‘Sing, Sing, Sing’, the Benny Goodman Orchestra’s sensational hit of 1937, featured the explosive drumming of Gene Krupa, with the most enduring tom-tom tattoo ever committed to wax. It’s still an infectious beat, butchered by every drummer with a floor tom while also endlessly engaging the advertising, TV and movie industries.
Goodman famously stormed Carnegie Hall in 1938 and the visceral thrill of Krupa’s take-no-prisoners stomp (here on YouTube) instantly entered drumming folklore. That moment furthermore revolutionised the drum set itself. Krupa’s mahogany ply Slingerland Radio King toms were the first to be tuneable both top and bottom. Radio Kings became the prototype for the modern drum kit.
