Fantasy Fill-In, One Song, Which Band?

[BennyK]

Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum

 

[RayB]

As the story goes, Gus Johnson came down with appendicitis and had to be hospitalized. Basie needed a fill-in and Sonny Payne got the call. Payne was a hit with audiences who liked his flashy style and Basie decided to keep him on.

Thanks for that story, I hadn't heard about Gus getting sick and Sonny Payne filling in.
One of my favorite records is Sinatra/Basie Live at the Sands. A great Basie band with Sonny on drums, arrangements by Quincy Jones. Sonny is in top form. I love that version of "I've Got You Under My Skin". Especially the solo and the last chorus. The buildup is so powerful, the band opens up perfectly. Frank is so in snych with the band....a masterful performance all around.
Sonny Payne studied with Vic Berton way back, had a fun personality and a very flashy style. Audiences loved him and I guess the smart thing for Basie was to keep him over Gus Johnson. Sonny also played crowd-pleasing long solos; not Gus Johnson's thing.
Over the years, I've become a little more critical of Sonny Payne's drumming. He was a little too aggressive sometimes and wasn't in snych with Freddy Green the way Jo Jones and Gus Johnson were. There's even a few times in some of the live videos where the lead alto, Marshall Royal, rolls his eyes at the way Sonny establishes the tempo. While audiences dug Sonny, I suspect the musicians preferred the pace of less-bombastic Gus Johnson. Nonetheless, Basie had a lot of success in the Sonny Payne era and he knew what he was doing.

 

[frankmott]

The Ocean, Zep. Every time I hear it, I start air drumming (something I usually try to avoid doing, as it looks silly when I see others doing it).

 

[Plaid Sabbath]

Interesting thread. Hard to narrow down choices for this brain tickler.

Gotta go with another Zeppelin cut.

Dazed and Confused…Live Supershow 1969. The four heaviest cats on the planet that night.

 

[drumdawg]

Hard to pick one but I would say Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC. I think it would be awesome to bang that out and then walk off stage! (and let the real drummer take over)

 

[Furious Styles]

Probably Deep Purple - Highway Star

 

[Peano]

My favorite Basie drummer. At one of the three Basie concerts I attended I was chatting with one of the trombone players during intermission and he said that sometimes he would get so absorbed by what Harold was doing that he would forget to come in when he was supposed to.

I took my latest Basie CD to that same concert and got some of the band to sign it during the intermission. That same trombone player took the CD back on stage and got the others to sign it too. Basie had since passed away and Frank Foster was the band leader at the time. He signed it "Bebopically, Frank Foster" which I though was so cool that I stole it and and added it the signature on my posts.

Harold was also Basie's favorite drummer. I went to hear the band in 1971 at a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. I got there an hour early, and the doorman wouldn't let me go into the empty ballroom. Then Duffy and Chubby Jackson arrived. I had met Duffy a few years earlier and he recognized me, so he invited me to go in with him and his dad.

We took the table right beside the bandstand next to the rhythm section. I was sitting close enough to stick my foot out and touch the bandstand next to Harold's drums. Needless to say, my mind was blown that night. It was a demonstration of drumset artistry such as I never saw before or since.

 

[thejohnlec]

Almost any song by Little Feat.

 

[Bandit]

RUSH 2112.

 

[Bonzoholic]

For Your Life or The Wanton Song - Led Zeppelin

 

[Wheresmyroadie?]

So if you had one chance to sit in with one band to play just one song....which band? which song?

Little Feat: One Clear Moment

 

[JimmyM]

Tie between ELP Karn Evil 9 1st Impression because I worked on it so hard as a kid, and White Stripes Hardest Button To Button because Meg is off the charts crazy on it.

 

[thejohnlec]

Little Feat: One Clear Moment

Man, I love this whole album.

 

[little rock]

Satisfaction by Mick and the boys or pretty much any of their songs.

 

[earteaga]

Heard It On The X - ZZ Top

 

[stickmakeboom]

Tool- The Grudge. We're talking fantasy right?? Lol