Transcription: Aretha Franklin — Chain of Fools

You've probably never heard of the drummer here, Roger Hawkins, but he played on a bunch of huge records, and must have one of the most divergent personal fame : musical exposure ratios ever. The song is Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools, and Hawkins's playing on it is my idea of a perfect rock performance.

There's a fair amount of repetition, which I've indicated with slashes to make it read a little easier— where those are present, just keep playing the main groove for that section. The snare drum is played strongly throughout, except notes in parenthesis, which are played softly.

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Audio and background on Hawkins after the break:

Transcription: James Gadson - Use Me

I guess we could also file this under Groove o'the day. While I'm getting some longer posts together, here are James Gadson's drum breaks from the song Use Me, by Bill Withers. As you'll notice from listening to the track, you shouldn't play the accents too strongly, and the open hihat notes should just have a little sizzle to them.

Get the pdf | Get Bill Withers' Still Bill | Get Use Me

My favorite YouTube video in the world after the break:

The breaks are likely different from the original recording (I haven't checked), but it's close enough, and you can see Gadson's touch on this groove: