Teddy Campbell 
(July 2005 Issue)
Delivering the Message on TV

This article is an excerpt from the 09/2005 issue of Modern Drummer Magazine. Check your newsstands today to read the full article.

by Billy Amendola


Out of all the reality TV shows on the air, American Idol has risen above and beyond to become a cultural phenomenon. In the few years the show has been on TV, it's practically taken over the entire music business, with the promise of making the winning contestants superstars. The live house band, directed by leader Rickey Minor and featuring drummer extraordinaire Teddy Campbell, plays a pivotal role in making the show one of the most entertaining and watched programs in TV history.

Teddy Campbell has been playing drums since he started naturally banging on his mom's pots and pans at the age of three. The drummer grew up in the Gospel music scene of Chicago, Illinois, played in church for the first time at the age of four, and hasn't looked back since. Since moving out to California almost nine years ago, Campbell, now thirty, has become one of the hardest-working drummers in the business. His r'sum' is so impressive that even he sometimes has a hard time believing how truly blessed he's been.

Campbell's work as musical director and drummer for 98 Degrees and Britney Spears (while both were at the peak of their careers) is just a tip of the iceberg. A few of his other credits include Deborah Cox, Kelly Price, Mary Mary, and Ann Nesby (formally of Sounds Of Blackness). Teddy has also recorded with Al Jarreau, Rod Stewart, Sisqo, Kirk Whalum, Paul Jackson Jr., and Kelly Clarkson. And he's toured with The Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, LSG (Gerald Levert, Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill), and Bette Midler. And the drummer has also done TV appearances with Ashanti, P-Diddy, Yolanda Adams, Shania Twain, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, and Natalie Cole. And he's been the drummer in the house bands for The Image Awards, The Essence Awards, The American Music Awards, The Billboard Awards, B.E.T.'s Celebration Of Gospel (hosted by Steve Harvey), VH1 Disco Ball, VH1 Diva's Concert, and the VH1 Save The Music Concert.

Despite all of that work, Campbell still finds the time to stay true to his roots, fronting his own Gospel group, The Soul Seekers. "I'm the lead singer in the group, and Eric Seats is the drummer," Teddy explains. "I played drums on two of the studio tracks, "What Would You Do?" and "He'll Make A Way." We did most of the record live at drummer/producer Nisan Stewart's dad's church. Nissan's in the group as well'though he doesn't play, he sings."

MD caught up with Campbell just as this season of American Idol was wrapping up. This is his first major feature story, and it's well-deserved. Look out for this rising star. Next time you're watching TV and there's a house band, there's a good chance you'll see Teddy doing his thing.

MD: Let's start with American Idol. How did the gig come about?

Teddy: I've been working with musical director Rickey Minor for a few years now on various TV shows. Rickey recommended me for the gig.

MD: What does the gig require? Are you reading charts?

Teddy: Oh, yeah. It's all charts.

MD: Is Rickey flexible? How close do you have to stay to the original recording?

Teddy: Rickey's very flexible with me. But he can be hard on anybody who sits in that seat"anybody. He doesn't care who it is. [laughs] We work well together and have been doing these types of shows for a while now. It's a very hard thing to do. You can't just come in, sit in the seat, and blaze. Rickey counts us down, and it's 4, 3, 2, 1 - go. And we're live, so on top of reading the charts and listening to the cues, everything has to be on time and precise. Tempos have to be exact, and the songs can't run over a given time limit. If a song is supposed to be two minutes and twenty-five seconds, then it has to be two minutes and twenty-five seconds.

MD: Are you familiar with the tunes? Some of them date from before you were born.

Teddy: Oh yeah, a lot of them. [laughs] I was born in '75. But you know what? I grew up in church, playing strictly Gospel music. I think that's the best school ever, because not only does your pocket get strong in that setting, your awareness of what's going on around you improves, because you have to pay attention to so many things in church. You've got to watch the director. You've got to listen to the music, support the band and singers, and watch the preacher. It's not just showing up and playing. You have to be very attentive. And spiritually too, you've got to be in tune with what's happening. If the spirit is trying to move to a worship mode or to more praise and aggressive music, you've got to be able to switch over.

MD: So you're incorporating your church experience when you're playing the show? You make it sound like five different drummers playing because you're covering so many different genres.

Teddy: Well, thank you. Growing up, I only played Gospel music. But I was a fan of music, period. I always listened to a lot of music. From the time I was fourteen years old, I started getting into other types of music, and that's when I first heard players like Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Will Kennedy, and Steve Gadd. Up until then, I only knew church music. Of course, I knew there was a whole other world of music out there, but I never needed it. When I got old enough to understand and be interested in other music, that's when I started finding out about different cats. From then on, I always listened to a lot of different music.

I listened to jazz and R&B. I was a '70s guru - I wanted to play everything from the '70s. I wish I had been around for that era. Oh, man. The Marvin Gaye stuff was so funky, the Parliament stuff, Earth, Wind & Fire, all the Motown stuff - which was a little earlier than the '70s. But all that stuff was so funky.

MD: Did you start playing along to those records?

Teddy: Oh, yeah. And when I couldn't play - because we were moving around to different places, going from a house to an apartment - I would just listen. I always had music in my head. And when I was living in a house, as soon as I got home from school, I didn't even do my homework. [laughs] I just got on the drums and played until my mom came home from work. I had about three hours a day to practice, blazing away to Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Will Kennedy with The Yellowjackets.

MD: Did you also watch videos?

Teddy: No, I didn't watch a lot of videos. It was more just playing along with CDs, listening to the music, and getting on the drums and trying to do that stuff myself. I never got into videos.

MD: Are you self-taught?

Teddy: Yes, completely. I played my first song in church when I was four years old. That's what God put me here to do, among other things. But I'm a drummer.

Billy Amendola

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