Buddy Rich: The Singer
by Andrew Naughton
Bernard “Buddy” Rich was the most prolific drummer of his time and is well known for his virtuosic performances, incredible stage presence, and, somewhat less known, his singing. Buddy had a large influence on the development of the drum set in both a physical and a musical context and is a major contributor to the professionalism and respect surrounding the instrument today. He demanded, and earned, respect through his playing and forced the importance of the drummer’s role in the band. Although it wasn’t often that Buddy sang in concert, he recorded multiple albums as the singer and someone else on the drums. This article will explore examples of Buddy Rich’s singing throughout his career.
Buddy Rich’s father, Robert Rich, was an amateur showman Vaudevillian, building his career in Vaudeville and variety shows travelling around the country at major Vaudeville houses with Sam Wilson, an accomplished singer. Although Robert Rich would leave show business as a professional returning many times throughout his life, he always considered himself a performer. Much like his son Buddy, Robert Rich was known for his tap-dancing. The birth of Buddy changed Robert’s mind about being a professional performer and to adequately provide for his family, went to work for the Wander Company as a shipping clerk.[1] Robert chose to return to show business, (moving from Albany to Brooklyn) to produce a full show with his wife Bess.
As Robert’s new group was rehearsing one day, the pit drummer gave 18-month-old Buddy a pair of drumsticks to keep him occupied. As they were playing, the drummer noticed that Buddy was tapping the drumsticks to the beat of the music. As the rehearsal progressed, and as the band changed in tempo throughout the music, Buddy would follow, allegedly without missing a beat.[2] This astonished the entire room, including the stage manager who attempted to convince Robert to give his son a spot in the show. With encouragement from the rest of the band, Robert thought about what this would mean for both Buddy and the show. He was apprehensive and had some moral conflicts with this decision,[3] but he was ultimately convinced after the manager mentioned that the theater owner always watches new acts. In Buddy’s debut performances, his stage name was “Baby Pal Rich,” “Pal” being the name that his family would call him. This was the beginning of Buddy’s life-long musical career.
As a Vaudevillian, Buddy learned many different performance skills, from drummer, to dancer, tap-dancer, and as a singer. After some time, Buddy’s stage name evolved from “Pal” to “Traps,” and travelled as “Traps the drum wonder.”[4] Later he came to be known as “Buddy,” which stuck for the rest of his life. In 1937, Buddy joined a company called Works Progress Administration (WPA) to performing in a musical titled Oh, Say Can You Sing. In this musical they showcased Buddy’s talents, drumming, tap-dancing, and singing.
For many years Buddy drops the singing and dancing parts of his routine and lives as a drummer for many famous musicians, including Artie Shaw and Tommy Dorsey. Over the years he would perform with many famous singers, with much of that time spent with Frank Sinatra, an ongoing love-hate relationship. Then in 1948, Buddy led his own band for the Universal Pictures film Buddy Rich and His Orchestra.[5] This band would consistently ask Buddy to sing with them while the trumpet player, “Bitsy” Mullens, would drum. Bitsy was described by Mel Tormé as a “passable timekeeper.”[6] After Mullens left he was replaced by a full-time drummer named Stanley Kay, who ended up being Buddy’s personal manager. Stanley would play anytime Buddy was singing or tap dancing.
In recordings as early as 1930, we can hear Buddy Rich singing on such tracks as “Bashful Baby,” recorded by the company Vitaphone.[7] On this track Buddy can be heard singing and tap dancing.[8] Buddy is 13 years old here with a powerful voice and an astonishing sense of rhythm that can be heard clearly in his tap dancing.
We don’t know the exact age Buddy stopped singing professionally, but we know Buddy Rich focused on being a drummer for a very long time and didn’t appear on any recorded works as a singer. During this time, Buddy refined his skills with Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, and Lionel Hampton becoming the most sought-after drummer of all time. When Buddy Rich formed his own orchestra in the mid-1950s, the band began to ask him to sing. Buddy agreed to sing for an album titled Sing and Swing with Buddy Rich, recorded in 1955.
This album is unique because Buddy is not the drummer (except for one out of the 5 songs,) rather, he sings on the full album. Buddy had not been featured as the lead vocalist in this caliber in the past. The reason he drums on one song is because there are no vocals. The work is titled “Ballad Medley” and you can hear some impressive brush work on the recording. Buddy sings very well and has good control of his vocal range. As a 38-year-old drummer, he can certainly keep up with the changes in keys and beat. The drummer who takes Buddy’s place on the other tracks is no other than Louie Bellson.[9] The first song, “Everything happens to me,” is performed at a medium tempo, and shows that Buddy has a nice smooth texture to his voice. The next song is more upbeat and demonstrates Buddy’s virtuosity as he adjusts and keeps up with a more up-beat tempo. Buddy also showcases the sentimental side of his singing with a slow ballad titled “Glad to be Unhappy.”
Buddy enlisted Norman Granz to hire Howard Gibeling’s orchestra for the recording. Ever since Frank Sinatra praised Buddy’s singing, he seemed to have an itch for wanting to sing again.[10] It is interesting to hear Buddy sing because when he speaks, he has a distinctly raspy sound to his voice. If you were to hear a group of people talking from another room, you would always know when Buddy was talking or yelling. That raspiness transfers to his singing. As you listen, you can tell this is Buddy’s unique voice singing the lyrics because it has that same timbre as his speaking voice. At times, it sounds as though Buddy is speaking until he moves to other notes.
In 1956, Buddy recorded another album as a vocalist titled Buddy Sings Johnny Mercer. This album has twelve songs with Buddy on vocals. The drummer is Alvin Stoller, who replaced Buddy Rich in the Tommy Dorsey orchestra. The album open ups with a lively tune, “Goody Goody,” showing that Buddy can be just as energized behind the microphone as he is behind the drums. This is followed by Buddy’s sentimental side in a lower key on the tune “Out of this World.” Some historians have compared Buddy’s voice to Frank Sinatra while others have remarked that it is nothing special.[11] He may not hit all of the notes perfectly, but he is certainly aware as he can be heard in the recordings adjusting to the pitch as needed. Sometimes he would creatively use the adjustment as part of the music.
The third song in the album, “Skylark,” shows Buddy Rich’s voice in a musical theatre style. The music itself is reminiscent of family musicals or Disney soundtracks. Buddy’s voice floats quite nicely above the harmonies, and this song surely show off Buddy’s upper range. Contrasting this song is the eighth song on the album, “Blues in the Night,” showing Buddy’s Vaudeville and comic side of singing. The backing band is forceful, popping loud interjections, while Buddy plays around the vocals with words such as “clickety clack.”
In 1957, Buddy continues to work on his vocal prowess to see where it leads him, with the recording Buddy Just Sings. The drummer backing Buddy for this album is again, Alvin Stoller. This album opens with Buddy singing a ballad, “Cathy,” contrary to the previous album that begins with an upbeat tune letting Buddy sooth the crowd before jumping into quicker songs. The second tune, “Between the Devil and The Deep Blue Sea,” is a very rhythmic tune with Buddy speaking in time more than singing, but still, you can hear the relaxed nature of his voice. Buddy sings an arrangement of “Over the Rainbow” on the fourth track. This is a tune that can be used as a familiar song to compare his voice to others that have sung this song. He has a nice open, warm tone that compliments the music very well.
Hearing Buddy sing “It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing,” is interesting considering he would typically drum on this tune and famously played it with Gene Krupa. This song was also used as the introduction when Buddy sang on the Muppet Show and had a drum battle with the Muppet drummer Animal in 1981. Buddy shows a dynamic vocal range and uses his understanding of complex rhythms to syncopate the placement of the vocals and interact with the harmonies.
The Voice is Rich, is Buddy’s fourth vocal album and was recorded in 1959. Buddy sounds the similar to his previous recordings, but it is wonderful to listen to his voice throughout the album. At this point in his career Buddy was very sure that he was going to shift gears and be a singer for the rest of his life. He is even quoted in Downbeat magazine in 1959 stating, “I can say so much more in 32 bars of singing than I can in a 40-minute drum solo.”[12]
While Buddy was walking home from singing a gig, he and Mel Tormé went into a bar where Allen Eager was playing and was taunting Buddy to play the drums, but Buddy was refusing. Then as Buddy and Tormé were beginning to leave, Allen decided to taunt him more by grabbing a microphone and introducing Buddy to the audience telling Buddy to come see how corny he sounds playing after Max Roach, knowing this would get Buddy upset. This enticed Buddy to come up, asked for something fast, and played a solo that made Max Roach’s jaw drop.[13] He drew in a very large crowd and while on the way home, he stated, “Fuck singing! I’m a drummer!”[14]
Buddy’s singing career was over after this event, although he did have several small singing gigs before his death in 1987. Buddy had an appearance in the Muppets singing, “You Mustn’t Feel Discouraged,” with Beauregard, a song originally popularized by Carol Burnett. Buddy was a part of show business for the entirety of his life. His early career in Vaudeville only solidified his future as showman. Many know of Buddy Rich, the world-famous drummer, but not many of Buddy’s audience know that he was also a talented singer. Buddy would sing for small parts in his shows, he has recorded several albums with Buddy as the sole singer, and continued to appear singing after his singing career was over, like on the Muppets. Buddy was one of a kind, and his singing career only exemplifies the vast scope of his musical understanding.
Bibliography
Hutchinson, Ron. 2002. “The Vitaphone Project. Answering Harry Warner’s Question: ‘Who the Hell Wants To Hear Actors Talk?” Film History 14(1): 40. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.library.unlv.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AN=7594387&site=ehost-live
Meriwether, Doug, and Clarence C. Hintze. Mister, I Am The Band! Buddy Rich: His Life and Travels. North Bellmore, NY: National Drum Association Inc., 1998.
Berglund, Pelle. Buddy Rich: One of a Kind: The Making of The World’s Greatest Drummer. Lavallette, NJ: Hudson Music LLC, 2019.
Tormé, Mel. Traps The Drum Wonder: The Life of Buddy Rich. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1991.
[1] Mel Tormé. Traps The Drum Wonder: The Life of Buddy Rich. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1991: 7.
[2] Ibid: 10
[3] Ibid: 12.
[4] Ibid: 20.
[5] Pelle Berglund. Buddy Rich: One of a Kind: The Making of The World’s Greatest Drummer. Lavallette, NJ: Hudson Music LLC, 2019: 122.
[6] Tormé: 36.
[7] Ron Hutchinson. 2002. “The Vitaphone Project. Answering Harry Warner’s Question: ‘Who the Hell Wants To Hear Actors Talk?” Film History 14(1): 40. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.library.unlv.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AN=7594387&site=ehost-live
[8] Vitaphone was the last major company to synchronize film with images company working under Warner Bros and was more successful than many of the other companies at the time.
[9] Doug Meriwether and Clarence C. Hintze. Mister, I Am The Band! Buddy Rich: His Life and Travels. North Bellmore, NY: National Drum Association Inc., 1998: 316.
[10] Pelle Berglund. Buddy Rich: One of a Kind: The Making of The World’s Greatest Drummer. Lavallette, NJ: Hudson Music LLC, 2019: 195.
[11] Ibid: 203.
[12] Ibid: 208.
[13] Ibid: 209.
[14] Ibid: 210.