Today is the birthday of one of my other five favorite drummers, William Scott Bruford. Bruford wasn’t a power drummer like Bonham or Cobham, but he developed perhaps the most interesting style involving unusual beat placement and time signatures truly unique in the rock idiom. And all at a ridiculously young age. Consider: between the ages of 20 and 22, Bruford recorded Time and a Word, The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge, essentially laying the skins on four seminal records in the Progrock oeuvre.
No one ever played quite like him. Next up, drumming for the influential King Crimson. Then another great venture as touring drummer for Genesis followed by putting together the influential band U.K. (He was also approached by Jimmy Page, who had his choice of any drummer on the planet for his first post-Zeppelin band, when Jimmy was putting together The Firm. But Bill turned it down.)
Happy 75th to a fantastic drummer with one of the most interesting careers who, impressively, is still married to the same woman for fifty years.
Who are your five favorite rock drummers of all time?