Buddy Rich's Incredible Tonight Show Drum Solos 

You know what my favorite bong about RU-vid is? Watching a commercial right in the middle of a drum solo. It’s the apex of human achievement.

7 Decades of the most furious unbridled playing ever recorded. Never once did his wig fall off. Kudos.

There will NEVER be another Drummer like MR Rich ever again

Lots of great drummers in the last hundred years, but no one had the speed on the snare like Buddy! A true legend!

Always a must see on Johnny Carson. Looking back I didn’t realize how good we had it. My fav drummer of all time.

Probably the only video I’ve seen in which my smile is unchanged for the entire duration . The feeling of his pushing so hard no matter what and still making time to have a laugh because , why not ? The red sweater one , evoked misty eyes and laughs when he finished . It’s something so hard to put into words … but when you feel it , you know . This is like witnessing an alchemy… someone playing with dynamite like it’s no big deal and respecting it at the same time . Willing to go to the edge and jump off for us . God bless this gd wonder of the world

Buddy Rich, Neil Peart, John Bonham legends that will always live on

The greatest hands of any drummer I've ever seen! Just his left hand alone is beyond all belief. And when he would play with Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Orchestra it was pure magic. Buddy and Ed Shaughnessy always had a great mutual respect for each other.

Buddy in an uncommonly good mood.

I am into metal and prog for decades and I have never seen a drummer as good as Buddy. Buddy says “hold my beer” to the most technically advanced death and prog metal drummers.

The world may never see or hear a talent like Buddy Rich. But we can say that he called down the thunder and crushed it.

"Excuse me while I do more on my high hat than you will do on your entire kit in 76 lifetimes" - Buddy Rich

For a right handed drummer, Buddy's "weak" hand moves faster than anything I've ever seen. I've been playing the drums for 20+ years and could never even deign to achieve a fraction of the greatness that was Buddy Rich. 🤘🏻 One of the all time greats to ever grace the throne.

I love the way his snare sounds

No one ever been as great as this guy. His clarity, consistency, phrasing is unmatched. And he hits, drummers gotta hit. And that it comes through on these recordings that are one notch better than stone tablets, and a type of music that is not on heavy rotation for me, its just awe inspiring. Whatever your list, top 5, top 10, or best ever, he has to be on that list.

Everything and every skill reaches a peak of what is possible and the maximum abilities of the human being. Buddy Rich is in my opinion the the epitome of just that.

Most drummers would prefer/need to remove their suit jacket to feel less restricted while playing. Buddy wasn’t most drummers. Absolutely amazing!

I'm no jazz fan but that sax solo at 6:18 is phenomenal.

Wow, I can't believe how fast and easy buddy rich rocked

The GOAT. There are none better who ever lived.

This is why he’s the GOAT

Wearing a 3-piece suit and a cheap toupet but still is capable of doing all these awesome licks. He was one of a kind.

Snare sounds amazing

Buddy Rich the human Gatling gun of drummers.

One of the best drummers in the world

always is stupendous~!~!~!~! BUDDY RICH the true MASTER of the Drum set~!

OMG...... Buddy is the KING

Most people don't realize that Buddy Rich was either the favorite drummer or the 2nd favorite drummer, in Keith Moon's case (Gene Krupa)....John Bonham, Ginger Baker, Neil Peart, etc. Loved Buddy...

Bonham is my Fav Rock drummer. If you wanna learn some Bonham drum licks, watch Buddy Rich. He made it look easy and kicked your butt at the same time with the Carson band who were all " unknown " musicians that were monsters unto themselves. Braaavo!! In the days when you had to be able to PLAY to make it.

We got Buddy Rich here

Thunderstorm ! Amazing drummer .

I remember seeing this live. As a drummer in a garage band, I discovered Buddy Rich by watching Johnny Carson. Johnny was a good friend and helped Buddy revive his career when the public was losing interest in jazz. I loved the Tonight Show band and I anxiously awaited the shows with Buddy. This was long before the days of the VCR. Since then, I learned to play jazz and moonlighted for over 50 years. While I respect Buddy's ability, he is not my favorite drummer. In the rock genre, I think Jon "Bonzo" Bonham was the best. In the crossover rock/jazz, I prefer Danny Seraphine. My overall favorite drummer in jazz - and I have many - is Joe Morello.

Thanks for posting. Dad brought home Swingin New Big Band in the 60's. West Side Story. Awesome. The WSS on the Tonight Show, soon after the album release showed they still had that chart down pat. Again, awesome.

All hail the all time master. Buddy Rich!

Most modern rock drummers couldn't even remotely keep up with Buddy Rich and they are 1/3 his age, and dressed in a t-shirt. He drums circles around them in his 60s, wearing a 3-piece suit and a tie, and barely breaks a sweat...

Love how he didn't mind sharing the spotlight. 👍🏻🤘🏻

And he's wearing a formal suit, while doing all those crazy fills!!!!😮😮😮😮😮

All of them are Amazing.

He will always be the best, so sad he died in 1987

I like the trombone solo at 8:04.

Blazing speed and power!

You’d never know looking at him you’d think he’s a used car salesman that he was this talented !!

Flawlessness ....... in a three piece suit 🎉

That second song was fire

One handed drum rolls😜 Destroys jazz band🎷 Melts audiences faces😱 More one handed drum rolls 😜 Destroys drum kit🥁 !the one and ONLY Buddy rich!

I just had a flashback when he played Caravan my first band teacher made us watch this in percussion class

Incredible

Thanks!

Awesome video...keep up the great work!!

Now that’s a Drummer!!!!

Thank you for posting! :)

One of my greatest inspirations for becoming a drummer self-taught strictly badass baby girl good morning

In the second clip, it shows how much he loved doing it.

Not only does he have incradible FLAIR for the drums but he's a Character also! Buddy has great personality!

Look what can happen if your parents don't squelch your practice time. Isn't that right DAD.

I'm stunned. I had no idea...

Amazing !!

Best copulation ever of the worlds best drummer God bless, one hell of another drummer Johnny Carson.

I giggle when this guy sticks. So amazing

He's from an alternate dimension.

He did that all with a traditional grip too

Big Master 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Bruh the sax solo at 6:35 is OFF THE HOOK

God of gods of DRUMMERS

What a monster. Oh my god. That left hand.

LEGEND !!!

Phenomenal

He was way ahead of his time , and wearing a 3 piece suit with a tie !!

Hey, kids, if you practice several hours a day for 50 years, you can be this good too! 😃

Was the greatest TV show ever!

Best ever by far!!!

The sax player is bad ass

Johnny Carson had the best musicians.

Simplesmente o melhor dos melhores ☝️

A showman!!

Buddy Rich could never understand why his band was never as appreciated as the rock bands of the sixties and seventies

What a legend

Objectively the greatest

Virtuoso right there

One of a kind, studied his rudiments book.

Louie Bellson Art Blakey and Gene Krupa right there w him

fricken incredible musicians along with that drummer guy. lol wow

Monstro 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

WoW 👌

Crazy 😍

He makes it look so damn easy

Also lucky enough to have a dog named Buddy. Swiss Belgian Malinois. Eating little ones 😋. Effortless

MASTER @ WORK

Masterful. I think you can read his lips saying, "I can't hear" at 7:51.

great

Wish I could do this

5:00 DOUBLE WOW!!

Buddy a great drummer, Carson can rock it too. Love Jack Benny letting Carson display his talent.

13:37 to 14:10 impossible to play for every human drummer 😑 14:00 to 14:10 awesome

This is what it would sound like if you could teach an octopus how to play the drums.

His hands and feet have HAD to be motorized. He was a cyborg. Had to be. No way a flesh and blood can play like that. lol

Wow buddy Rich was good.

The original professor!!

Buddy was my favorite student when I was giving drum lessons 🤣🤣hee! hee! heee.

*in the thumbnail he looks like Richard Pryor!*