Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Don Henley, and the New Generation of Singing Drummers

Ah, the poor drummer. He’s the butt of a million musician jokes, takes exponentially more time than anyone else in the band to set up and break down his gear, and worst of all, is hidden so far in the background that he’s often confused with a roadie. That said, throughout rock history and especially this last decade, drummers from all different genres have stepped up to handle microphone duties in addition to beating the skins. Here are a few drummers who’ve done their damndest to disprove those nasty stereotypes.

Ringo Starr — Although John Lennon and Paul McCartney get a bulk of the glory, the Beatles’ floppy-haired drummer Ringo Starr also has a voice that drives the ladies wild, and he was occasionally able to flaunt them in the Beatles. In fact, although he gets less recognition than the rest of the Fab Four, Starr is an equally innovative musician. “Before Ringo, drum stars were measured by their soloing ability and virtuosity,” explains Steve Smith, one-time drummer for Journey. “Ringo’s popularity brought forth a new paradigm in how the public saw drummers.” Since the Beatles disbanded Starr has enjoyed a successful solo career and still finds time to wear out his pipes behind the kit. This recent clip from A&E’s Private Sessions proves Starr still has it.

Phil Collins — Genesis member and solo artist Phil Collins is probably the most popular singing drummer, and for good reason. The middle-aged musician may be best known for radio-friendly ballads like “In the Air Tonight” and “Against All Odds,” but anyone who has seen Dr. Phil live can attest to the unbridled grandiosity of his drum solos (which often feature him keeping the beat alongside another drummer). “In The Air Tonight” prominently features the then-nascent drum machine, but as you can see from this video, when Collins performs it live, the haunting ballad retains even more urgency.

Don Henley — Although Don Henley flirted with mainstream success in the ’80s with his hit song “Boys of Summer,”, he’s still best known as the drummer for the gazillion-selling classic rock act the Eagles. His solo career never catapulted him to the same level of success as Collins, but he is still by far the most successful solo artist out of all the Eagles. Oh, and despite the fact that his music will probably will never be considered “edgy,” Henley is a complete badass. Not convinced? Check out this vintage clip of Guns N’ Roses performing “Patience” with Henley himself on drums.

Dave Grohl — Dave Grohl is a true rock and roll renaissance man. Although most people know him as the former drummer for Nirvana and current frontman for the Foo Fighters, Grohl got his start pounding the skins for the seminal D.C. hardcore act Scream and has laid down drum tracks for everyone from Tenacious D to Queens of the Stone Age and Killing Joke. These days Grohl is such a successful songwriter that it’s easy to overlook his drumming skills, but as you can see from this clip he’s still a rhythm man at heart (which is probably part of the reason why he’s able to write such catchy songs). What we really like about Grohl is that despite his myriad successes he’s still got a healthy sense of humor, as demonstrated in this clip of him rocking out on a child-sized kit. Go get ’em, Dave!

Brandon Saller and Aaron Gillespie — Atreyu’s Brandon Saller and Underoath’s Aaron Gillespie are part of a new breed of screamo drummers who drum and sing (you can add Fran Marks from the now-defunct From Autumn to Ashes to that list as well.) In Atreyu, Saller’s melodic vocals are a welcome foil to frontman Alex Varkatzas’ guttural screams and the fact that he sometimes sports not two but three kick drums live only adds to his on-stage presence. Underoath skinsman Gillespie has a similar role in the band and like Grohl, he’s also able to express his inner singer/songwriter as the frontman for his side-project, the Almost. These drummers are showing today’s generation of rock drummers that they don’t have to hide their faces behind their cymbals.