3 Classic Rock Songs That Wouldn’t Be the Same Without a Drum Machine

The early drum machines were too expensive for most musicians. But a device that turned acoustic drum samples into something more powerful became a signature sound on classic recordings by Michael Jackson, Prince, and Tears For Fears.

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It helped define the sound of 80s music, but it wasn’t just limited to pop stars or new wave bands. Artists across many genres adopted the technology, including legendary rock drummers. The rigid feel of a LinnDrum or Roland CR-78 recalled the motorik beats of krautrock bands Neu! and Kraftwerk. Using machine-like rhythms to give rock songs a hypnotic groove similar to dance music.

Let’s look at three classic rock songs that wouldn’t be the same without a drum machine.   

“The Boys Of Summer” by Don Henley

You don’t often associate the Eagles or Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers with drum machines and synthesizers. But guitarist Mike Campbell was experimenting at home with a LinnDrum and Oberheim synth when he came up with a new idea. It didn’t fit the heartland rock of Petty’s Southern Accents, so Campbell played it for Don Henley. Henley wrote nostalgic lyrics about fading youth and fading ideals, and “The Boys Of Summer” became a hit. Campbell’s shimmery guitars are layered against Roger Linn’s invention.

“In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins

Leave it to a drummer to craft his debut solo single on a drum machine. But “In The Air Tonight” may be one of the most recognizable programmed rhythms in rock and roll. Phil Collins recorded the song with producer Hugh Padgham, known for his work with XTC, Peter Gabriel, and others. Padgham created a gated reverb effect that has since appeared on countless records as artists mimic Collins’s thunderous drumming. Rarely does a track’s drum machine become as iconic as the vocal hook.  

“Radio Ga Ga” by Queen

The baby-talk title originated with drummer Roger Taylor’s young son. When his boy disapproved of what played on the radio, he said, “Radio caca.” And who among us hasn’t used the adult version of caca when we hear something we don’t like? So “caca” became “ga ga,” and eventually Lady Gaga would find a stage name. But this Queen hit wouldn’t have anywhere near the power without Taylor’s LinnDrum transforming Queen’s stadium rock into new wave. I bet the kid didn’t call this one caca.

Photo by Pete Cronin/Redferns