its become so run of the mill that's today's literate drummer has a great chop

Consider that back in the day, drum solos were part of the music, and people danced. Well, maybe not to Buddy's solos, but they could and did to Gene's.

Drum solos and music of the last 40-50 years or so are different animals. First, there's more listening to music than dancing to it in terms of the kind of genres that would have solos. And, solos are just different. They're, solos, and not necessarily part of a song rhythmically or tempo-wise. People can't dance to them. Obviously people can dance to drum/percussion breaks that keep the tempo, but then are those really solos?

Bermuda

A solo is a 'showcase' for an exceptional player regardless of the instrument. If Steve Gadd is the featured player at a gig, then I would expect to hear a Gadd solo, or two during the evening. The misread you're making is; drums are not a solo instrument! Sure, you -can- solo on a set of drums, but drums (like bass) are meant to be -accompanying- instruments. Drums and bass do not (under normal circumstances,) carry the melody of any piece of music. When the solo comes up, it's usually the lead melodic instrument that elaborates on the melody in a solo. Gene and Buddy used to solo a lot because they were Gene and Buddy... the featured players in their respective bands. Otherwise, people don't much expect to hear drum solos when they're out dancing or listening for enjoyment. Whether drum solos should be a feature is determined by, whether the drummer is the player that the people came to see.

Bermuda is right, music has changed a lot in 50 years.

John

I understand what you guys are saying, but there has to be a reason why real drummers were featured in films and on television. I mean, Buddy was a regular on Johnny Carson. I've seen clips of Art Blakey Max Roach and Elvin Jones on what looks like a variety television show. The last time I saw anything like that recently was on Jimmy Fallon, he had Chad Smith with Will Farrell playing a mock drum battle. Smith really played, but Farrell was just there for laughs.

In Buddy's case, he was as much of a personality as he was an engaging drummer to watch. He was entertaining, it wasn't just about the solo itself.

Drummers like Buddy, Ringo, Keith Moon, etc could speak to everyone - or in Moon's case, capture their attention - in a way that not every player can, regardless of their playing skill. Don't forget, just because someone's a musical icon to musicians, doesn't mean they can carry themselves well enough to have mass appeal on TV (for example.)

Bermuda

One thing is for sure...when you take a drum solo people sit up and take notice as these days not many drummers take solos in the regular gigs except large shows and even that is becoming much less for what ever reason.My point here is that we all have some kind of rhythm which is in our blood from the beginning days of mankind and when a drummer takes a solo people go nuts over it simply because of our roots in rhythm and it`s in our souls.After all... drums did beat "Bell" to the communication forefront.

Wayne

My 81 year old mother still brings up Buddy Rich when we discuss music. He was such a celebrity back in the day everyone knew him

Just an observation here but I think theres an attitude amongst some drummers where they dont want to solo simply because they will be criticised by someone. Unless you can play 5000000bpm then someone is going to criticise. Too many drummers these days treat it like a sport (especially the younger ones). Go on youtube and there are many great solos but theres always a select few that point out that the person performing does not have the "correct" technique. Sorry but shutup, close your eyes and listen. If we really wanted to we could all have a field day picking apart great drummers technique e.g Keith Moon, but what does it matter when they sound so damn good? I think its a combo of that ****ty attitude and partly because most drummers just sound the same these days which makes their solos really really boring to listen to. You can play your double kicks at 100000000000bpm? wow good for you, now give me Joe Morello playing slower with style any day. Sorry for the rant guys but Im sure you will agree that people like this are extremely frustrating :)

I think you're right, most younger drummers don't solo in a musical sense, it's more like they practice these super speed licks and put them together in a solo.

Bermuda, you're right about Buddy, he was quite the character.