Who are, or were, the best percussionists of all time?
We will attempt to answer that question in this article, information provided by Kip Allen, outstanding Nashville songwriter, session drummer, music producer, and Drum Workshop Artist. Call Kip the next time the gig you are going requires the best that Nashville has to offer.
The best percussionists? Let’s talk about them!
Who determines the best percussionists of all time?
This is one of those topics which will drive musicians crazy. The best percussionists? The best session drummers? The best session musicians? The best lead guitarists?
You could ask twenty Nashville musicians this question, the Top Five percussionists of all time, and get twenty different lists. Then ask that question of music producers, music critics, music teachers, and music fans, and those lists would be different. Oh sure, there will be a handful of names which probably appear on all of the lists, but the main point of this discussion is to point out how subjective those rating systems can be.
How the best percussionists of all time earned their rating.
Most likely any such list would have Tim Curle on it. He is generally considered one of the best of the best, today and tomorrow and yesterday, one talented musician who is consider the standard by which others are judged.
But how did Tim Curle achieve such status? How did he earn such a high rating?
Again, this is such a subjective industry. Of course, Tim Curle has talent. That is recognized by anyone who knows anything about drummers/percussionists. But Tim also has experience. He has been around a long time, he is known by many people in the industry, he has received rave reviews in the media and, quite frankly, he has paid his dues and deserves whatever recognition he receives.
Having said that, and there are those who will debate this next point with me, but I believe there are a handful of Tim Curles who have not been discovered and who may never be discovered, and that is the whole point of this article.
Don’t worry about all time; worry about daily.
You may never be recognized as the best percussionist in the world. You may never receive fame. Your talents may never be heard by the masses, and your songs may never be purchased. None of those things should stop you from performing, writing, or producing, for music should be about a love affair between the musician and the instrument he/she plays. Music is performed because music is loved, and it’s as simple as that. I wish there was some magic potion I could give to you all to make you successful. I wish it were just a little bit easier to make it in this business.
But it isn’t, and your love of music will have to be enough.
A final word about Kip Allen
Kip Allen first arrived in Nashville in 2008; his is not an overnight success story, but it is a perseverance story, a feel-good story about doing everything you can do to make a name for yourself in one of the toughest industries in the country. Call Kim the next time your project requires one of the best drummer percussionist in Nashville.
