3 Drummers That Were Just as Popular as Their Frontman

In a rock ‘n’ roll band, the typical order of popularity goes as follows: the lead singer, the guitarist, the bassist, and then the drummer. Sometimes, the bassist and drummers have switched places. Regardless, drummers are very rarely one of the more popular figures in a band, and there are a plethora of bands that have upheld this paradigm.

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However, every so often, a drummer comes around so charismatic and colorful that they just can’t be contained to the back of the stage. That being so, here are three drummers who were just as popular as their frontman.

Tommy Lee

Mötley Crüe’s popularity is thanks to a lot of factors. However, their drummer, Tommy Lee, certainly had an enormous part in the band’s cultural significance in the 1980s. In addition to being a world-class drummer, Lee was a prominent pop culture icon given his celebrity relationships with Pamela Anderson and Heather Locklear. Matter of fact, Hulu even made a miniseries about Lee and Anderson called Pam & Tommy.

Thanks to his celebrity presence in the 1980s, it seems Tommy Lee currently exists as the most popular member of Mötley Crüe. Regardless, you could not hide Tommy Lee behind a drum kit. Consequently, he helped Mötley Crüe cement their legacy in rock ‘n’ roll and pop culture history.

Ginger Baker

Thanks to his work with Cream, Ginger Baker is one of the most influential drummers in rock ‘n’ roll history. As a result of his talents, folks considered him “rock’s first superstar drummer.” Other than Baker’s talents, people knew him as a wild man. A wild man who consistently stole the limelight with his uncanny behavior and hot temper.

Baker’s popularity is a major feat in and of itself. However, that accomplishment becomes heightened when you realize that the band’s guitarist was the one and only Eric Clapton. Even though Baker was positioned behind Clapton on stage, he still attracted the eyeballs of fans across the globe.

Keith Moon

The Who’s Keith Moon was an eccentric and animated individual who played the drums with an unforgettable reckless abandon attitude. His drumming certainly made him one of The Who’s more popular figures, but so did his off-stage antics. In other words, he was a wild partier.

While this habit would ultimately and tragically take his life, it seems Moon’s hedonistic ways captured the attention of the masses, given how risky they were. One story that helped Moon become just as popular as Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend was when he crashed a car into a hotel pool.

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