Agreed! I can remember staying up late when Buddy was on...good stuff!!!

Carson was not to be missed and when Buddy was on it was an event for sure. Me and my drumming buddy would always watch him together....and be blown away each time....luckily I got to see Buddy live once in NY...

that Don Sweeney story is wonderful...thanks for posting....the aura of Buddy makes guys play better,,,,wow......that's what I need for sure

Hey Mark!...

... and it goes without saying that I am a HUGE BR fan!, but this little interview with Johnny is pure and typical PUBLIC Buddy Rich... and full of half truths with comments made for "show", if you know what I mean. Before I continue, it goes without saying that I have seen this clip many times.. ( as a matter of fact I have it in my complete collection of Tonight Show BR appearances! ) .. and remember it very well... but the problem is Buddy is full of, well you know! LOL!! Here's the thing:

BR had made this exact comment many times.. ( the brand of drums don't interest me... drums are drums... hardware is hardware, I've never found any that I really liked, etc. ) .. what a pile of C R A P! It DID matter to Buddy, and without going into a whole thing on his equipment/endorsements, let me just say that the main reason he BOLTED from Trixon/Vox as quickly as he did was because he didn't like the drums and they couldn't take his level of performance... and ... he was getting paid at the time to play them, which wasn't all that common in early 1967. It did matter to Buddy!... but he passed it off as who cares?! This was just his PUBLIC persona, you know, the tough guy, etc. That said,

He DID NOT buy a set of drums at all during this period.. ( this Tonight Show clip dates to 1985, two years prior to his passing ) .. and at this point he had been playing the 1940's era Slingerland Radio King's for two years already! These drums were lovingly restored by Joe McSweeney and GIVEN to Buddy as a gift. Buddy was quite moved by the gesture, and did say in a moment of weakness that he LOVED those drums... especially the snare drum. But did he buy them?... no! Actually I remember an interview a while back with Joe McSweeney where he asked Buddy if he liked the Radio King's he had restored and given him. Buddy's response.. and typical Buddy mind you: He pointed to the stage and said "they're up there aren't they?" Typical Buddy!

Tommyp

Hey Mark!...

Oh god yes... I know that you're a huge BR fan too!... that's why I enjoy these "chats" here and there truth be told. Thing is, I have researched Buddy for like YEARS.. ( my wife insists that it's a SICKNESS!!!!, and she may have something there too! LOL!! ) .. focusing heavily on his likes/dislikes having to do with equipment/endorsements over his vast and most illustrious career. So... when you post up something, I usually have some info or anecdote having to do with that particular period in Buddy's career with all of it having been researched by me in the past. This is what led to me putting together my Buddy Rich snare drum collection too by the way... and that took YEARS to complete... but complete it now is! I am writing the text to go with all the drums now.. ( plus the pics... sticks... etc. that Buddy used during this period ) .. David is hosting the article/piece, thus it is slated to debut on the VDF. Stay tuned!

Tommyp

Thanks for all your hard work, Tommy !!

Looking forward...........:)