7 replies to this topic

[mike21]

Does anyone know who played the drums on "Ronnie" by The Four Seasons? Thank you!

[ludwig402]

Buddy Saltzman?

 

Not sure.

 

But he did play on Dawn which was recorded and released the same year as Ronnie (1964)

[L_Johnson]

Gerry Polci played drums on Ronnie.....

[gwbasley]

It was Buddy Saltzman..  Buddy played almost exclusively for The Four Seasons.  Bob Gaudio used the drum part as a lead instrument...almost every song has a "drum hook" in it.

[tris66]

It was Buddy Saltzman..  Buddy played almost exclusively for The Four Seasons.  Bob Gaudio used the drum part as a lead instrument...almost every song has a "drum hook" in it.

 

Love Buddy Saltzman's playing and 'feel' on the 4 Seasons recordings. My dad was a fan. Had the greatest hits on an 8-track when I was a wee laddie. I'd fall asleep with the 8-track playing over and over and over.... For some people that might be torture. Great pop writing, singing and drumming. Hooks galore! Biggest band in the charts until the Beatles showed up.

 

Not much out there on Buddy Saltzman. Too bad. He could have probably told some cool stories  before he passed on.

[gwbasley]

 

It was Buddy Saltzman..  Buddy played almost exclusively for The Four Seasons.  Bob Gaudio used the drum part as a lead instrument...almost every song has a "drum hook" in it.

 

Not much out there on Buddy Saltzman. Too bad. He could have probably told some cool stories  before he passed on.

 

Buddy did a lot of Dion's sessions as well.  He was the guy on Sinatra's "New York".  He was also Gary Chester's "go to" drummer to sub for him if he had double booked or got held over on a session, so a lot of songs credit both drummers.  "The Wanderer" by Dion is a good example where Gary had done a demo cut but Buddy layed down the finished tracks.  With The Monkeys things got even more complex with Buddy and Gary doing various record sessions in NY and Hal Blaine covering the TV show on the west coast....these same three became part of Phil Specter's "wall of sound".  It was definitely a golden era for session men!

[L_Johnson]

I stand corrected. It made me search and I really couldn't find much on it. Thanks for the info

[gwbasley]

I stand corrected. It made me search and I really couldn't find much on it. Thanks for the info

Its too bad but not very much has been written on Buddy Saltzman.  There is a lot more on Gary Chester but it still only scratches the surfacce.  Hal Blaine was just a media hog, but this all goes with the territory, after all, Hal was from LA!  The guy who, IMO,  got the least coverage and arguably deserved the most, was Earl Palmer.  Of the LA guys, I am far more impressed with his drumming contributions than Blaine's, but that just me.  The fact of the matter is that the NY studio men worked day and night and had little time to write anything down.  There is a real jewel out there if you have the time and patience to check it out...the Atlantic Records Discography.  It lists all sessions and musicians who contributed to every record released by Atlantic...period.  Its huge and you have to search through it year by year but what an impressive resource.  Another great read is the Burt Burns biography "Here Comes The Night"...really good stuff.