12 Iconic Drum Fills from Legendary Drummers

Date:2020/3/4 10:45:00 Hits:

Drum fills serve as more than song transitions — thoroughfares from point A to B. A well-placed fill goes a long way in creating energy, building momentum, and preparing the listener for what’s to come. While a good drum fill ought to serve the song above stroking the drummer’s ego, there are some fills in the annals of music history that are so spirited and performed so flawlessly that you can’t help but stop and take notice. We’re talking about drum fills, not inspired drum solos. Here are 12 fills to make you smile.

Dave Matthews Band
“Say Goodbye” (1:01)

The entire minute-long tom intro is inspired and suspenseful. But Carter Beauford’s time-freezing, single-stroke machine gunning before the first verse is particularly impressive and cathartic — not to mention technically astounding.

The Mars Volta
“Wax Simulacra” (0:02)

Thomas Pridgen’s maiden Mars Volta voyage stunned listeners with track four’s “Wax Simulacra.” While it may be easy to write off Pridgen’s transitions as 16th-note shredding — itself no simple feat given the intro’s 11/8 time signature — the way each unique phrase occupies so much space under the barrage of shrieking guitars helps set the stage for the song’s short-fused fast burn.

Buddy Rich Big Band
“Love for Sale” (3:51)

Buddy will forever be the master in our hearts. Chops, groove, phrasing, stage presence — he had it all. This clip from Buddy Rich: Up Close (shot in 1982) shows Buddy and his band in prime form. Buddy’s tasty 4-bar snare fill whips this number’s outro into a froth, seasoned by a flurry of fills and closing with a plaintive pause and understated cymbal roll amid a din of screaming horns. The way Buddy reels you in until the very end is one example of why he’ll forever be the king.

Nirvana
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” (0:06)

Is it the most technical fill on this list? No. But show me a listener who didn’t perk up and listen the first time Dave Grohl’s Washingtonian windup, galvanized by Butch Vig’s skilled hand and Sound City’s legendary 80 Series Neve console, hit radio and airwaves in 1991 and forever changed rock music.

The Who
“Baba O’Riley” (2:22)

Here’s an example of a fill you just can’t help but drum along to, in the air or on a steering wheel. Keith Moon’s full-measure fill that joins the solemn “teenage wasteland” post-chorus to the song’s second verse is indulgent, bombastic, and just what the song needs to regain its traction.

Tool
“anema” (6:07)

Finding a great Danny Carey drum fill is a little like finding a needle in a needle stack. With so many definitive moments to choose from, it was actually a challenge to pick a favorite. What stands out in our minds are his frenzied tom flourishes, windmill fills, and syncopated accents that pulse in and out of the song’s climax. Danny’s intensity builds to a fever pitch with the final fill that closes out the song.

Rick Astley
“Never Gonna Give You Up” (0:00)

This may be the only time you’ll find this entry on a web list in earnest. The internet age has given new life to Rick Astley’s once-forgotten classic. Ironically, its intro’s sampled tom fill has made the piece immediately recognizable to anyone who has been on the receiving end of an internet troll, and is sure to be met with groans or delight (Pavlov’s toms?) before the song even kicks off.

Queen
“Fat Bottomed Girls” (2:22)

Roger Taylor’s full-measure blitz leading into the song’s second chorus is the stuff of rock royalty. In true late-1970s fashion, Roger’s octaval descendent fill begins with wood blocks and a 13″ x 13″ pedal-tuned tom and leads all the way down to, what would certainly pass for a kick drum today, a 20″ x 20″ floor tom. Technically, it’s par excellence. Musically, it’s significant in that it gives the song (and Freddie Mercury) time to breathe before the big singalong.

Weezer
“The Good Life” (1:34)

You just can’t ignore Pat Wilson’s smirking, subversively syncopated tom-and-snare fill in the short section between the song’s chorus and second verse. Though simple in its execution, the fill has a profound effect on the song’s flow, disrupting its hypnotic two-chord ostinato to awaken listeners to the new verse.

Killswitch Engage
“Still Beats Your Name” (2:20)

Lest Howard Jones’s crooning baritone lull you into the sweetest coma, Justin Foley’s fill at the end of the halftime D section provides a much-needed shot of adrenaline for the return to the song’s A section. Justin’s entire body of work is a study in exercised restraint, and fills like this one really showcase his technical ability.

Smashing Pumpkins
“An Ode to No One” (3:42)

Jazz-chopster-turned-rock-icon Jimmy Chamberlin provides structure and counterpoint to Billy Corgan’s and James Iha’s caterwauling guitars in this mini breakdown section, giving listeners a much-needed reprieve before ushering them into the song’s guitar solo and pummeling final chorus. Most impressive is that Jimmy accomplishes this feat without killing the momentum the band has spent the last 20 seconds building. Just listen to how clean those 32nd-note runs are in the second phrase.

The Beatles
“A Day in the Life” (0:47)

Despite being a quarter-part of the biggest thing since Jesus, Ringo Starr never really got his due — not even from himself. The drummer has famously joked that he blacks out during fills. So we’re thrilled to see him earn the final spot on our list with 1967’s “A Day in the Life.” The entire A section is a noodler’s dream — Ringo providing structure and filling to bridge the melodies between John’s wandering thoughts. And here’s the thing: the fills are quite good. Technically, sonically, and musically, they hold the listener’s attention through what might have been one of the duller additions to Sgt. Pepper’s.

Phil Collins
“In the Air Tonight” (3:41)

We’re only including this one because we knew some would revolt if we didn’t. What can we say about this fill — a fill so iconic that it has become synonymous with the word “fill” — that hasn’t been documented in everything from I Love the ’80s to The Hangover? Face it: when Mike Tyson air drums your fill in a major motion picture, you’re officially a meme.

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