In Memoriam

Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.

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Tulsa Drumming Legend Chuck Blackwell Passes

Chuck Blackwell, whose credits include Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen, the Everly Brothers, Taj Mahal, and Freddie King, passed away recently, at the age of seventy-seven. The May 2011 issue of Modern Drummer included the feature Tulsa Time: Jimmy…

Modern Drummer
Oct 30, 2017

Spooky Tooth/Only Ones Drummer Mike Kellie Passes

Mike Kellie, center, as he appeared on the cover of Spooky Tooth’s 1969 sophomore album, Spooky Two. Similar to contemporaries like Argent and the Moody Blues, Spooky Tooth expanded upon its early rhythm-and-blues sound to include proto-progressive-rock concepts, and all…

Modern Drummer
Jan 20, 2017

Dick DiCenso Passes

We at Modern Drummer were saddened to hear of the passing of Dick DiCenso, the father of renowned drummer Dave DiCenso and the founder of Dick DiCenso’s Drum Shop, which was founded in 1982 and for twenty-three years served the…

Modern Drummer
May 11, 2016

’70s-Era David Bowie Drummer Dennis Davis Passes

Longtime David Bowie drummer Dennis Davis passed away yesterday. Davis appeared on a string of Bowie studio albums in the ’70s, beginning with Young Americans in 1975 and ending with 1980’s Scary Monsters. The run of recordings, which also includes…

Modern Drummer
Apr 8, 2016

Founding Lynyrd Skynyrd Drummer Bob Burns Dies

Bob Burns at Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction Original Lynyrd Skynyrd Drummer Bob Burns, one of the founders of the legendary Southern-rock band, was killed last week in an auto accident in Georgia, at age…

Modern Drummer
Apr 8, 2015
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AJ Pero Dies at Age 55

Last Friday, March 20, longtime Twisted Sister drummer AJ Pero died in Poughkeepsie, New York, from an apparent heart attack while on the road with Adrenaline Mob. He was fifty-five. “My friend, my brother, my band mate passed away today,”…

Modern Drummer
Mar 23, 2015

Lennie DiMuzio Passes

DiMuzio (right) with Armand Zildjian Modern Drummer is saddened to learn of the passing of Lennie DiMuzio, longtime artist relations manager for the Avedis Zildjian company. Later in life DiMuzio worked for Sabian Ltd., which, on its Facebook page, described…

Modern Drummer
Mar 9, 2015

Latin Percussion Icon Milton Cardona Remembered

  by Victor Rendón and Ken Ross   On September 19, 2014, Milton Cardona, a fixture of the New York salsa and Latin-jazz scene, passed away of heart failure. He was sixty-nine. Cardona, a Puerto Rican who grew up in…

Modern Drummer
Dec 19, 2014

Broadway Drummer Dave Ratajczak Remembered

In October of 2014, the drumming community lost an esteemed member, veteran Broadway drummer Dave Ratajczak, whose credits included the shows City of Angels, Sweet Charity, Titanic, The Music Man, and Mary Poppins. Ratajczak, who was a graduate of the…

Modern Drummer
Nov 25, 2014

Stooges Drummer Scott Asheton Passes

By Robert Matheu Modern Drummer learned of the death this past weekend of Scott Asheton, drummer with the seminal Ann Arbor, Michigan, band the Stooges; his passing was noted in several media reports and on Stooges singer Iggy Pop’s Facebook…

Modern Drummer
Mar 17, 2014

VIDEO: A Tribute to Tonight Show Drummer Ed Shaughnessy

  Remembering Ed In this video drummers Joe Vitale (The Eagles), Peter Criss (KISS), Danny Carey (TOOL), Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge), Jojo Mayer (Nerve), and Bobby Rondinelli (Blue Öyster Cult) remember Tonight Show drummer and bebop legend Ed Shaughnessy who…

Modern Drummer
Dec 6, 2013

Renowned Fusion Drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson Passes

Ronald Shannon Jackson died at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, this past October 19. Jackson was a renowned drummer, composer, and bandleader who supported some of the giants of avant-garde jazz, including Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, and Albert Ayler.…

Modern Drummer
Oct 21, 2013
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In Memoriam: Willie “Big Eyes??? Smith

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, one of the great practitioners of a true American art form, was lost to blues fans around the world when he passed on September 16, 2011. The harmonica player, drummer, singer, and composer, who gained international…

Modern Drummer
Oct 26, 2011

In Memoriam: Woody “Sonship” Theus

by Gerry Gibbs Woody “Sonship” Theus, whose credits include work with McCoy Tyner, Charles Lloyd, John McLaughlin, Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Michal Urbaniak, and Pharoah Sanders, passed away this past March 18, at age fifty-eight. Among the pallbearers at his…

Modern Drummer
Aug 19, 2011
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