Excerpted from the November 1985 Cover Story Known as the “Father Time” of modern drumming, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie has drummed up an almost unbeatable record of more than 3,000 album credits—many of them smash hits. He has cut across all stylistic barriers to play with a wide range of musicians: Aretha Franklin, Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock, Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, Dizzy Gillespie, Gato Barbieri, James Brown, Paul Simon, King Curtis, Ray Charles, and Mongo Santamaria. That’s just a sampling. And though he’s slowed down a bit from his incredible schedule of 15 to 20 studio sessions a week during the music-soaked ‘60s, he’s still going strong. “My job is to support the singer or the lead instrument—first, last, and always,” he declares with an almost religious sense of devotion, and you’ve got to believe that whoever is out front is solid and secure on Purdie’s shoulders. True to his […]

September 2021 Issue