OPEN POST: Manor Music Monday With The One And Only Gene Krupa!
Greetings, music sloots, and welcome to another edition of Manor Music Monday, today with a boss beat - plus a triple-stroke roll, a cowbell and a wing nut. No, these aren't sex positions you've never heard of, you perv, though feel free to invent a few to go along with them, but drumming terminology.
And by drumming, I mean specifically in a jazz environment, because in the jazz world, he's still considered one of the very best. And tonight - only at "Cleaning the Cat," the Manor's exclusive music club and pizzeria - DJ Li'l Scratch will be playing all his best tunes. Get ready to be shocked, since with tonight's music, every sound will be played by real instruments. I know, right? And that includes the drums played by this vanguard:
Yes, it's Gene Krupa, the drumming phenom who invented tunable tom-toms, developed the modern hi-hat and was the very first to standardize (and popularize) modern cymbal techniques. Oh, and he was a dynamite player, too. Yes, there was a fairly dumb-dumb movie, "The Gene Krupa Story, made about his life in 1959, wherein weed was the demon, but really, his music talks the talk best of all. His fame reached its first peak with his drum performance and solo in "Sing Sing Sing," with his thundering tom-tom groove. It was the first extended drum solo in big-band jazz history. In fact, I'd argue that his playing turned the drums into the number's centerpiece.
Born to Polish immigrant parents in the early 1900s in Chicago, he was at first headed to the priesthood as a young man, but someone, or some higher spirit, intervened, because by the time the early 20s rolled round, he was already playing the drums professionally, propelled by his undeniable skills, but also, according to legend, his intensely charismatic personality. Boy-yo was hot-hot-hot on stage, and here lets it rip in "Drummin' Man." Hold tight.
How popular was Krupa? So much so that he was in high demand throughout his entire career by his peers, first with Benny Goodman, in which he became known as "The Drummin' Man'" and "The King of Swing." By the time the 1930s rolled around, he was already fronting his own band and collaborating with drummer Buddy Rich, saxophonist Charlie Ventura and legendary jazz trumpeter Roy Eldridge.
His fame continued to skyrocket. He played himself in the 1941 screwball comedy, "Ball of Fire," in which he and his band performed an absolute must-see, show-stopping version of "Drum Boogie," (Martha Tilton sings for the performing Barbara Stanwyck), and played himself in "The Benny Goodman Story." From the late 1920s through to the 50s, drumming meant Gene Krupa to much of the public. In modern times, Keith Moon, John Bonham, and Ringo Starr have all stated that Gene's work was a huge influence.
I know you want to hear more of Gene's irresistible tunes. There's tons more here and on just about any music streaming service, so dive right in.
Till next time...purr, bitches, purr! 🐾
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