It seems fitting that two far-reaching events were marked by the inaugural January 1977 issue of Modern Drummer: the beginning of MD’s now 45-year reign as the foremost publication for drums and drummers, and an advertisement—our only full-page advertiser at the time—that heralded Roger’s innovative Memriloc system, which had debuted in 1976. Future Modern Drummer columnist Roy Burns and Dave Donoho collaborated on Memriloc for Rogers, and the hardware’s robust stability, rapid assembly, and capability, which allowed players to standardize and repeat their setups gig after gig, were a phenomenon. The ad got it right—Memriloc made drum history. And Modern Drummer didn’t do too bad, either! —Michael Molenda

May 2021 Issue