Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, Sing" elevated the role of the drummer from that of an accompanist to that of an important solo voice in the band.

In collaboration with the Slingerland drum and Zildjian cymbal manufacturers, he became a major force in defining the standard band-drummer's kit. Modern Drummer magazine regards Krupa as "the founding father of modern drumset playing".

Upon his death, The New York Times labeled Krupa a "revolutionary" known for "frenzied, flashy" drumming, with his work having generated a significant musical legacy that started "in jazz and has continued on through the rock era".

Early life

The youngest of Anna (née Oslowski) and Bartłomiej Krupa's nine children, Gene Krupa was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Bartłomiej was an immigrant from Poland born in the village of Łęki Górne, southeastern Poland. Anna was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, and was also of Polish descent. His parents were Roman Catholics who groomed him for the priesthood. He spent his grammar school days at parochial schools. He attended James H. Bowen High School on Chicago's southeast side. After graduation, he attended Saint Joseph's College for a year, but decided the priesthood was not his vocation.

Krupa appeared on six recordings by the Thelma Terry band in 1928. In December 1934, he joined Benny Goodman's band, where his drum work made him a national celebrity. Conflict with Goodman, though, prompted him to leave the group and form his own orchestra shortly after the Carnegie Hall concert in January 1938. this resulted in a short jail sentence, and the breakup of his orchestra. After Krupa broke up his orchestra, he returned to Goodman's band for a few months. He continued to perform in famous clubs in the 1960s, including the Showboat Lounge in northwest Washington, D.C. With peer Cozy Cole, Gene started a music school in 1954 that carried on into the 1960s. He continued to live in the parts of the house that were habitable.

In 1973, Krupa died in Yonkers at the age 64 from heart failure, though he also had leukemia and emphysema. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Calumet City, Illinois.

Endorsement

thumb|200px|Gene Krupa Drive in Yonkers, New York

In the 1930s, Krupa became the first endorser of Slingerland drums. At Krupa's urging, Slingerland developed tom-toms with tuneable top and bottom heads, which immediately became important elements of virtually every drummer's setup. Krupa developed and popularized many of the cymbal techniques that became standard. His collaboration with Avedis Zildjian developed the modern hi-hat cymbals and standardized the names and uses of the ride cymbal, crash cymbal, and splash cymbal. He is also credited with helping to formulate the modern drum set, being one of the first jazz drummers to use a bass drum in a recording session

(December 1927). One of his bass drums, a Slingerland 14×26, inscribed with Benny Goodman and Krupa's initials, is preserved at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Awards and honors

In 1978, Krupa became the first drummer inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame. The 1937 recording of Louis Prima's "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" combined with Fats Waller's "Christopher Columbus" by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra featuring Krupa on drums was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982.

Apollo 440's 1996 hit single "Krupa" is a tribute to Gene Krupa.

Legacy and posthumous information

Roy Knapp affirmed: "There is not a professional drummer, percussionist, or other instrumentalist who does not in some way owe something and should be grateful to Gene Krupa for his imaginative and creative contributions in the modern drum techniques and styles in performance that we are using today". Buddy Rich, who cited Krupa as one of his biggest influences, stated: "Gene Krupa was the beginning and the 'end' of all drummers" . He's a great genius - a truly great genius of the drums. Gene discovered things that could be done with the drums that hadn't been done before, ever. ... Before Gene, the drums were in the background, just a part of the band. To put it in plainer terms, the drums didn't have much - meaning. Along comes Gene and the drums take on meaning and they're out of the background. The drummer becomes somebody ... Gene gets credit for making people aware of the drummer - of what he's doing and why he's doing it and he deserves every bit of that credit". and Keith Moon. Ian Paice and Carl Palmer claimed they started to play the drums at early age after listening to Krupa. Guitarist Dick Dale, who also played percussion in his early days, was a Krupa fan and said his guitar sound and rhythm came from Krupa's drumming.

Discography

As leader

  • 1946 Drummin' With Krupa (Columbia)
  • 1947 Gene Krupa And His Orchestra (Columbia)
  • 1948 Gene Krupa (Columbia)
  • 1950 Gene Krupa Plays "Fats" Waller For Dancing (Columbia)
  • 1952 The Original Drum Battle (Verve)
  • 1952 The Drum Battle with Buddy Rich (Verve)
  • 1953 Timme Rosenkrantz' 1945 Concert Vol. 3 (Commodore)
  • 1953 The Exciting Gene Krupa
  • 1954 Sing, Sing, Sing (Verve)
  • 1954 The Driving Gene Krupa (Verve)
  • 1954 Gene Krupa, Vol. 1 (Clef)
  • 1954 Gene Krupa, Vol. 2 (Clef)
  • 1955 The Jazz Rhythms of Gene Krupa (Verve)
  • 1955 G. Krupa-L. Hampton-T. Wilson (Verve)
  • 1955 The Gene Krupa Quartet (Clef)
  • 1956 Drummer Man (Verve)
  • 1956 Krupa and Rich (Verve)
  • 1957 Krupa Rocks (Verve)
  • 1959 Big Noise from Winnetka (Commodore)
  • 1959 Plays Gerry Mulligan Arrangements (Verve)
  • 1959 Hey...Here's Gene Krupa (Verve)
  • 1959 The Gene Krupa Story (Verve)
  • 1961 Percussion King (Verve)
  • 1962 Burnin' Beat with Buddy Rich (Verve)
  • 1962 Classics in Percussion! (Verve)
  • 1963 The Mighty Two with Louis Bellson (Roulette)
  • 1964 The Great New Gene Krupa Quartet Featuring Charlie Ventura (Verve)
  • 1972 Jazz at the New School (Chiaroscuro)

As sideman

With Benny Goodman

  • 1950 Live at Carnegie Hall (1938)
  • 1955 The Benny Goodman Story, Vols. 1–2
  • 1956 The King of Swing, Vol. 2
  • 1956 Trio Quartet Quintet
  • 1997 The Complete RCA Victor Small Group Recordings (RCA Victor, 1935–39 [1997])

References

  • Let Me Off Uptown: A Gene Krupa Biography by John Twomey
  • Gene Krupa Profiles in Jazz
  • Gene Krupa recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings