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Gene Krupa Bio

Gene Krupa was born on January 15, 1909 in Chicago USA, and passed away on Oct. 16 1973. Krupa was a famous American big band and jazz drummer that captured to hearts of many. Gene Krupa recorded his first album in 1027 with Eddie Condon. In fact, this was the very first record to include a full drum set; something that Krupa insisted on when entering the studio. For this, Gene Krupa has become one of the most memorable drummers of all time, practically introducing the full drum set to modern day recording studios and bands. He was the first drummer to use the bass drum pedal in 1927. Gene taught himself most of what he knew on the drums, playing in his room day in and day out.  It wasn’t until 1935, when he joined up with the Benny Goodman Orchestra, when he really got famous. His fast stick control and jazz playing was at the top, next to Buddy Rich, in fact one of Krupas famous videos is a drum battle with legend Buddy Rich.

Gene Krupas drumming has been imitated by many drummers of this time. Some rock stars like Neil Peart, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Peter Criss, and Paul Whaley, use Krupa as their inspiration. Krupa had a small problem with marijuana during his rise to fandom; however this never hurt any of his performances. In 1959, there was a BIOGRAPHY film created for him called “The Gene Krupa Story”, this showed fans the life and times of Gene Krupa. Gene, like Buddy Rich, played on a Ludwig drum set.

Take a few moments to look below at some of the best Gene Krupa moments caught on film. His legacy will live on forever with his classic drum solos, jazz drumming, and drum battles.

Gene Krupa Videos