John Bonham is undoubtedly one of the most famous drummers of all time. Fans knew Bonham changed rock drumming forever the minute they heard him. "Good Times Bad Times," with its outstanding bass-drum hiccups, had an immediate impact on everyone who listened to it. John Bonham of Led Zeppelin was known for his instincts and feel of the groove, which shined through his love of speed, fast kick drumming, and hard-hitting power. For the most part, John was self-taught and tried emulating other greats, like Max Roach and Buddy Rich, after receiving his first drum kit at 15 years old.

Several drummers, like Chad Smith, Dave Lombardo, and Dave Grohl, all consider Bonham the most significant influence on their drumming. He's best known for his rock drumming, but later in his career, he began integrating funk and Latin styles into his work. Bonham's drum solo "Moby Dick" lasted over 20 minutes in front of a live crowd, and they loved it.

John is at the top of many of these lists now, but at the time, many critics didn't appreciate his style, claiming he lacked swinging in his timing. 15 years after Bonham's death, his band Led Zeppelin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Born: May 31, 1948
Died: 1980

Nationality: England

Neil Peart was the fantastic drummer for the band Rush. He was chosen as the drummer for the band because he reminded them of Keith Moon from The Who. When it was all said and done, the only thing he had in common was his hard-hitting style. Moon was loose with his timing, and Peart was considered the most meticulous and technical drummer of all time.

If you had the opportunity and pleasure of watching him perform live, you would have immediately been awestruck by his ridiculously large drum kit. The kit literally wrapped all the way around him and had digital samplers and so much more. None of it was wasted, though. During solos, Peart was sure to include every single part of the kit himself.

Not only that, but Neil Peart also won many awards for his musical performances, including being inducted into the Modern Drummers Hall of Fame in a 1983 poll, making He became the youngest person ever to receive such an honor. Known to fans as 'The Professor', his drumming abilities are renowned for his technical prowess and for his live performances for their precise nature and stamina. He is the second most famous drummer on this list.

Born: September 12, 1952
Died: January 7, 2020

Nationality: Canada

Speaking of Keith Moon, he lands at number three on our list as one of the most famous drummers of all time. Self-described as the greatest drummer in the world, Moon hated rote rock drumming and repetition, in general. Serving as the inspiration for Animal of the Muppets, he gained a reputation for smashing hotel rooms as hard as his drum kits. Not the greatest reputation to have, but he owned it. He was even known for flushing explosives!

Moon was as much a performance artist as he was a drummer. Moon's drumming style is considered unconventional by his bandmates, although they sometimes find his unconventional playing style frustrating. He tried to play with everyone in the band at once, making his breaks melodic, and he fit drum rolls into places they had never gone before. He did this until 1978 when he died from a drug overdose at the young age of 31.

Born: August 23, 1946
Died: September 7, 1978

Nationality: England

Ginger Baker is an English drummer, composer, songwriter, and co-founder and occasional vocalist of the rock band Cream. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him a reputation as "rock's first superstar drummer", with a style that fused jazz and African rhythms, while also pioneering the music industry. both jazz and world music.

Ginger Baker was one of the pioneers of using two kick drums and recording extended solos. He was more of a bebop and jazzer drummer because of his use of matched grip, syncopation, African rhythms, and ride cymbals. His playing style and showmanship were often described as extroverted, primal, and inventive. Some people even consider him a pioneer for heavy metal drumming, although he despised it.

With his unique and novel drumming techniques, Ginger Baker is recognized as the second most popular drummer on our list. And those drumming techniques were incorporated into the music to make it perfect.

Born: August 19, 1939
Died: October 6, 2019

Nationality: England

Playing drums on The Ronettes "Be My Baby," is enough for Hal Baine to be called one of the best drummers of all time, landing at number five on our list. But, Hal Blaine did so much more with Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Elvis, and the Supremes. Born Harold Simon Belsky, Hal was the leader of the Wrecking Crew, a group of Los Angeles session players that dominated the studio scene in the '60s and '70s.

That made Hal Blaine the most recorded drummer in history, losing count around the 35,000 mark. Blaine drummed one of the most recognizable beats in popular music in Phil Spector's "Wall Of Sound." However, Blaine will be remembered for his adaptability to any session, and he didn't need to use a conventional kit. For example, on the Beach Boy's "Caroline, No," he played on water jugs, and on "Bridge Over Troubled Water," with Simon & Garfunkel, he pulled tire chains across a concrete floor.

Born: February 5, 1929
Died: March 11, 2019

Nationality: American

Buddy Rich was best known for his speed and power without sacrificing any technique. A jazz drummer and bandleader, Buddy was a self-taught child prodigy. At the very young age of 4, he was already playing drums on Broadway and in vaudeville shows. Not only famous for his virtuoso drumming technique, but Bubby Rich is also the sixth most popular drummer on our list, it's no surprise that he appears on this list.

By the time he was a teenager, he was leading bands on international tours. At the ripe age of 15, he was the second-highest-paid child entertainer in the '30s. Rich stayed committed to his art even as big bands lost their appeal, as he played sessions for Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Rich played with a traditional grip, but would often switch to matched grip when playing the floor toms, and there was a period where he played with brushes almost exclusively.

Born: September 30, 1917

Died: April 2, 1987

Nationality: American

Neil Peart claimed that Gene Krupa, in many ways, was the first rock drummer. Krupa demanded the spotlight and was really the first drummer to be celebrated for his drum solos, particularly on, "Sing, Sing, Sing." The things Krupa did were easy, fundamentally easy, but he made them look spectacular. He is an American jazz drummer, band, and composer known for his energetic style and performance. His drums solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, Sing" elevated the drummer's role from a backing vocalist to an important solo voice in the band.

Krupa had an influence over big names like Baby Dodds and Zutty Singleton, he drove Benny Goodmans Thirties big band to new heights, and he inspired future rock giants like Keith Moon and John Bonham, who we've already talked about. Krupa, along with Buddy Rich, is the godfather of drum-set artistry as a spectacle, not just a musical performance. Gene Krupa was perhaps the first superstar drummer. The tradition of the show-stopping, arena-scale drummer star turn is unthinkable without Gene Krupa.

Born: January 15, 1909
Died: October 16, 1973

Nationality: American

For years, Berry Gordy, a hit-making songwriter in Motown, refused to record anything unless Benny Benjamin was in the studio with him. Benny Benjamin had a knack for executing various rhythms all at once. He had a steadiness that would help Gordy keep the tempo better than a metronome.

He is an American musician, best known as the lead drummer for the Motown studio band called The Funk Brothers. He is originally from Birmingham, Alabama. Benjamin was nominated in the "Sidemen" category of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. He was named the 11th greatest drummer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2016. Not only that, he is the eighth-most famous drummer on this list.

Like many of the artists on this list that we've talked about, Benjamin struggled with addiction, and it kept him out of the studio often. Benjamin died of a stroke in 1969, but not before he was a mentor to the young Stevie Wonder, who credits Benjamin for his own drumming style. Stevie Wonder says he learned a lot from Benny Benjamin, who was one of the major forces in the Motown sound.

Born: July 15, 1925
Died: April 20, 1969

Nationality: American

Mitch Mitchell is an English drummer and child actor, who is best known for his work in the Jimi Hendrix Experience for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2009.

Mitch Mitchell was well known for his fusion of jazz techniques and beautiful riffs. Stewart Copeland of the Police admitted that Mitch Mitchell influenced everything he did that he was proud of. And in 1966, when the Jimi Hendrix Experience needed a new drummer, a coin was flipped to choose between Mitchell and Aynsley Dunbar.

Mitch Mitchell won the flip and brought a heavy improv quality to his works. Mitchell would usually construct a tense, heavy groove that veered off into a fluid, yet structured, the counterpoint to Jimi's guitar. With his drumming technique, it's no surprise that he ranks among the top 10 most famous drummers of all time.

Born: July 9, 1946
Died: November 12, 2008

Nationality: England

Stewart Copeland is an American drummer and composer. He rose to prominence as the drummer for the British rock band The Police. He has also produced many film and video game soundtracks and written various music for ballet, opera, and orchestra. Many people know The Police because of Sting, but The Police got their sound from Stewart Copeland's use of space, subtlety, and aggression. Copeland was never interested in playing the snare, and his signatures often involve intricate hi-hat patterns. Stewart Copeland is known for his virtuosity and dexterity in handling situations, and Stewart Copeland is also on our list of the most famous drummers.

Copeland's unique upbringing brought The Police rhythmic accents far from home. Sting would eventually admit that the band's first record was entirely a tribute to Copeland's energy and focus. After The Police went their separate ways, Copeland has written soundtracks and solo albums and has appeared with other groups. He has also written soundtracks for TV and movies, and orchestras, even playing classical percussion.

Born: July 16, 1952

Nationality: American