After Hours

Buddy Rich & Jerry Lewis. Drum Battle

Here's something from way back in 1965 with Buddy and Jerry playing drums together. It shows just how good Buddy was. Sure, he was also a psychotic bully, but he could really pound those tubs. You'd think that a guy would be able to vent his aggressions on the drums and then live a happy, normal life, but with Buddy the opposite was true. The more he played, the meaner he got. Oh well, he's dead now and it doesn't matter. My favorite part of this clip is when they move the camera to the side of Buddy's drums so you can see what he's doing. Almost none of it is what you'd call "tasty," because Buddy didn't play that way. He used brute force all the time. There's nothing subtle about his drumming, folks. And then there's Jerry. You know, he's not a bad drummer. He's not as good as Buddy, but you can tell he's been practicing a little. Still, he's better off with comedy.