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The 50 Greatest Drmmers

of All Time:

Neil Peart

Modern Drummer Magazine

March 2014





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Whose playing endures through the decades? Whose music do we reach for when we want new ideas? When we want to practice? When we want to laugh? Who inspires and delights us most?

Drumming is a vast and mysterious art, but those are the concepts that help determine greatness.

Now you can turn the page and find the artists who, regardless of genre or era, are revered by the drumming community most consistently. The results, after all, were made by you - drummers, from hobbyist to superstar. Many thousands of you submitted your top ten in our online poll, we tallied it all up, and now we present for all the world MD's 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time.

1. Buddy Rich

2. John Bonham

3. Neil Peart

Neil Peart (b. 1952) joined Rush in 1974; Ron Spagnardi started Modern Drummer in 1977. Since the founding of this magazine, Peart has inarguably been the most visible, most popular symbol of the modern drummer, making it no surprise that he was voted the highest-ranking active player on our list. This seven-time (and counting) MD cover star is ever hungry to learn and improve, digging into musical inspirations from around the world with great relish and adding these ingredients to his own homemade brew with each Rush release. Taken as a whole, his body of work over the past forty years - including video tutorials on studio tracking, soloing, and playing live - reveals a staggering breadth and depth of percussive exploration both deadly serious and whimsically good-humored. Oh, and meanwhile Neil has also written most of the band's lyrics; his words and his rhythms have helped Rush become a definer of heavy progressive rock.

With a fierce commitment to making every idea and every note as clear as day, Peart divides his time among the conception of parts, honing and polishing, and, finally, recording. For years he famously left little to chance on stage or in the studio...until he began to embrace the idea of improvisation more fully - yet another example of his dedication to personal and band growth. Indeed, Rush has enjoyed a fruitful period lately, issuing two well-received studio albums and several live releases since 2007. And last year the band toured with a string ensemble behind 2012's Clockwork Angels.

The Canadian trio is taking a hard-earned rest in 2014, routing Peart's 360-degree electroacoustic rig - and his well-traveled motorcycle - off the road. But we can content ourselves by revisiting Rush classics and digging, among other delights, Neil's trademark Latin-style ride pattern ("Limelight," "Subdivisions"), time-travel grooves ("La Villa Strangiato"), over-the-top song suites ("2112," "Cygnus X-1"), soloing prowess (Exit Stage Left's "YYZ"), and get-'em-jumping-out-of-their-seats, kit-busting fills (take your pick!).



4. Tony Williams

5. Elvin Jones

6. Steve Gadd

7. Vinnie Colaiuta

8. Keith Moon

9. Ringo Starr

10. Gene Krupa

11. Mike Portnoy

12. Stewart Copeland

13. Max Roach

14. Jeff Porcaro

15. Billy Cobham

16. Papa Jo Jones

17. Bill Bruford

18. Roy Haynes

19. Philly Joe Jones

20. Art Blakey

21. Phil Collins

22. Dave Weckl

23. Ginger Baker

24. Terry Bozzio

25. Bernard Purdie

26. Hal Blaine

27. Steve Smith

28. Mike Mangini

29. Dennis Chambers

30. Jack DeJohnette

31. Dave Grohl

32. Jim Keltner

33. Mitch Mitchell

34. Gavin Harrison

35. Charlie Watts

36. Jojo Mayer

37. David Garibaldi

38. Joe Morello

39. Clyde Stubblefield

40. Peter Erskine

41. Carl Palmer

42. Lars Ulrich

43. Simon Phillips

44. Danny Carey

45. Alex Van Halen

46. Louie Bellson

47. Carter Beauford

48. Steve Jordan

49. Tony Allen

50. Carlton Barrett



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