Curated playlist
20th-century American drummers
- Prince (musician)Prince once changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol to protest his record label.
- Marvin GayeMotown boss Berry Gordy refused to release Marvin Gaye's What's Going On.
- Don HenleyDon Henley told interviewer Charlie Rose in March 2001 that "rock bands work best as a benevolent dictatorship." He knew the arrangement from the inside. Henley is a drummer, singer and songwriter, and a founding member of the Eagles. In…
- Jack WhiteJack White, born John Anthony Gillis on the 9th of July 1975, once came close to becoming a Catholic priest. He described the moment to Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes in 2005. A seminary in Wisconsin had accepted him. Then, at the last second,…
- Kid RockKid Rock, born Robert James Ritchie in Romeo, Michigan, was 17 when he signed with Jive Records. Years later, his album Devil Without a Cause sold 14 million copies. Both facts belong to one career, and little else about that career is…
- Meg WhiteMeg White did not attend her own induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025. The White Stripes were honored that year, and Jack White accepted the award and delivered a speech the pair had written together. White was the third…
- Travis BarkerTravis Barker learned a 20-song setlist in 45 minutes. It was early 1998, he had no time to rehearse with the band, and he played every song flawlessly at the first show. The band was Blink-182, and he was only meant to be a stand-in.…
- Dave GrohlDave Grohl, born David Eric Grohl on the 14th of January 1969, once sat at number one on the modern rock charts for 17 of 18 consecutive weeks. The run stretched from the 26th of October 2002 to the 1st of March 2003. He managed it as a…
- Chad SmithChad Smith, the drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, owns shirts that read "I Am Not Will Ferrell," and he has worn them while performing live. The joke exists because strangers keep seeing a famous comedian when they look at him. Behind…
- Karen CarpenterKaren Carpenter was pronounced dead at 9:51 on the morning of the 4th of February 1983, at the age of 32. Paramedics had found her unconscious and in cardiac arrest, her heart beating about once every ten seconds. She had spent the 1970s…
- Belinda CarlisleBelinda Carlisle spent the third day of a London hotel stay in 2005 pacing a room thick with cigarette smoke. She had been awake and using cocaine for most of three days. She looked in a mirror and later said she saw no light and no soul…
- Joe RomersaJoe Romersa was a homeless 19-year-old drummer in New Jersey after a tragic early tour.