenges he faced in school life, Dr. Dre held a firm belief that his life and the lives of others of his kind could improve tremendously if they chose to invest in the music industry with some zeal and honor.

Today, this distinguished producer has a special place in America’s music history as the first hip hop billionaire. He founded Beats Electronics and Aftermath Entertainment. Previously, Dre co-owned Death Row Records and also performed as an artist while at its helm. Apart from hip hop, his other genres of specialization include gangsta rap and g-funk.

 

Dr. Dre’s Uplifting Influence

Top-ranking rappers such Cordozar Calvin Broadus also known as Snoop Dogg and Marshall Bruce Mathers, popularly known as Eminem are some of the stars who have lavished praise on Dr. Dre’s positive influence in their careers. In songs such as “Still Dre,” “I Need a Doctor,” and “Forgot about Dre,” these rappers extol his unique leadership style and outstanding talent in music.

Other great musicians who credited Dre for their steady rise in music include Tupac Shakur, 50 Cent, Xzibit, Kendrick Lamar, and The Game. Rarely has the great composer been caught up in some of the scandals, or acts of violence, which often derail the life and progress of many promising stars in contemporary music. He also influenced some really out there projects in music.

 

The Bottom Line

Dr. Dre remains a great inspiration to many budding hip hop stars not just because of his talent in music production and the great beats and drum samples he always finds., but also on account his soft power on the music scene. His willingness to groom upcoming artistes and offer material support are sets him apart as a truly resourceful figure in the music industry.