Here are five suggestions for the top 10 list … who’s got 5 more?

1. I Can See For Miles – The Who, Drummer: Keith Moon
2. Fire – The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Drummer: Mitch Mitchell
3. Fool In The Rain – Led Zeppelin, Drummer: John Bonham
4. Fireball – Deep Purple, Drummer: Ian Paice
5. Roxanne – The Police, Drummer: Stewart Copeland

These are my suggestions for songs that belong on the list. As we all know, “Top 10” lists are subjective. But they are a good way to stimulate thinking. “Hmmm, what are some of the very best drumming performances of all time?” The drummers on this list, given their entire body of work, make it truly impossible to pick just one song as being their best performance. You could listen to a playlist of all the songs these drummers played on and not be let down for even a beat. No exaggeration.

In the first two positions are Keith Moon and Mitch Mitchell. Putting these two drummers first has some historical context. When Moon and Mitchell began drumming, “hard rock drumming” was still a fluid idea at best. The drummers of that era either had to look to early rock and roll or jazz music for inspiration, or they simply had to create their own style of playing. Moon was clearly of the blaze your own trail school of thought, while Mitchell’s approach was sort of jazz drumming gone way over the top and into a new universe where it became “rock drumming.” So, what I’m saying is these guys had to invent rock drumming. Think about it, how would you react if you were asked, at the time, to play the drums for the Who or Jimi Hendrix? Forgetting analysis and history, both of these drummers are “take your breath away” performers. After years of listening to “I Can See For Miles” and “Fire” I still get chills when I hear these tracks. Those chills are largely driven by the drumming. And that’s a powerful statement when you consider the towering legendary talent playing alongside these equally legendary drummers.

Next is John Bonham. There isn’t much that hasn’t been said about Bonham. He is certainly in a class of his own. A drummer of such stature that Led Zeppelin chose not to go on without him. Let that sink in for a minute. Right? In the rock timeline, Bonham came along very early, just slightly after the aforementioned Moon and Mitchell, and some other trailblazing rock drummers like Ginger Baker. But here again, like Keith Moon, Bonham chose to forge his own path, ignoring for the most part that which was considered “standard” drumming. In my opinion, I don’t think Bonham was rebelling against classic drumming or anything like that. I believe that he only heard what was in his head, and played it exactly that way. This is one thing that made him such a great artist. Plus he had the chops to deliver what he heard in his head. Again, like Moon and Mitchell, Bonzo was playing alongside virtuosos. So making a mark could have been a challenge. But in John Bonham’s case, he not only rose to the occasion, but built a musical foundation upon which there would not have been Led Zeppelin without.

Ian Paice. Another stellar talent, Paice is a member of the early school of rock drummers having to invent ways to play alongside the likes of Richie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Roger Glover, and Ian Gillan. Paice has an unusual blend of insanely great technique, innovative approach, and his own brand of high-performance power drumming. He is a perfect example of a musician’s musician, tasteful player, and rock star all in one. The first time I heard “Fireball” I was stunned. The song was half way through and I was still trying to digest the drum opening. Like the other drummers on this list, Ian Paice’s body of work is consistently brilliant.

Stewart Copeland. The only reason he is number 5 is timeline. Copeland came along about half a generation behind the others on the list. However, if you think about it, this makes standing out in a sea of talent all the harder. By the time the Police hit the music scene in 1978 the world had been exposed to a solid 15 years of incredible rock talent. Through the 1970s there was so much brilliant musical talent that the world began to almost take rock and popular music for granted, assuming if not demanding a constant flow of new musical genius. Now getting back to the subject of rock drumming, how could anyone standout in the late 70s. We’d seen it all, right? Enter the Police and Stewart Copeland. The opening seconds of “Roxanne” immediately take your musical senses somewhere they haven’t been. “What is going on with the drums? The rhythm is sort of there, sort of not there, counterpoint, syncopated, I don’t know what it is but it’s &%!!$! mind-blowingly great, and I’ve never heard anything like it!” In my mind, Stewart Copeland’s drumming is best defined as a signature. It is so recognizable, so different, so multidimensional, and even 45 years on it remains unique. So, like the other drummers on this list, Stewart Copeland is a trailblazer who ignores the status quo and plays exactly what he hears in his head. This is a forever rare quality.

So there you have it, my suggestions for five spots on the list of top ten classic rock drumming performances. I know you have five more. Let’s hear them.