Here's one I thought you guys would be interested in. A few months ago, I was contacted by a woman that said she had Gene Krupa's old bass drum in her house, and asked if I was interested in purchasing it (special thanks to our Webmaster, David, for referring me to her). I get a lot of emails and calls about fake celebrity items, or items with zero provenance, but I still like to follow through just in case. The more I spoke to this woman, the more I realized this drum might be the real deal.

Her father, Rick, had moved from Brooklyn out to Las Vegas after WWII, and worked as a bartender at the famous New Frontier Hotel, where Gene's band occasionally played. Gene and Rick fast became friends, and they hung out socially when Gene would come through town. One time, in the 1950's, Rick asked Gene if he ever threw away his old bass drums, and if so, could he have one to use as a coffee table. Gene said he would see what he could do, and a few months later this bass drum showed up on Rick's front step. He put a glass top on it, and used it as a coffee table for over 40 years. After Rick's passing, the drum was inherited by his daughter, who had grown tired of lugging it around, and decided to sell it.

When I got the drum, I went over every inch of it with who I consider to be the world's foremost expert of Gene Krupa equipment and history, Brooks Tegler. We studied the wear pattern on the hoops, the "fingerprint" like patterns of the front calf head and white marine pearl wrap, and Brooks came to the conclusion that Gene used this drum publicly with his big band from 1946-1951. The drum shows up in countless photographs and films, including the cover of the Bruce Klauber Krupa book. The main giveaway is the three dark spots on the right side of the front calf head. Both calf heads are original, as is the felt strip.

When I opened the drum, I found a single wire from a brush. Also, the word "chrome" written in pencil...many people have thought that all of Gene's early drums had nickel plated hardware, but not so. The chrome plated hardware is oxidized, but I've decided to leave everything undisturbed for now.

Here's a late 40's video where you can see Gene playing the drum: http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/genekrupashadowrhapsodie.html

And here's a page with more pics: http://www.classicvintagedrums.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65_75&products_id=669

Thanks,

Bill