Rhythm duos; i.e. Bass & Drums. Who comes to mind? Peple like Jack White or Dan Auerbach have realized that maybe this is all you need; to distill a band down to the essence.
And without a great rhythm section, there is no good band.
With Charlie I find his drumming mirrored Bill Wyman, in that it was very non formula playing. He didn't really play the same thing twice; where as nowadays he has become very regimented.
James Jamerson, the King and I can't recall the great Motown drummers. Uriel..?
Paul Simonon and Topper came from reggae music; one great reason the Clash had their unique sound once you added Mick Jones' slashing rock guitar.
Ronnie Tutt and Jerry Scheff - double kick drums and a walking electric Fender bass underneath Burton's telecaster.
Robbie and Sly - the masters.
For James Brown you had Bernard Odum and Jabo Starks/Clyde Stubblefield. Most sampled.
And I have to say one of my favorites are from a group called Soul Coughing. Just incredible. It's an uprite bass, with one of the best drummers around. His snare touch is unmistakeable. Yuval Gabay on drums, and Bassplayer Sebastian Steinberg.

yep James Jamerson,bass, and Uriel Jones or Benny Benjamin or Richard 'Pistol' Allen on drums..gotta add Jack Ashford's tamborine ...is there a better use of tamborine than on Motown records? and Eddie Brown on congas and bongoes...
only better use of percussion (imo) on big hit songs is on Stones songs..

a current rhythm section working the clubs, theaters, and festivals is Dave Alvin's Guilty Women team of Lisa Pankratz on drums, and Sarah Brown on bass..it don't get no better.

Dee Dee and Tommy Ramone, unappreciated as the prototype punk rhythm section.

A few other pretty good ones:
John Entwistle and Keith Moon (The Who)
Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker (Cream)
John Paul Jones and John Bonham (Zep)
Carl Radle and Jim Gordon (Dominos)
Otiel Burbridge, Butch Trucks, Jaimoe, and Marc Quinones (current Allmans)
Felix Pappalardi and Corky Laing (Mountain)
Garry Tallent and Max Weinberg (E Street)
Tony Garnier and George Recile (current Dylan)
Ron Asheton and Scott "Rock Action" Asheton (Raw Power Stooges)
Dave Alexander and Scott "Rock Action" Asheton (Funhouse Stooges)
Mike Watt and Scott "Rock Action" Asheton (current Stooges)
Glen Matlock and Paul Cook (original and reunion Sex Pistols)
Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart ('68-70 Dead)
Kenny Gradney, Richie Heyward and Sam Clayton (classic Feat)

A few pretty bad ones
Sid Vicious and Paul Cook ('77-78 Sex Pistols)
John Deacon and Roger Taylor (Queen)
Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart (post-'76 Dead)

Overend Watts & Buffin (Mott the Hoople)
Jim Lea & Don Powell (Slade - no seriously they were good)
Andy Fraser & Simon Kirke (Free - brilliant)

one of the best will be reuniting tomorrow night !


sc uk

Duck Dunn & Al Jackson, Jr.

Bruce Thomas Bass, Pete Thomas Drums, The Attractions, Outstanding Rhythm-section...





2 1 2 0

Levon Helm & Rick Danko - and they could both sing!

whoever played the bass n drums on The Pretenders' " My City Was Gone" great intro...think the drummer was Martin Chambers...?

too bad it got appropriated by a certain radio personality...

AC/DC

Quote
JuanTCB
Duck Dunn & Al Jackson, Jr.

one of the finest!

Max Wienberg and Gary Talent.

John Blackwell and Rhonda Smith

Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish

Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney.
Levon Helm and Rick Danko (and I'd add Richard Manuel).
Ronnie Lane & Kenney Jones (Both in the Small Faces & The Faces)

The most boring rhythm section in the world:

Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen Jr.

Quote
JuanTCB
Duck Dunn & Al Jackson, Jr.

....ooow YEAH!!
+1

["I can hear the Bullfrog calling me..."]

...Sly & Robbie.

["I can hear the Bullfrog calling me..."]

Fleetwood Mac

pentti "whitey" glan and prakash john.

George Porter, Jr & Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste of The Meters

Another vote for Ritchie Haywood, Kenny Gradney & Sam Clayton of Little Feat

Double Trouble: Chris Layton & Tommy Shannon

Also: Magic Slim has had many rhythm sections behind him but always seems to find sympathetic players who fit his band well.

Also: Caught Larry McCray a few years back with his brother on drums and Johnny B Gayden on bass... WOW! What a rhythm section THAT was.

One of the most swinging rhyhtm sections:
Dave Myers & Fred Below.

surprised nobody mentioned The Wrecking Crew yet.

Along with the aforementioned session cats (or chicks) from Stax, Motown, Wrecking Crew and the classic rock ones -- I offer Stu Cook and Doug Clifford -- underrated very much so. And Bootsy Collins and whatever drummer he was playing with.

Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith - Alice Cooper band
Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd - AC/DC
Roger Glover and Ian Paice - Purple
Geddy Lee and Neil Peart - Rush

phil lynott & brian downey-thin lizzy
mitch mitchell& noel redding-hendrix
billy cox & buddy miles, mitch mitchell-hendrix
geezer bulter& bill ward-sabbath

The Atlanta Rhythym Section

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"

The posts gave me so many thought.
With these great sections it got to where yes, the individual may be a top drummer, but without his other half they were almost a little lost. Take Entwhistle - great bassman, but Kenney Jones was not good for him. And Kenney Jones came off looking bad in the Who. Zak Starkey was much like Moon and they tightened up again.

A couple I forgot:
Berry Oakley and Butch Trucks/ Jaimoe
Chad Smith and Flea!
And Fleetwood Mac is very underrated.
Someone mentioned Free - totally good. I am so discovering that band these days.
And while Slade was good; how about Sweet? Those guys were actually very good musicians.
I thnk U2's section is good; like them a lot.

The Muscle SHoals Rhythm Section anchored by drummer Roger Hawkins and bassist Tommy Cogbill, the Jamerson of the south. Later on, Hawkins and bassts David Hood.
Aretha Franklin didn't become the Queen until Jerry Wexler took her to Alabama to work with the The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section....Hawkins, Cogbill, Jimmy Johnson, Roger Hawkins, Spooner Oldham and later Barry Beckett and David Hood.
These two groups remain the most prolific and least known in rock and roll history, overshadowed by Stax and Motown.
Sample list:
After having their first hits with Percy Sledge and WIlson Pickett, the Muscle Shoals guys backed Aretha on all her albums from 67-70. Never Loved a Man, Respect, Save Me, Natural WOman, CHain of Fools, Baby I Love You, Since You Been Gone, Think, The House that Jack Built, Say a LIttle Prayer...all of them.
With WIlson Pickett: Funky Broadway, Mustang Sally and Land of a Thousand Dances, Hey Jude, Im In Love etc...
Cogbill wasn't really a member of the Muscle Shoals group, but played bass for the Aretha and Pickett sessions.
With drummer Gene Chrisman, he anchored the Memphis Sound group, playing on Elvis' 68, 69 Memphis sessions: Kentucky Rain, Suspicous Minds, In the Ghetto. They also played on the Boxtops hits and Dusty SPringfield's Dusty in Memphis, including Son of a Preacher Man. Cogbill really is an unsung great on bass, probably more verstatile than Duck Dunn. Both these groups of musicians did stuff with Bobby Womack.
And if the Muscle SHoals guys had never done all the above, they would be still be legendary for this alone, with Hood and Hawkins keeping the groove.







Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-03-09 01:25 by stupidguy2.

Correction: it was American Sound Studios, not Memphis Sound.

...I'd also like to add Fats Domino as a complete rhythmsection of his own...

Gene Parsons/Skip Battin (The Byrds)











Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-01 12:46 by DandelionPowderman.