Benny Benjamin: Big Band Roots, a Mixed-Brand Kit and the Beatles' Question

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

William Benny Benjamin Jr., known in the studio as Papa Zita, was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1925, officially on July 25, though headstone records suggest July 15. He learned drums in the 1940s on big band jazz, absorbing Buddy Rich and the polyrhythmic Latin jazz of Tito Puente. In 1958 he became Motown's first studio drummer and, with bassist James Jamerson, the rhythmic core of the Funk Brothers. Producers including Berry Gordy reportedly refused to run sessions unless both men were present, because Benjamin reshaped arrangements with fills and syncopation not written on the chart.

His sound came partly from a mixed kit assembled from Ludwig, Slingerland, Rogers and Gretsch components with Zildjian cymbals, chosen for how each piece recorded. The episode contrasts the skipping snare taps and rim clicks of the Temptations' My Girl with the four-on-the-floor drive of Get Ready. By the late 1960s, long Snake Pit hours and drug and alcohol addiction left him missing or unable to play sessions, and Richard Pistol Allen and Uriel Jones took over much of the work. He died of a stroke in Detroit on April 20, 1969, at 43.

When the Beatles met Berry Gordy in the UK, they asked about Motown's drummer rather than its singers.
He also drove the Four Tops' I Can't Help Myself.
Historians debate his credit on Stevie Wonder's Uptight (Everything's Alright), with sources pointing to Pistol Allen.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the sidemen category in 2003.
Rolling Stone ranked him No. 11 on its 2016 list of the greatest drummers of all time.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(16184)

The Art of Adult Friendship: Why Quality Matters More Than Quantity

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore how our understanding of friendship changes as we grow old...

9 Nov 18min

Summer Explained: The Science, History, and Traditions of the Warmest Season

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore summer, the season most closely associated with sunshine, ...

7 Nov 18min

Sir Patrick Stewart: From Shakespeare to Star Trek, the Life and Legacy of a Legend

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the extraordinary life of Sir Patrick Stewart, the acclaim...

7 Nov 49min

Larry David: The Genius of Social Awkwardness, Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the life and career of Larry David, the comedian, writer, ...

6 Nov 38min

Why Australian Shepherds Aren't From Australia

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the history of the Australian Shepherd, an intelligent, en...

5 Nov 45min

Labrador Retriever: From Newfoundland Fishing Dogs to Modern-Day Heroes

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the remarkable history of the Labrador Retriever, one of t...

4 Nov 53min

Discovering Ireland: A Journey Through History, Culture, and the Wild Atlantic Way

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore Ireland through the philosophy of slow travel: go slower, ...

3 Nov 48min

Willie Hutch: An Overnight I'll Be There Lyric and The Mack's Soundtrack

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!William McKinley Hutchins was born in Los Angeles in December 1944 and raised in Dallas, where h...

2 Nov 21min