13 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)

[Ray Dee Oh King]

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!

[Ray Dee Oh King]

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.

[carptrash]

I have just started a stub article about Buddy Saltzman on wikipedia, and it needs all the REFERENCED help (no opinions, please) that it can get.  See you there.

[retrosonic]

Yes, its Buddy Saltzman on "Ronnie" and Dawn" and a whole rap sheet of other 4 Seasons tracks. Give Buddy the credit for a simple, great drum track, but give engineer Bill McMeekin credit for the astounding drum sound he got by using compression, EQ and echo in the perfect balance. Those 4 Seasons records just JUMP out of the stereo!!!

[tris66]

I have just started a stub article about Buddy Saltzman on wikipedia, and it needs all the REFERENCED help (no opinions, please) that it can get.  See you there.

https://www.youtube....h?v=c0_JArpsiQw

 

Might be a lead to family who could add lots of info.

[gwbasley]

Yes, its Buddy Saltzman on "Ronnie" and Dawn" and a whole rap sheet of other 4 Seasons tracks. Give Buddy the credit for a simple, great drum track, but give engineer Bill McMeekin credit for the astounding drum sound he got by using compression, EQ and echo in the perfect balance. Those 4 Seasons records just JUMP out of the stereo!!!

Buddy revealed in an interview, that he used a trick to get a bigger drum sound when he recorded...he always "held back" a little when the engineer called for levels and then would "cut loose" on the take.  It would frustrate the engineers but the A&R guys always loved it!

[retrosonic]

GW: Thats interesting. In those days, a drummer could do that because the tube compressors would absorb the higher levels and the tape wouldnt disort. Try doing that with digital. No dice.

[gwbasley]

GW: Thats interesting. In those days, a drummer could do that because the tube compressors would absorb the higher levels and the tape wouldnt disort. Try doing that with digital. No dice.

Going a bit O.T. here, but I think you might find find this article interesting:

 

http://www.mixonline...rag-doll/365382