Awesome!!!

So right about that John,many drummer's seem to give more love to Buddy than Gene..I for one say they were the best of the best of drummer's i can't pick one over the other.....Mikey

Enjoyed all of those thanks for posting. Gene was a really great entertainer what a showman he was.

Good stuff John~! Gene was always been my favorite drummer. I'm glad I had the chance to see him play once. I sat front row. :D

Thanks for sharing this awesome footage.....how does anybody even bother to compare these two legends to each other. It's irrelevant, actually.

Hey John!!

It never gets old, Gene is the man!!

Yes we do give Buddy big time here on the forum, but I'm certain if Buddy was still with us he'd be the first in line to give Gene his un dying admiration and love and his place at the head of the table.

As Buddy said on a number of occasions, EVERY drummer should bow and pay homage and gratitude to Gene for making the drummers chair out front and worthy of musicianship status.

Too bad there's not more footage out there for another great player that both Gene and Buddy loved "Big Sid" Cattlett, now there was a cat that made it look easy with great style and chops.

Keep 'em coming!!

BGT

... and how could I NOT comment on this thread!

Goes without saying, common knowledge actually, that GK was THE MAN that really and truly brought the drums/drum set up front as MORE than just a "time keeping mechanisim" if you will. Personally, I also love GK! I have books/vids/film of him as well, as he was without a doubt, instrumental.. ( no pun intended! ) .. in getting the drummer recognized. I think the reason Buddy gets more in the way of "attention".. ( chops/style notwithstanding as to compare any of that is just completely subjective ) .. is the timing of their careers. By the 1960's...

... Gene had all but "retired" from playing/gigging and had opened a music school in NY, while during that period, Buddy was absolutely BLAZING and very much in the public eye what with the introduction of his NEW Swingin' Big Band in 1966. Gene passed in 1973, and with a lot of our VDF members being in their teens at that time, well... Buddy stayed in the public eye 'till he passed in 1987. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that Gene was, and still is, incredibly important and influential to ALL drummers!, but the timing of their lives/careers was such that Buddy stayed in the public eye quite a bit longer, and by what was then our "youth", with many of us still active and playing to this day. Add to all that...

... Buddy's ever changing endorsements/equipment.. ( most especially so during 1967! ) .. and the fact that he worked 9/10 months out of the year, which made it very easy to SEE him,... not to mention all the film/video that was shot during his career as well. BOTH of them are/were GIANTS!... but Gene was winding down an incredible career while Buddy was in the middle of his. Amazing that they were only 8 years apart in age!

Tommyp

Thanks PS, I love it.

Not only was GK a great player and showman, Gene was "really good looking."

When he is dancin around, he reminds me of Elvis.

Very Charismatic.

sa

Between the ages of 14 to 16 (63' to 65' or so,) Saturdays were dedicated to trips downtown to the 48th Street music stores and standing in front of the Metropole. Rain or shine, me and two of my musician buddies would hop a bus from our neighborhood uptown and head down to the music stores to see what new stuff had arrived during the week. Manny's was always the first stop. I practically grew up in that music store. The last stop, before we went home, was to stand on the sidewalk out in front of the Metropole cafe'. They served booze at the bar and we were too young to be allowed inside. The Marquee in front would keep the rain or snow off our heads as we just stood there in awe listening to the house-band, The Woody Herman Orchestra/Big Band. I got to see/hear Gene, Buddy and a host of great drummers. It was our version of 'free lessons' to watch these guys at work. Those memories are burned into my brain. Gene, even in his gray-hair period was a remarkable drummer and showman. I have a plaque hanging in my office that has a little piece of WMP from Gene's bass drum and a single glass mirror tile from the wall of the Metropole. I treasure those little scraps of my past, Gene and the Metropole. Growing up in Manhattan, if you were a musician, was a purely magical place to be.

Glad you guys are enjoying the offering.

John