Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30 1917
Brooklyn, New York – April 2
1987) was an American jazz
drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's
greatest drummer"[1] and was known for his virtuoso
technique, power, and speed.
Early life
Rich was born to parents who were vaudevillians. His talent for rhythm was first noted by
his father, who saw that Buddy could keep a steady beat with spoons at the age of one. He began playing drums in vaudeville when he was 18 months old, billed as "Traps the Drum Wonder". At the peak of Rich's childhood
career, he was reportedly the second-highest paid child entertainer in the world (after Jackie
Coogan). At 11 he was performing as a bandleader. He received no formal drum instruction, and went so far as to claim that
instruction would only degrade his musical talent. He also never admitted to practising, claiming to play the drums only during
performances. He expressed great admiration for, and was influenced by, the playing of Chick
Webb, Gene Krupa, Dave Tough, and Jo Jones, among others.
He first played jazz in 1937 with Joe Marsala's group, then played with Bunny Berigan (1938) and Artie Shaw (1939). In 1939, Rich taught drums
to the young Mel Brooks, and persuaded Artie Shaw to allow a 13-year-old Brooks to attend
Shaw's recording sessions in Manhattan.
In addition to Tommy Dorsey (1939–1942, 1945, 1954–1955), Rich also played with
Benny Carter (1942), Harry James (1953-1956–1962,
1964, 1965), Les Brown, Charlie Ventura,
and Jazz at the Philharmonic, as well as leading his own band and performing
with all-star groups.
Big Band success and later life
For most of the period from 1966 until his death, he led a successful big band in an era
when the popularity of big bands had waned from their 1930s and 40s
peak.
In October 1944, he met Frank Sinatra at the Paramount Theater and mentioned to Sinatra that he was interested in starting
his own band. Sinatra took out his checkbook and wrote him a check for $40,000 and said "Good Luck. This'll get you
started."[citation needed]
His most popular performance was a big band arrangement of a medley derived from the Leonard Bernstein classic
West Side Story. In the early 1970s he commented[citation needed] upon how odious he found the
emerging American boy band, The Osmonds, especially Donny
Osmond. Later, he sometimes wore a Donny Osmond badge on his lapel while performing.
One of his most seen television performances was in a 1981 episode [1] of The Muppet Show, where he engaged Muppet drummer "Animal" (played by Ronnie Verrell) in a drum
battle. Beginning in 1962, he was also a frequent guest on Johnny Carson's
Tonight Show. It has been reported[citation needed] that Rich gave Carson a drumset
sponsored by Matthew Scott Herning Co, as Carson was a practicing drummer in his spare time.
Drumming technique
Rich's drumming technique has been one of the most standardized and coveted techniques in the drumming field. His dexterity,
speed and smooth execution have been considered "Holy Grails" among drummers. Using the old style traditional grip, he is one of
few drummers to master the one-handed roll on both hands. Some of his more spectacular moves are his "crossover" riffs where he
would criss-cross his arms from one drum to another sometimes over the arm and even under the arm at great speed.
He often used contrasting techniques to keep long drum solos from getting mundane. Aside from his energetic explosive
displays, he would also go into quieter passages. One passage he would use in most solos is starting with a simple single-stroke
roll on the snare picking up speed and power, then slowly moving his sticks closer to the rim as he gets quieter and then
eventually playing on just the rim itself while still maintaining speed. Then he would reverse the effect and slowly move towards
the center of the snare while increasing power.
Another technique he uses that very few drummers have been able to perfect is called the "stick-trick" where he does a very
fast roll just by slapping his two sticks together in a circular motion.
The West Side Story Medley
Known as Rich's most popular arrangement, the West Side Story medley is considered by
many as one of the most complex and difficult-to-perform big-band arrangements written. Penned by Bill Reddie, Rich received this
arrangement of Leonard Bernstein's melodies from the famed musical in the mid-60s and found it to be very challenging even for him. It consists of many rapid-fire
time changes and signatures and took almost a month of constant rehearsals to perfect. It has since become a staple in all his
performances clocking in at various lengths from seven to fifteen minutes. Bernstein himself has had nothing but praise for
it.[citation needed] In 2002, a DVD was released called "The Lost West Side Story Tapes" that captured a 1985
performance of this along with other numbers.[2] These
tapes were thought to be lost in a fire.
Personality
Although Rich was usually a helpful and friendly man, he was also known to have a short temper. In many instances, he took
advantage of the high respect he commanded. While he threatened many times to fire members of his band, he seldom actually did
so, and for the most part he lauded his band members during television and print interviews. Rich's quick temper, mercurial
attitude, and imposing personality are attested to in secret recordings members of his band made of some of his tantrums on tour
buses and backstage.
These recordings, long circulated in bootleg form, have done much to fuel the reputation of Rich's personality. The tapes were
popular with comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Larry
David, who used three quotes from them more or less verbatim on Seinfeld:[3]
- "If I have to tell you again, we're gonna take it outside and I'm gonna show you what it's like!" ("The Opposite")
- "This guy - this is not my kind of guy." ("The Understudy")
- "Then let's see how he does, up there, without all the assistance!" ("The Butter
Shave")
On one recording, Rich can be heard attempting to fire Dave Panichi, a trombonist in his band for wearing a beard. [4]
Buddy Rich held a black belt in Karate, as mentioned in a CNN television interview with
Larry King, c. 1985.
Death and legacy
Buddy Rich remained active until the end of his life, appearing with his Big Band on Michael Parkinson's British talk show Parkinson only a few
weeks prior to his death. In the episode, Parkinson kidded Rich about his Donny Osmond kick, by claiming that Rich was the
president of Osmond's fan club. Reportedly[citation needed], prior to heart surgery, when asked by a nurse if he was allergic to
anything he replied, "Yes ... country music!" Days before he died, he was visited by Mel
Tormé, who claims that one of Buddy's last requests was "to hear the tapes" that featured his angry outbursts. It is
reported[citation needed] that Tormé did play the tapes
in the hospital room. At the time, Tormé was working on an authorized biography of Rich which was later released after Rich's
death, titled "Traps, The Drum Wonder: The Life of Buddy Rich". On April 2, 1987, Rich died of heart failure following surgery
for a malignant brain tumor. He is interred in the Westwood Village
Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
Since Rich's death, a number of memorial concerts have been held. In 1994, the Rich tribute album Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich was
released. Produced by Rush drummer/lyricist Neil Peart,
the album features performances of Rich live staples by a number of famous rock and jazz drummers, such as Kenny Aronoff, Dave Weckl, and Steve
Gadd, accompanied by the Buddy Rich Big Band. A second volume was issued in 1997.
Buddy Rich and Popular Culture
One line of the popular Beastie Boys' song Sabotage reads "I'm Buddy Rich when I fly off the handle". This could be in reference to either
Rich's aforementioned temper or his drumming speed capabilities.
In "Weird Al" Yankovic's song Close but no Cigar on the album Straight Outta
Lynwood, he says his "heart was beating like a Buddy Rich solo".
In the TV show "Freaks and Geeks" Harold Wier plays Nick Andopolis a record of
drumming, when asked "How'd you hear about him?" he responds "You kidding? These guys, I grew up with Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich".
It has been mentioned that one could walk into a room where Buddy Rich was playing during his solo section, and without
hearing any melodies, know what song, what chart the band was playing just from his drum solo.
Biography
- Mel Tormé, 1991. Traps,The Drum Wonder: The Life of Buddy Rich.
References
- ^ Yanow, Scott. "Buddy Rich", All Music Guide (link) Accessed 2007
August 31
- ^ Bowers, Jack. "Buddy Rich: The Lost Tapes", All About Jazz (link) 2005 December 9. Accessed
2007 June 27
- ^ Jerry Seinfeld (Interviewee).
(2005). Seinfeld Season 6 "Inside Looks" featurette on "The Understudy" [DVD].
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. Event occurs at 00:04:04.
- ^ Audio tape recording of Buddy Rich tirade - Transcription by Ientilucci,
Emmett J. "Buddy Rich: World's Greatest Drummer, Act 4" (link). Accessed 2007 July 20
External links
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