3 Classic Rock Artists Who Made the Drums Cool

The drums are a strange instrument. Are they even an instrument? They don’t make melodies like guitars or keyboards. They’re placed in the back of the stage and the drum kits can often seem to swallow up the person playing them. Of course, they’re essential to rock music and to many other genres but that doesn’t make them any less odd.

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And yet, there have been artists in the past who have made the drums essential, who have made the kit supremely trendy to play. Below, we wanted to explore three such examples. Indeed, these are three classic rock artists who have made the drums cool.

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John Bonham

Born May 31, 1948, John Bonham grew up to be the drum kit player for the iconic classic rock band Led Zeppelin. Sadly, his stint in the group only lasted about a decade. Bonham died in 1980 from complications due to drug and alcohol addiction. But while alive, he did more than perhaps anyone to make the drum kit cool. The man played so loudly and hard that his beats can still be heard echoing through the heavens. Many look to Bonham as the ultimate rock drummer. The only person who could match the likes of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Known for sometimes playing solos that would last into the night, Bonham is surely missed today.

Ringo Starr

Fans of the Liverpool, England-born drummer Ringo Starr (real name: Richard Starkey) will say he’s pocket-perfect. They’ll say he was no frills, that he played everything that the song needed. But while there are critics of Starr who will say that he wasn’t all that and a bag of chips, the reality is that his mere presence in The Beatles elevates him to legendary status. Sure, maybe he isn’t turning the drum kit into a thunderous throne, but his poise, feel, swing, and demeanor while playing the instrument helped the legendary band become what it is today. Who knows, without Ringo as the “glue guy,” The Beatles may have fallen apart in the middle of the 1960s?

Keith Moon

Keith Moon, the drummer for the British Invasion band the Who, played the drums like the kit owed him money. It was like he wanted to smash the instrument every time he sat down to play it. There is a fine line between anger and passion, and Moon walked it each time his band played songs like “My Generation” and “Who Are You”. Sadly, that life was also destructive to him, personally. Like Bonham, Moon died young due to drug and alcohol complications. But while he was alive, there was no one more lively on the kit than the whirling dervish Moon.

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