We always talk about our favorite bass players. But what about our counterpart in the rhythm section, the drummer?
Who are your favorite drummers? If you could play bass with any drummer, who would it be?
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In no particular order:
If I had to pick one to play with… I’d probably pick Questlove.
Bonham…John Bonham! Led Zepplin
Ringo- Many folks say he was just lucky to be with the other lads. But deeper dives into the the technicality of this southpaw tell a different story on his art and style.
Charlie Watts- a human metronome and impeccable dresser; a man of style.
Neal Peart- no explanation necessary.
Steve Gadd- a very talented studio musician.
Buddy Rich.
The Little Drummer Boy- because this was my mom’s favorite Christmas song.
Stephen Morris
Also cEvin Key, but he’s already my favorite synth player.
Neil Peart
Mickey Hart
Carl Palmer
Too many old jazz drummers to name.
And now after YouTube threw this up this afternoon? j/k
of course you can change a lightbulb without Gadd.
As a bassist, I have too many favorite drummers I listen to but the 4 mentioned above are my favorite rotation.
So underrated.
I maintain that “Come Together” is the single greatest drum line ever. Immediately recognizable and iconic. Relatively simple - no flash - but brutally difficult to execute.
I’ve got an album I love, ‘McLemore Avenue’ by Booker T. and the MG’s. It’s them doing a bunch of instrumental covers of Abbey Road. It’s Booker T. and the MG’s, so it’s fantastic with some of the greatest session musicians who are super tight with each other.
Listening to another world-class drummer trying to cover all those lines really illustrates how good Ringo is.
I almost forgot Doktor Avalanche
I think this video may have been posted in another topic on this website, but Sir Richard shows off his chops and humour with Dave Stewart on Ticket to Ride, Come Together and Back off Boogaloo:
How about Donald “DJ” Johnson of Khruangbin? I don’t know if he’s literally my “favourite” drummer of all time, but man would I love to be in such a tight rhythm duo as him and Laura Lee.
Ian Paice too. Everyone talks about Blackmore’s guitar or Gillan’s singing, but Paice’s drum lines made a lot of Deep Purple songs what they are IMHO
I’m no fool! My wife. 100% sure and that’s my final answer.
However, the others mentioned on the list are pretty ok too. 
Bill Bruford and Alan White
Bill Ward
Yoshiki
Meg White
The whole drum section for Santana and Santana Blues Band
John Stanier with Helmet and Battles
Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer!
to absolutely nobody’s surprise my vote is the most talented person on the planet imo.
thats a good choice
John Wright, coming out of Canada
That dude has the most chill vibe of any human. Like, you get the feeling that a flaming bus full of drunk clowns could crash in to the club they are playing in and he would still be there, slowly trucking along in 4/4, completely unfazed.
I love some of the comments in their YouTube videos. Like :Khruangbin: a man on guitar. A woman on bass. And Father Time." or " I heard this drummer got lost in the wilderness with no phone or watch and when they found him 3 years later he knew what second it was." or “I was late for work then I listened to this and arrived on time”
II from Sleep Token - the entirety of why I started learning how to play drums is because on a “dark night of the soul” the algorithm showed a rare moment of mercy and dumped II’s Drumeo video in my lap. The mix of gospel with metal just pushed hard on the part of my brain that said “yes. yes that looks like Fun.” Beyond grateful I was able to see them live!
Ginger Baker - funnily enough Jack Bruce is also my favorite bassist. I think inside me there are two wolves who want to get into drunken fistfights with each other?
Tobines - acoustic drums done to electronica scratches an itch I didn’t know I had.
Karen Carpenter - admittedly The Carpenters music isn’t really my vibe but I absolutely love Karen’s drumming. She made things look effortless and you could tell she was really happy when she was playing.
And while it’s not one drummer in particular I want to shout out the years I spent as a belly dancer. Learning to improvise to made me fall in love with Tunisian, Raqs sharki, and Gahwazee rhythms. The few times I performed with live drummers were an amazing experience.
