By 1929, a twelve-year-old Buddy Rich was already a seasoned performer, having been an integral part of his parents’ vaudeville act since he was eighteen months old. According to Mel Tormé’s biography of Rich, Traps: The Drum Wonder, with the days of vaudeville waning, Rich was approached by the Vitaphone studios to film a one-reel movie short. Tormé explains that Buddy Traps in “Sound Effects” is the drummer’s first-known recording and consists of the numbers “That Wonderful Boy Friend of Mine,” “Am I Blue?” “If You Were Mine,” “Bashful Baby,” and “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

November 2018 Issue