The jazz drummers knew how to swing. To an extent, the 60's rock drummers like Ringo and Charlie Watts carried that swing feel to the rock music. Today's drummers are technical and good but they don't seem to swing like the old timers. Maybe it's the type of music they play now days, but I like the swing feel of the older songs.
To be straight with you all, I wrote many charts for this entire hour long show called One Night Stand, but not this one. Gene played his own arrangement of Sing, Sing, Sing, which he had used since before the Carnegie Hall concert in the late '30s. I also was with Hamp when we played Krupa's leukemia benefit concert at Lincoln Center in 1972. I first met Gene in 1957, when he was playing the Steel Pier in Atlantic City--He in the ballroom, my brother (12) and I (15) in the kiddie show there called Tony Grant's Stars of Tomorrow. What a great, warm personable guy!
Thom, I can't even imagine your life. I worked with comedians behind the curtain in management. I know of what I speak. Being a Brooklyn Italian and a Gene Krupa fan I now have someone else's name to watch for. Thom Gambino. You were a youngster in this one.
Very cool! Of when you first met Gene Krupa :). I also find it cool to learn that Krupa performed in Atlantic City. When I was a kid, my parents would vacation there. I recall playing games on the Steel Pier, but my fav were the games at The Million Dollar Pier. And I loved Maisels for great breakfast and meals on the boardwalk …great chocolate cream pie and at breakfast, baskets of miniature danish!! Worth getting up early for! And of course also on the boardwalk was Planter’s Peanuts, freshly roasted, and tall Mr Peanut greeting folks out on the boardwalk …pigeons would land in your hand or arm if you offered peanuts in your very still hand. Great memories.
Just once in your life, you gotta stand in front of a swing jazz band and FEEL that power!! This is BIG music! It honestly dwarfs a rock band for sheer monstrous energy!
Gene was 62 and gave an exciting riveting performance when he performed this number with the great Lionel Hampton. Gene was great until he passed and that was in 1973 only two years later. He was the most rhythmic drummer of the 20th century.
Along time ago Gene was a neighbor of mine along with Les Paul and Mary Ford, a good neighborhood to grow up in! They were great neighbors and really nice to me and all the kids in the neighborhood especially Mary Ford.
Definition of a classic!!! No matter how old you are 80, 60, 40, or a teenager. This music reaches into your ears, to your brain makes you smile then reaches your muscles and next thing you know your dancing 🕺 💃 Brilliant.
Gene Krupa had an incredible feel for the rythm and essence of the music. Even at the twilight of his career, he would command the bandstand. What an incredible musician.
When this was recorded, the song was only 30ish years old. Kind of like early 90s music now. The greatest generation had it all, growing up during the Depression, coming of age during WWII, and raising their kids during the jet/ space age .
....Gene was a family friend, a superstar who came to visit my grandmother's house every time he was in town to see our whole family, including an uncle of mine who was a drummer that periodically subbed for Gene and two other uncles who were famous acrobatic dancers. I treasure the sepia publicity photo he signed in silver ink and gave to my mother in person at her 16th birthday party ! Just before Gene's death, I went with my mom, aunt and uncle to see Gene play at a supperclub and was awed at how excited he was to see all of them. He sat with us all night on breaks and afterwords, advising me, ( a young drummer), to aim for playing in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, instead of in the " rock scene" !! He was so warm , humble and friendly......especially recalling so many memories from " the old days". As a youngster in elementary school, our stern bandleader had a tough time dealing with the long line of applicants to be drummers, right after the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan. He simply asked each boy, " ...who is your favorite drummer??"....and all who said : " Ringo Starr" were DISMISSED. I said : " Gene Krupa", and at 8 years old began my music career in that school band !! Gene Krupa made the drums the CENTERPIECE and driving force of the orchestras during the " Big Band Era" He made the drums the prominent SOLO instrument of that time with his unparalleled style and energy. He was as big of a star as you could be. You could see his influence on drummers even today like Max Weinberg of Bruce Springsteen's band. Gene was FIRST, and other drummers followed and built upon what he started. Ringo did the same in his era....playing a new and unconventional style, where others expanded it into a whole new genre of drumming. I will never forget meeting him and the inspiration he always provided me from when I was just a small boy......Gene Krupa should always be remembered!
Gene's accents are amazing. He didn't have the fast hands of Buddy Rich but Gene was extremely musical and fun to watch. His whole aura was about enjoying the music!
"Everybody knows Sing, Sing, Sing!" These guys had a ball playing one of the best big band standards of all time. Gene was not young here, but behind the kit, he had the enthusiasm and vitality that he had 30 years prior. This is one of those videos that can be watched over and over again.
Gene is still the greatest for this simple fact: the first drummer to be showcased. Bands had sax, trombone, clarinet players and lead singers as their featured artist. Gene was the first drummer as the centerpiece.
His drumming was an extension of his personality. It's hard to take your eyes off of him. Imagine playing in his band. The entire group would rise with him. And what a beautiful solo by Hampton. Those guys are real pros.
Got to see that last tour by the Original Quartet, plus Slam Stewart, a bass player. Snuck backstage at Ravinia and got their autographs. Krupa gave us a drum stick. I was 17. Krupa died maybe five months later. Score one for the high school nerds.
I absolutely adore all the Swing and Jazz drummers.. I honestly do not have a favourite... Their talent shows thru I matter who it is. I also adore Hampton!! How could I not!!! His technique, style and the fun he had always swept me up!! Thank goodness my muso parents introduced me to this wonderful music!!
Gene Krupa, uno de los mejores bateristas de la época de las grandes bandas, muestra en este video de 1971 toda su pericia en el manejo de los tambores y platillos. Era un verdadero espectáculo ver a este percusionista, que para la época de filmado este video seguro ya pasaba de los 60 años. Y este tema en particular, Sing Sing Sing, le dio cuerda para sacar de sí toda su vitalidad, porque la música fluía por sus venas como un volcán en erupción.
I met Gene Krupa and got his autograph in January 1962 at The Metropole Cafe on 7th Avenue in NYC. He was the best. We also were lucky to see Cozy Cole on the same bill. He came and had a drink with us.
Such a joyous sound. My grandfather introduced me to big band and jazz back in the early eighties when I was very young. No mater how many times I hear it, Sing Sing Sing always gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes. It's like candy for the soul.
Same here! My dad took me to see Gene at the NYC Metropole (I was 12 at the time) and I have the photo with my loving father and the amazing Mr. Krupa with his autograph. He was a true original and the mold was broken after he left us too early.
My dad took me to see Gene Krupa at the Metropole in 1967. He dedicated a song named Dark Eyes to me as I was an aspiring drummer at that time. I still have theautographed menu and a picture with Gene as well... wow!!
As a former big band musician turned swing dancer, one of the things I love most about Krupa is how tight and steady he always was. You can always hear and feel the beat of the music even when he was playing a solo.
@@domenicv7962, I still am a musician. I just no longer play in a big band, which is what I specified in my comment. I still play my trombone and bagpipes regularly.
@@bobmarlowe3390 Nope, You specified you are a swing dancer now. No mention of bagpipes or trombone or still playing any instrument. Dance away.... Goodbye
Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich , Louie Bellson , Ed Shaughnessy, Joe Morello.....the list goes on. So many great drummers. Today's drummers couldn't touch these guys.i know the music from yesteryear and today is different, but today's drummers are so technical , but not Musical.
천용식 I ran a Guitar Center several years ago. We ran videos of many different artists, not just guitarists. The drum department was well known for overflow on Saturdays when we played DVDs of Gene, Buddy, Louis, Ed and Joe. We sold a ton of the DVDs to the aspiring drummers. You're right, some of today's drummers never will arrive at these giants level of play. But the dedicated ones that study so religiously will advance the art as time goes on. To criticize them as a group is pointless. There are the 10% at the top that move the whole thing forward. That will never change. Maybe you are listening to current music you don't like. I wouldn't blame the current musical tastes on the current drummers. If you're going to step out there with criticism, make sure it's valid.
Buddy Rich was the guy you wanted up on stage playing like a powerhouse of perfection, speed and rhythm. Gene was the guy you wanted to play with all night at a party.
Krupa was no less a great drummer compared to Rich...They both had their own style...They both played at the peak of human capability...Drummer for 40 years...Comparing them is dishonest...Any big band would have loved either to play for them...
@@DeeDee-dd4kk Yes, meshed together. Buddie's solos had no depth. When he would run out of ideas he would just play faster. Most of his solos remind me of a student drummer practicing to build speed. When he would just play normal jazz he was great.
All the music men are terrific, especially Gene doing his solo, Mr. Lionel Hampton and just the song "Sing, Sing, Sing". Hard to keep my feet from thumping the floor, keeping time. Just Great!
He was always there!!! Growing up, Gene Krupa! A wonderful constant in my life filled with Jazz, swing, The Blues..I also love the other drummers named here. Each has his own mystique...I adore them all..But I really love Krupa!!
I saw Buddy Rich live in my youth. I never saw Gene Krupa live, I just heard about him from my father. Yes, they were both great and they influenced the drummers that followed them.
How fortunate for new generations to see and hear what great music means. Nothing since has ever come close sadly. Live music concerts for these bands are very rare these days.
There are really 4 geniuses behined making this gem what it came to be: Louis Prima the composer, Jimmy Mundy the arranger, Gene Krupa, and of course Benny Goodman.
You are also forgetting that this tune is interpolated with the song Christopher Columbus which was in the Goodman book when Krupa was there. They combined the two tunes to get the final product. The riffs during the tom soloing are from Christopher Columbus.
Gene was one of the very few big name drummers, who stayed loyal to one drum company, Slingerland. Most changed brands over the years , sometimes because of money. Gene just stayed loyal.
Gene Krupa first devised the trap kit, making him able to do those unique solos and fills. When the popularity hit, Slingerland asked Gene to come in, and he helped them design and market the first trap kits available to the public. Like Les Paul to the electric guitar, or Leo Fender for the electric bass, Gene Krupa is the father of the trap kit. Slingerland and Gene Krupa basically made each other into something popular and in high demand.
It's such a shame Slingerland went out of business. I wanted to buy a new set after 30 years and was so disappointed. No other brand could touch my old Slingerlands.
Bought a GK record in 1963. Sing, Sing, Sing. Got a set of Singerlands two years later, and later a larger Slingerland kit. Both with the GK chrome snare. Still have them both today, in great shape. Sound great.
Big band is so awesome.....it just gets ya going.... if you're in a bad mood....big band....if you're sad...big band....happy mood....big band. Big band fixes everything
Gene may not have had the super chops that others did, but he had one thing going for him that no one else had - - - he was Gene Krupa. He was a complete Original. It's really great to watch him having so much fun when he plays.
What the hell is this "may not have had the super chops" crap? If Gene Krupa "may not have had the super chops" to you, you don't know your drummers, pal.
Gene Krupa knock the hell out of that song, he's a melodic drummer not a speed demon like buddy rich, but it's just a different style and it's very exciting, Gene Krupa was an excellent drummer.
Jeanne Cooper is credited with having the very first drum solo ever that is one hell of a task in one hell of an honor I seen him a couple of times when I was a young boy absolutely phenomenal thank you for letting me speak my peace
