The people putting out this magazine obviously knew what they were doing. And the cover story wasn’t the only impressive feature; Louie Bellson wrote an article on big band playing, Carmine Appice contrib- uted a piece on rock, and marching expert Duane Thamm authored a column on rudimental drumming. There was a close-up on Billy Cobham’s setup, a transcription of a Roy Haynes solo, a guide to disco drumming (about which any drummer who wanted to work in the ’70s had to be knowledgeable), a page of warm-ups, reviews of new literature, product announcements, a question-and-answer column, and more. A note from the editor, Ron Spagnardi,
detailed the goals of this new magazine. “Drummers have long needed a voice in the form of an intelligent publication encom- passing all phases of the art, and we hope to establish ourselves in this and future issues as a signifi cant force in the fi eld of drum education and as a platform for the exchange of ideas,” Ron wrote. “We’re basically for the drummer who’s interested in growing as a musician and in search of a source from which he might draw some intelligent conclusions. We hope to be that source by staying abreast of the latest in styles, artists, and equipment; by keeping the pages of Modern Drummer as relevant to the needs of today’s drummer as
possible; and by keeping our fi ngers fi rmly placed on the pulse of our fast growing, ever changing industry.”
That’s what you call “opening with a bang.” Buddy Rich, the world’s greatest drummer, appeared on the cover of MD’s debut issue.
It’s Questionable) are still in use, while others simply expanded. (Printed Page, for instance, became Critique as MD began reviewing recordings, videos, and other media.) Spagnardi’s original blueprint for Modern Drummer continues to serve as a viable framework as the magazine begins its fortieth year of publication. The fi rst page of the fi rst issue also
included a list of the magazine’s staff . It turned out that except for Spagnardi, the names were all made up. Modern Drummer was, in reality, a one-man operation. Spagnardi was a drummer who had
attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After returning to his home in New Jersey, he played gigs and ran a music store
Among Modern Drummer publisher Ron Spagnardi’s early supporters were legendary drummers Joe Morello (left), Louie Bellson, Roy Burns, and Ed Shaughnessy, and comedian Charlie Callas (right), who began his career in entertainment as a professional player.
By today’s standards, that fi rst issue was
sparse: It was all of twenty-eight pages long, the photos were black-and-white, and the articles weren’t very long. But what was there was solid, and looking back now, even though the magazine has evolved greatly, it’s remarkable how many of the original column titles (e.g., Rock Perspectives, Jazz Drummer’s Workshop, Strictly Technique,
54 Modern Drummer January 2016
in Bloomfi eld called the Music Scene. Like a lot of his colleagues, he wished that drummers had their own magazine, a lack that he was particularly aware of because he sold such titles as Guitar Player in his store. Finally, in 1974, he told his wife, Isabel, that he wanted to publish a drum magazine. Ron had a lot to learn. He spent nearly three years studying other magazines,
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