Buddy Rich

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Eyeball
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Buddy Rich

#1 Post by Eyeball » Sat Apr 21, 2007 8:13 pm

Buddy Rich came up in the Artie Shaw "Self Portrait" thread, so maybe he should have his own thread.

Just some stuff from memory-

Rich was with Bunny Berigan in 1938 and then at the end of that year went over to Artie Shaw's band and stayed until Shaw broke up that bad at the end of 1939.

He went over to Tommy Dorsey when the Shaw job ended and he was with TD until about 1943 when he went into the Marines (IIRC).

He formed his own band in 1946 and hung in there for a few years.

He went with JATP and hung in there a few years, then settled own with Harry James band for about a decade.

In the mid 60s, when big bands had been pronounced dead by nearly everyone, Buddy Rich formed his own new big band with money from Johnny Carson (who was always a huge BR fan and a drummer himself) and maybe other folks, too.

The new Rich band was a smash hit. They got really lucky really fast. They came out with two big selling and widely talked about LPs and they were on the Jackie Gleason summer replacement series on CBS called "Away We Go!"

Rich was everywhere and so was his band. Constant appearances on the Tonight Show and booking all over the country.

The "West Side Story Medley" was the big selling point of his first LP on the Pacific Jazz label and the focus of a lot of attention. The entire LP was recorded live at a club in Hollywood.

By his second LP, it was apparent that Rich was going to embrace the sounds of rock n roll (of the period) within his band. Traditional big band fans soon began falling away from the LPs that BR was turning out on the PJ label.

Most of his audience now seemed to be young Jazz fans in high schools and colleges and people who thought they were going to hear a Buddy Rich style Swing band, plus his own huge fan following.

The 70s and the 80 rolled on and Rich kept playing and recording and touring. He was on RCA for a time and on some direct-to-disc labels.

I kind of lost track of Rich in this era b/c the sounds he was making had no appeal for me. I loved his playing and his solos, but there was that band to deal with.

IIRC, ill health caught up with him, as did problems with the IRS.

Rich died in 1987, at age 69. I actually had to look this up b/c I did not remember his death.

For more information -

http://www.buddyrich.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Rich
Will big bands ever come back?

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djstarr
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#2 Post by djstarr » Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:35 pm

I totally forgot about Buddy Rich being on Johnny Carson so often until you posted this.

Here is his gravesite for those interested: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cg ... GRid=1176&

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#3 Post by Campus Five » Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:02 pm

w/ Artie shaw - Lady Be Good:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=i0xM8YRMmyA

w/ Artie Shaw - Traffic Jam (a little slow, but you can hear what Rich is doing pretty clealy):
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x16drj ... -film-clip

w/ Tommy Dorsey - Hawaiian War Chant:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1bv27 ... mmy-dorsey

w/ Tommy Dorsey - Well, Get It:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18xep ... orsey-1943

On the Tonight Show: (I think... eat that Tommy Lee)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2479_ ... g-drum-set
Last edited by Campus Five on Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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#4 Post by Eyeball » Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:46 pm


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#5 Post by Eyeball » Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:50 pm

w/ Tommy Dorsey - Well, Git It:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18xep ... orsey-1943

Looks like Jess Stacy on the right on piano.

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djstarr
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#6 Post by djstarr » Thu Apr 26, 2007 10:41 pm

Campus Five wrote:w/ Artie shaw - Lady Be Good:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=i0xM8YRMmyA
love the shag dancers overlaid during the last minute of the clip.

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#7 Post by Haydn » Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:11 am

djstarr wrote:
Campus Five wrote:w/ Artie shaw - Lady Be Good:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=i0xM8YRMmyA
love the shag dancers overlaid during the last minute of the clip.
Yeah. Great clip with some nice dancing. I've got another one a bit like this.

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#8 Post by zzzzoom » Thu May 03, 2007 7:13 am

I work in a high school and outside of the auditorium there is a plaque that commenorates that Buddy Rich played here and that he is the greatest drummer whoever lived, etc. I was talking to the head of our music department who remembers Rich coming and playing here three times. He went to college with one of the band members and sat down with him to catch up and wanted to know what it was like to play for Rich who was notorious for his bad temper . . . . he said that Rich would give the band 'pep talks' after performances and that band members would tape record these little 'talks'. After a brief search, I found this example:

http://www.rockandrollbadboy.com/audio/BuddyRich.mp3

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#9 Post by televandalist » Thu May 03, 2007 8:50 am

zzzzoom, thanks! I hadn't heard that clip in a while! I love Buddy Rich! His rants were awesome. Here's a post from a trumpet board that I'm on from a guy who played with Rich.
Well, I was on Buddy's band eight times, and I heard those rants in person, and there isn't one recording of them that's even close to the horrific stuff that was said during even his moderate rants.As far as people reacting violently to them, there were a few who did. I won't mention any names..

Their challange was never met, if u get my drift.

Having said that, most of the band members just were quiet and ate the dirt.
Others spoke up, and some spoke back,some tried to reason with him(ha ha) others spoke up and quit, on the spot, others just left at the first opportunity.

The Black Belt thing was..not for real...

He did play great solo's, and great brushes..
The "black belt" reference was in response to a post claiming that buddy was a bad-ass black-belt martial artist.

But from another trumpet player who also played with buddy:
Since my name was mentioned last week in connection with this subject, I thought I ought to put my two cents in.

I don't know if I would go so far as to say BR had an "ulterior motive" when the speeches came, but I would say that it was my observation that at those times there was usually "something else" going on which didn't help the situation.

Buddy was obviously a musical genius. But there was also a much softer side to him that, in my opinion, he generally didn't want people to see. I'll never forget this: right after a sound check at a theater in a small New Jersey town, the band broke for dinner before the gig. I saw Buddy give a little boy (couldn't have been more than 4 or 5, and appeared to be from a poor family) a $100 bill and told him to take it home to his Mom. The only people who saw this were Steve Peck, the road manager at the time, and me.

When the band came back for a rehearsal at Carroll Studios in NYC just prior to leaving for the UK tour in March, 1983 after being off for a couple months due to Buddy's recovery from heart bypass surgery, for a few minutes Buddy was visibly choked up when he realized that the entire band was still there - no one had left.

I agree with a lot of John La Barbara's comments about Buddy. Yes, there was a lot of heat in that kitchen from time to time, but the experience to me on the first trumpet book for almost two years was invaluable to my career. I wouldn't have traded it for anything, even with the speeches.

Doug Clark
Personally, I say if a MFer can't take a little heat, stay off the MFin bandstand...MFer!

televandalist
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#10 Post by televandalist » Thu May 03, 2007 9:17 am

OK, sorry to hijack this thread but the whole Buddy Rich tirades stuff really fascinates me. In case anyone else is interested, I thought I'd also post John La Barbera's letter:
"At the risk of further popularizing a certain piece of underground trash, I would like to address the notorious Buddy Rich "scream tape" that has become "gospel" in the history of the "World's Greatest Drummer."

First of all let me say that having worked with just about every version of Buddy's band (as player, arranger, confidant, or producer) including the one on the tape, these kids got off easy, to say the least.

Yes indeed that's Buddy spewing put-downs and obscenities at a few of his band members and yes, on its own, the tape paints the fearless leader as a foul-mouth bully. And yes, in today's politically correct world, Buddy certainly wouldn't win any "manager of the month" awards, but keep in mind that we're talking about the music business, specifically the big band jazz world and Deming's management techniques don't wash in this world. Every band Buddy ever had was subject to his brand of leadership and, just like the real world, one either learned from these experiences and got stronger or washed out.

I joined Buddy Rich's band as a trumpet player in January of 1968 and still look back at that period as one of the highlights of my career. For a trumpet player freshly groomed at Berklee School of Music, Buddy's band represented the pinnacle of success and it was the beginning of a musical
education that I could never have acquired within the confines of academia. Some lessons sink in right away and others take some time. Here's a sample of one of my more memorable lessons.

After a month at the Sands in Las Vegas and a whirlwind schedule of record dates in L.A., gigs with Sergio Mendes, and others, we embarked on a European tour with Tony Bennett. That in itself could be a mini-series but I'll concentrate on Buddy.

Because Buddy's previous tour with just the band (1967) wasn't well received (according to the bookers), it was decided by the agents that Buddy's new band could be best introduced to the British audiences by coupling him with a known quantity, Tony. The band opened the shows for the first set and Bennett would do the closer. It was a phenomenal combination and Buddy's reputation (as a band leader) blossomed. Every night being sold out added to the excitement of the crowd and the band. The band had the highest respect for Tony (rare for a singer) and the quality of the performance. When he sang Robert Farnon's Country Girl with just the accompaniment of John Bunch's piano, the house was absolutely silent and we literally held our breath during this segment of the show.

In the middle of our tour we hit Birmingham (then quite the working class town) and Buddy pulled out all the stops to win over this tough audience. I can't remember all the charts he called but I know he ended with the West Side Story medley and it was a smash with the crowd. As an encore he called "Love For Sale" and if you aren't familiar with the chart, suffice it to say that there is a drum break before a modulation that has become somewhat of a signature for Buddy. His lightning speed roll in this break has been copied (or should I say attempted) by just about every big band drummer I know.

That night he blew the break. Totally blew it and stopped the band. We were in shock. Having never experienced this before, we just looked around at each other. The audience was deadly silent. Buddy yelled to Pat (my brother acted as musical director at times because Buddy couldn't read music) "pick it up before the break." Pat yelled out the appropriate rehearsal number and we were off again. As you can well imagine, this time he nailed it and the audience went nuts. I wouldn't have wanted to be Tony trying to follow that.

But this isn't the end of the story.

Years later Buddy and I were hanging out in his Lincoln Plaza apartment one night after a gig trying to find something edible in his refrigerator. Not as Spartan as Mel's (Torme) but still few choices so we did the usual, ordered take out from Patsy's (Buddy & Sinatra's favorite eatery since the late 40's). While we waited for the delivery I reminded him of that night in Birmingham and casually asked, "Buddy, did you blow that fill on purpose for the show business value or did you really blow it?" What came next was probably the most intense "lecture" I've ever received from him.

After he cooled off he told me never in his professional career did he ever give less than 100% and the idea of shortchanging the music for a cheap shot would be akin to artistic murder. We talked about his early days and the necessity for professionalism in all aspects of playing (and writing). I wish I had a tape recording of that talk!

The more I thought about this, the easier it was for me to understand many of his "moods" and "tantrums" when players didn't give their all. I'm sure that was the case with those on the receiving end on that famous tape. So if someone brings up the infamous Buddy Rich "scream tape" to you, be aware that those particular band members got off easy. I just hope they learned something."

-- John La Barbera

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#11 Post by zzzzoom » Thu May 03, 2007 11:20 am

Two other things that the head of our music department shared with me.

He said his friend who played in the band told him that whenever there was a drum solo, all members of the band were required to turn and watch with rapt attention. One time, a young man who was new, was trying to find something or other in his instrument case and so his attention was elsewheere. Needless to say, it was apparent to the audience by the intense burning stare that was leveled at the young musician. Finally he found whatever it was he was looking for and turned his attention to Buddy, upon which Buddy yelled, "About f'ing time!"

The other thing shows a different side. I was told that after each performance, Buddy would take the head of the school's music department into his touring bus and talk to him about the music program, what the kids were doing and focusing on, etc. Just the two of them. Then, when they were done, the door to the bus would be opened and the kids would come in to get an autograph, etc, and Buddy would talk with each one of them about their musical studies and what they were doing, etc. and the kids really felt they got some personal attention from 'the World's Greatest Drummer".

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