Greatest Percussionist Ever

Gene Krupa (born January 15, 1909, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.—died October 16, 1973, Yonkers, New York) was an American jazz drummer who was perhaps the most popular percussionist of the swing era.

After the death of his father, Krupa went to work at age 11 as an errand boy for a music company. He soon earned enough money to purchase a musical instrument and decided upon a drum set because it was the least expensive instrument in a wholesale catalog. In the early 1920s, Krupa learned from and sometimes jammed with many of the great jazz performers who were then in Chicago, receiving his greatest inspiration from New Orleans drummer Baby Dodds. Immersing himself in the study of jazz, Krupa began to play in several Chicago-area jazz groups with musicians such as Frank Teschmacher, Bix Beiderbecke, and his future employer Benny Goodman.

In 1927, during a recording session with the McKenzie-Condon Chicagoans, Krupa became the first drummer to use a full kit on a recording, a significant technological accomplishment during a time when the pounding of a bass drum could easily dislocate the stylus on the recording equipment. Recordings from this session are regarded as the first aural example of authentic Chicago-style jazz.

Krupa worked for several bands during the early 1930s and was a drummer in the pit orchestras for two Broadway musicals by George Gershwin. By 1934 Krupa was the most sought-after drummer in the business. He was persuaded by the record producer John Hammond to join Goodman’s band, with the assurance that the band would prominently showcase his drumming talents. Krupa stayed with Goodman until 1938 and played on many of the band’s best-known recordings (such as the classic drum workout “Sing, Sing, Sing”); he was also a fixture in the Benny Goodman Trio (featuring Goodman and pianist Teddy Wilson) and subsequent Quartet (adding vibraphonist Lionel Hampton). With his movie-star good looks and tousle-haired, gum-chewing “hot jazzman” persona, Krupa attracted many female fans and provided the Goodman band with much of its visual appeal, elevating the role of the drummer from mere timekeeper to front-line performer. To many swing fans, Krupa epitomized jazz drumming; he went on to become perhaps the most famous drummer in jazz history.

Krupa had a tendency to grandstand during his tenure with Goodman, yet his infectious energy propelled the band. His flamboyance and popularity led to personality clashes with Goodman, who thought that Krupa’s showmanship often overshadowed the music. Less than two months after the Goodman band’s historic performance at Carnegie Hall in January 1938, Krupa left to form his own band.

Initially Krupa’s band followed in the style of Goodman’s. Many of its early recordings are fine examples of swing and commercial pop, and many feature well-performed drum solos. The band’s jazz credentials were significantly enhanced in 1941 with the addition of trumpeter Roy Eldridge and singer Anita O’Day. One of jazz’s most influential players, Eldridge was the stylistic link between the traditional jazz of Louis Armstrong and the wailing bebop of Dizzy Gillespie. O’Day, whose style was cool and detached, was one of the most renowned band vocalists. The Krupa-Eldridge-O’Day triumvirate combined to produce some of the band’s best-known recordings, including “Boogie Blues,” “Just a Little Bit South of North Carolina,” and, especially, “Let Me Off Uptown,” the Krupa band’s biggest hit.

In 1943 Krupa served a three-month jail term for marijuana possession; for a time after his release, he drummed with the Goodman and Tommy Dorsey orchestras before re-forming his own band in 1944. His new band, which incorporated a string section, played in a more modern style and featured several talented young players who were influenced by the bebop movement. Hits such as “Leave Us Leap,” “Disc Jockey Jump,” and “Lemon Drop” showcased the new sound in arrangements by George Williams and Gerry Mulligan. By embracing modern jazz, Krupa was able to keep his band going during the late 1940s, but by 1951 he too had succumbed to the decline in popularity of big bands.

During the 1950s, Krupa led a few small groups and toured with Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic, for which he often participated in staged drum battles with Buddy Rich. Always a serious student of jazz and percussion techniques, Krupa and fellow drummer Cozy Cole in 1954 established a drum school, and Krupa taught there for the rest of his life. He also portrayed himself in the films The Glenn Miller Story (1953) and The Benny Goodman Story (1955) and was the subject of a fictionalized Hollywood biography, The Gene Krupa Story (1959), which featured Sal Mineo as Krupa and Krupa’s own drumming on the sound track.

Ill health forced Krupa to curtail his activities during the 1960s and early ’70s, but he still made occasional appearances and recordings, most notably an outstanding album that reunited the members of the original Benny Goodman Quartet (Together Again!, 1963) and a well-regarded album (The Great New Gene Krupa Quartet, 1964) that marked Krupa’s last session as a leader.