The Sheila Variations

I immediately thought of the little skit on The Muppet Show where Kermit interviews Animal for all his drummer heros - "Krupa! Krupa!" and Kermit makes a comment "How cymbolic!"

"BAD PUN! BAD PUN!" admonishes Animal.

So THATS who they were talking about...

see, everything I needed to know I learned from...Animal...

hahahahahaha animal screaming "KRUPA" - God, so funny.

Krupa played with such joy written all over him. There have been drummers since who were technically "better", notably Buddy Rich, but Gene was one of the men who brought drumming to the forefront of jazz, made it exciting and filled it with spectacle, not just keeping time, but driving it, bending it, pulling it, pushing it. It's beautiful rhythmically, mathematically, physically, and spiritually. Truly an innovator. One of the first, maybe THE first, drummer with name recognition among the general public, not just jazz fans.

Check YouTube for drum battles with Krupa and Rich; just amazing.

This has reminded me that I've never seen the movie entitled The Gene Krupa Story, but am told that it is pretty good.

Can you tell you've hit me where I live? Drumming is a lifelong passion of mine. Our heartbeats, our breathing, our footsteps, the blink of our eyes, the cycles of moon and planets, the come and go of the seasons, the ebb and flow of the tides...it's all about rhythm.

Eric - thank you thank you for your perspective! I loved reading your comment!

Are there any Krupa albums in particular you recommend?

hey, and didn't Sal Mineo do The Gene Krupa Story? One you surely won't want to miss.

Ted - haven't seen it! Love Sal! He does kinda look like Krupa. Even when Krupa was an old man he had that baby face. Is the movie any good?

Try "Drummer Man" on Verve. It's at Amazon. A mature Krupa swingin' it hard. The guy was a magician on the kit. I only recently learned that he pioneered so much of what drumming is today; the first bass drum pedal was used by him; he asked Slingerland to create tunable heads for the toms. He helped create the hi-hat stand. The father of modern drumming.

And the movie must not be terrible; it is one of the things that inspired Rush's Neil Peart to become a drummer. And that's worked out pretty well for him, too.

Another fascinating subject. Awesome, Sheila. Just awesome.

I remember enjoying it at the time but I think it's pretty terrible (?) I loved Sal Mineo though and think I was crushing at the time.

Sal Mineo was eminently crush-worthy.