Today I’m going to do what any normal person would do and respond to a video published back in August of 2019: “TOP 20 DRUM INTROS OF ALL TIME.” The video was made by Rick Beato, a music YouTuber who spent most of his life as a producer, engineer, and session musician, if I’m not mistaken. I’m a little late with this, but it’s not easy to find drumming discussions to participate in, so… why not?

But what is a drum intro anyway? I suppose there are two ways to look at it: I would primarily expect a drum intro to be made up of unaccompanied drums that set up the rest of the song, but if there is some sort of a drum feature to kick a tune off with the rest of the band, that could count as well.

Musicality aside, Rick also considers drum production and seems to have been drawn to charting hits. I’ll give some thoughts on each one and then talk about what I think is missing, from my perspective. So, without further ado:

20. “I Am One” — Jimmy Chamberlin with The Smashing Pumpkins (Gish, 1991)

A fine intro that sets the tone of the song well… I’m just not huge on nasal grunge.

19. “Bullet in the Blue Sky” — Larry Mullen Jr. with U2 (The Joshua Tree, 1987)

Another fine groove; I feel like I’ve heard variations of this groove in a lot of pop-punk and alt-rock. It’s certainly menacing.

18. “My Sharona” — Bruce Gary with The Knack (Get The Knack, 1979)

A tom groove that sounds a bit ahead of its time, but there’s something uncanny about this band and this song. Equal parts catchy and off-putting. It doesn’t help that Quentin Tarantino described this number as having “a really good sodomy beat to it, if you think about it.”

No Quentin, I haven’t.

17. “Rock and Roll” — John Bonham with Led Zeppelin (Zeppelin IV, 1972)

Not surprised; this has everything that makes a good drum intro, although the drummer in Rick’s video flubs it a bit.

16. “Take the Money and Run” — Gary Mallaber with The Steve Miller (Fly Like an Eagle, 1976)

A fun groove, not to mention quite funky (even though the rest of the song isn’t).

15. “We’re an American Band” — Don Brewer with Grand Funk Railroad (We’re an American Band, 1973)

I’m not really impressed by the cowbell as much as Rick is, but this intro has some demanding bass drum doubles for the time. This track is also sung by the drummer no less.

14. “Scentless Apprentice” — Dave Grohl with Nirvana (In Utero, 1993)

There’s a very interesting flam thing going on with one of the backbeats (listen to the snare hit right on the “a” after 2). Rick’s drummer interprets it as a 32nd note double, which doesn’t sound right to me at all.

13. “I Don’t Care Anymore” — Phil Collins (Hello, I Must Be Going!, 1982)

While I hear some sort of comb filtering going on with the drums, it’s not apparent to me that there are two drum set tracks. It sounds more like a trippy flanging/phasing effect to me. The groove is quite unrelenting.

12. “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” — Stewart Copeland with The Police (Ghost in the Machine, 1981)

Well… this is really pushing it for a drum intro; it’s more of a pickup than anything else. Maybe stands out enough to help make a famous tune even more recognizable, but you would have to be a die-hard Police fan to name a recording after hearing just one 8th note. Maybe a better option could have been “Reggatta De Blanc,” but that also pushes the definition of a drum intro.

11. “Tomorrow Never Knows” — Ringo Starr with The Beatles (Revolver, 1966)

As awesomely psychedelic as this song is, I really wouldn’t call this a drum intro. The drums and the rest of the song pretty much start at the same time, and I don’t think the drums are the centerpiece of the intro.

10. “Ticks and Leeches” — Danny Carey with TOOL (Lateralus, 2001)

A fun intro, but I’m a bit surprised this made this list — not sure how much of a hit it was, so maybe it was more of an indulgence for Rick. I know I should listen to more TOOL, but their last album did not impress me. Even the rest of this song is a bad kind of strange.

9. “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” — Steve Gadd with Paul Simon (Still Crazy After All These Years, 1975)

One of drumming’s holy grails. The kind of groove we all wish we could come up with.

8. “Digital Bath” — Abe Cunningham with Deftones (White Pony, 2000)

Another intro that stretches the definition of an intro. It works, but there’s nothing too special about it. Whatever — it’s fine.

7. “YYZ” — Neil Peart with Rush (Moving Pictures, 1981)

Don’t get me wrong, this tune is a classic… but do crotales really make this a drum intro? I wonder if “Animate” would have been a better selection from Rush.

6. “Walk This Way” — Joey Kramer with Aerosmith (Toys In the Attic, 1975)

Speaking from the heart: yawn.

5. “Hot For Teacher” — Alex Van Halen with Van Halen (1984, 1984)

Oh, this song… it’s kind of a bad joke these days, and while I used to think it was cool when I was younger, it hasn’t aged well for me. I agree with a lot of the online jokes that describe the solo as an engine struggling to turn over because it’s too cold outside. Still, it’s not every day a song this famous has such an extended drum solo to kick the tune off.

There have long been rumors about Alex using a bit of overdubbing to get this sound. Rick seems to think Alex made use of a Simmons SDS–V electric drum kit; Alex was an early adopter of what we now call a hybrid setup, so it’s believable enough. If I had to guess, I’d say the initial double kick pattern is actually a drum pad. It’s downright shocking that no one seems to know for sure how such a famous song was recorded. In any case, the main groove is definitely more interesting to me.

4. “Superstition” — Stevie Wonder (Talking Book, 1972)

Lumbering, but also somehow slinky. That being said, I’ve never been too stoked about Stevie’s drumming. But he wrote a bitchin’ song, so he can drum on it if he wants to.

3. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” — Larry Mullen Jr. with U2 (War, 1983)

I do love this song, and the intro groove has got an interesting lope, but I do not dig this drum sound; the snare in particular is a little too thin for me. Given the song’s themes, it’s clear that Larry is going for a march-style groove, but I’m not sure I can fully hear it. A full-on snare march would probably have been in questionable taste.

2. “Rosanna” — Jeff Porcaro with Toto (Toto IV, 1982)

Another holy grail. Although Rick’s drummer miffs a few of these intros, he does play this one correctly by omitting most of the ghost notes during the intro, just like Jeff did. Also, thank goodness Rick went with this number over “Africa.”

Honorable Mentions:

“Vital Transformation” — Billy Cobham with The Mahavishnu Orchestra (The Inner Mounting Flame, 1971)

Probably the deepest cut on this list, and the closest this list gets to featuring jazz. Another indulgence I suspect. A frantic groove for a frantic song.

“Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” — William “Benny” Benjamin (?) with The Temptations (Gettin’ Ready, 1966)

Another drum “intro” that’s not really an intro. It’s fine. The closest soul entry,

I’m actually not sure who the drummer on the LP is. For Motown albums in particular, recording credits for the studio players can be a little hit or miss, if they even exist. My best guess is that Papa Zita is our man.

“Ballroom Blitz” — Mick Tucker with The Sweet (Desolation Boulevard, 1974)

It’s one of these train beat/New Orleans second-line hybrid grooves. That may sound esoteric, but it’s been done a bunch. Not sure why Rick picked this one over any other. Again, it’s fine.

“Longview” — Tre Cool with Green Day (Dookie, 1994)

Surprisingly, the only alt song on the list. And even then, Green Day was maybe more post-grunge at this point. But it’s a shuffle, and I’m a sucker for swinging shuffles.

“Billie Jean” — Leon Ndugu Chancler with Michael Jackson (Thriller, 1982)

This groove works fine, but it’s entirely unremarkable. The production is the only thing that makes it stand out in any way.

And now… the grand finale:

1. “When the Levee Breaks” — John Bonham with Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin IV, 1972)

Yeah, I’m not surprised. Truth be told, the key to this sound of groove is a delay effect; specifically, a Binson Echorec unit (word on the internet is that a “Baby Model” was used). Rick knows this, thankfully. It’s John Bonham, so I won’t be complaining.

What (might be) missing:

It’s a little difficult to do this in prose, so here are some tunes one might consider to be omissions, with some occasional commentary.

• “Squib Cakes” by Tower of Power. One of my favorite moments in all of drumming. Probably too deep of a cut.
• “Take Five.” The biggest jazz single in history, so I’m surprised it didn’t make the list.
• “First Date” from Blink-182. I was really expecting this one to be on here. It’s only two bars, but it really grabs your attention. “Feeling This” would be another option.
• Staying in the 21st-Century, “Bloodbuzz Ohio” by the National. The jackass inside of me wishes the opening groove was a bit more syncopated, but the song is a stirring modern classic.
• “Honky Tonky Women” by the Rolling Stones. Probably the cowbell’s most famous moment, but overall, it’s not spectacular, musically speaking.
• “Time” by Pink Floyd. The Roto Tom feature is one of Nick Mason’s greatest moments, but it does happen a minute into the track. It still feels like the first big moment of the tune.
• “Tarova” from Snarky Puppy. The extra percussion tracks give the intro a lot of its magic, but they’re still technically drums.
• On that note (ha), “Soul Sacrifice” has a great intro, although it’s driven more by the bongos and congas than Michael Shrieve’s drum set. Still drums though!
• Some of the commenters highlighted two omissions from Iron Maiden: “Run to the Hills” and “Where Eagles Dare.” I’d go with the former. Another classic metal possibility is “Iron Man,” but musically there’s nothing especially remarkable about it.
• Tom Petty’s “Here Comes My Girl,” because… why not?
• I love the drum fills at the start of “Fire” by Jimi Hendrix. It’s pushing the definition of a drum intro, but it does feel like the drums are meant to be the centerpiece. “Little Miss Lover” is a little more traditional.
• I’m not much of a Queen fan, but “Radio Gaga” starts with drums and is Queen’s best song (written by the drummer, of course).

Well, I think that about does it. I’m sure I missed a few, but that’s what came to mind over the course of this week. I’ll probably update this if I remember anything else. In the meantime, that’s all for now.

Rick Beato Photo by Raph_PH — https://www.flickr.com/photos/raph_ph/54904904325/, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=177918862

Alex Van Halen Photoby Craig ONeal — Flickr: Alex Van Halen — Van Halen Live, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19179971

Dave Grohl Photo by Kristof Acke — https://www.flickr.com/photos/kristof_acke/3847701717/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27532920

John Bonham Photo by Dina Regine, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8005266

Larry Mullen, Jr. Photo by Michael Dinger — https://u2start.com/photos/view/47951, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=115191722

Collage by me.