I'm going to kick off the blog by talking about one of my favorite musicians, Jeff Porcaro. Jeff was a legendary studio drummer, born into a family of musicians, and also known for his role in the band Toto, of which he was a co-founder and belonged to until his death in 1992 at the age of 38. His brothers Steve (keyboards and synthesizers) and Mike (bass) were also members of the band.
Jeff (✞), Mike (✞) and Steve Porcaro, from left to right
Considered the master of Groove, he was highly sought after for recording due to his big heart, always putting music before ego, and his unique sense of rhythm. He participated in the recording of 1060 albums in just 17 years of his career. I would highlight the following songs:
"All My Love" by Led Zeppelin, in which Bonham wanted to achieve a fluid and natural sound that he couldn't quite get. Steve Lukather, Jeff's fellow bandmate in Toto, suggested to Robert that he ask Jeff for help, and Jeff happily agreed.
"Mother" by Pink Floyd, in which Nick Mason found the time signature changes too complicated, and with time running out to finish recording the album, Jeff took his place.
Like a Prayer by Madonna
And in several songs on Michael Jackson's "Thriller," such as "Beat It," alongside Lukather.
Fun Fact: It's well known that the great Eddie Van Halen recorded the solo in "Beat It," but that was the only thing he recorded. The rest of the guitar tracks heard were recorded by Steve Lukather.
The Rosanna Shuffle
Although Jeff's rhythms are always very recognizable, one of them stands out: the Rosanna Shuffle, where Jeff truly demonstrates his mastery.
The song is written at a moderate tempo, with a changing rhythm, but averaging between 82 and 85 BPM.
To vary the feel of the rhythm, he alters the accentuation of the last note of the triplets and plays a lot with ghost notes (notes with rhythmic emphasis but without pitch), gradually adding them in the song's introduction.
The rhythm is based on:
The Purdie Shuffle
The Bo Diddley Beat
The Purdie Shuffle, by Bernard Purdie, is a variation of a blues shuffle with syncopated ghost notes, as heard in "Walking on the Moon" or "Babylon Sisters".
"Walking on The Moon" by The Police is a great example of the Purdie Shuffle with its syncopated ghost notes. Additionally, in this song, we can see how Stewart Copeland (another of my favorite drummers) adds notes in the introduction of the song as it progresses, similar to what happens in "Rosanna."
Then, the Bo Diddley Beat is a syncopated rhythm that creates a certain musical tension and can be found in songs like "How Soon Is Now?" by The Smiths, "Mr. Brownstone" by Guns N' Roses, and "Faith" by George Michael.
In "Faith," the Bo Diddley Beat is very easily recognized as it is the rhythm carried by both the guitar and the bass throughout the song.
He takes the figures from the Purdie Shuffle while the rhythm to play them comes from the Bo Diddley Beat. It's a very complicated intro, which, once theoretically learned, you have to rely on muscle memory, and even though it's a complicated intro, Jeff manages to make it a little more complex in the chorus of the song, although this part is not as well-known as the famous beginning.
So, those two rhythms plus Porcaro's talent and technique gave rise to one of the most well-known and difficult-to-learn (and above all, to perfect) drum shuffles (nobody will ever play it like Porcaro, you can't change my mind) that serves as the foundation for a unique, beautiful, and incredible song in every aspect.
Fun Fact 2: In the music video, Patrick Swayze and Cynthia Rhodes appear before the filming of "Dirty Dancing".
Comments