The Most Influential Drummers of All Time

Earl Young

This guy was in a few bands, did a couple of Blue Note Recordings, backed some big acts, but his greatest contribution was… Inventing disco. Earl Young was the first drummer to kick on all 4 beats of a measure and improvise over it and brought it to dance halls. Once disco hit the radio, every drummer knew Earl's name. He left behind a legacy that drove an entire genre, hell, he drove an entire generation.

The More You Know

Before joining Queen, Brian May studied astrophysics. He later completed his doctoral thesis and earned his PhD.
Travis Barker told CBS Local that his first ever hero was Animal from The Muppets, crediting the character as his inspiration to pursue drumming.
ZZ Top refused a $1,000,000 offer from Gillette to shave their beards for an ad.
Layne Staley asked Jerry Cantrell to play in a funk band and agreed to sing in Cantrell’s band in exchange. The funk band didn’t last but Cantrell’s band became Alice in Chains.

Post originally appeared on Upbeat News.