As many of you know, John Blackwell (drummer for Prince, Cameo, Justin Timberlake) passed away a few weeks ago. Death is never an enjoyable event in life, but it was so inspiring to read what family members and the drumming community had to say about the joy and kindness John spread during his life that ended much too soon. My thoughts and prayers go out to John’s family and friends.

John Blackwell was one of the first drummers I studied as a kid. When I was first starting to play drums, YouTube wasn’t the resource it is now (yes, I do feel very old saying that). You couldn’t simply hop on YouTube and search “improve single stroke roll” and just start watching the first few results. Finding high quality drum education on the internet was more about discovering a site or two that could serve as a “hub” of knowledge. The two sites that were doing a great job at providing video content on the internet back then were Vic Firth’s website and DRUMMERWORLD. DRUMMERWORLD provided a 1-stop-site where I could go and get free videos on just about any topic I wanted. It was curated and categorized to make finding things very easy and the best part about the site was that the videos only featured the TOP drummers in the world. Vinnie, Dennis, Benny Greb, Max Roach, Jeff Hamilton, Billy Cobham, and many more. I was in middle school at the time, so I was listening to a lot of pop/punk music that wasn’t providing me a “timeless” drumming education. Thankfully, DRUMMERWORLD was the first place that started exposing me to drummers that had a timeless sound and who were shaping the direction of the craft of drumming.

Needless to say, John Blackwell was one of those drummers. The first few videos I saw of John’s playing blew me away because of his single pedal speed. John was the first drummer I ever saw do so much with one kick pedal. I was drawn to how John combined his funkiness and speed with stick tricks and a china cymbal that seemed to be 10 feet tall. The more I dug into John’s playing, I realized that he wasn’t just about fancy stick tricks and blazing right foot speed, but that he had a sense of groove and musicality that was unique and totally his own. Thanks to DRUMMERWORLD, I spent countless hours watching clips from the Hudson Music DVD Technique, Grooving, and Showmanship soaking up as much groove and speed as I could. Some of the most valuable clips I’ve ever watched in my 16+ years of playing are the sections of that DVD that showcased John playing different grooves with only a bass player. John was the first person I ever heard speak on the topic of locking in with a bass player, which is one of the most important concepts and skills a drummer can spend time developing.

All that to say, John has held a special place in my heart for over a decade now. As a musician, we all remember the things we listened to when we were first getting our start. Back when you had all the time in the world to watch one video over, and over, and over because you just couldn’t understand how someone could play that fast. I didn’t know John personally, but he left a lasting impression on the musician I am today and for that I will be forever grateful.

When I heard of John’s passing, I felt like I had to do something to commemorate his life and encourage people to check out what he did for drumming and music. I transcribed this solo so that people might dig into John’s playing and begin to see just how incredible John was at playing music and not just playing drums. If you want a PDF copy of the transcription, you can download that below.