There is a very common (but no less dumbass) riddle that asks: What do you call a guy who hangs out with musicians? Answer: The drummer. That's hilarious. Not the joke itself--that's just stupid--but it's hilarious that so many people who don't understand music think the joke is funny.
Or accurate.
A good drummer can make a band a band. The Beatles wouldn't have been THE BEATLES!! without Ringo Starr. The sounds of the Rolling Stones and the Who were defined in large part by what Charlie Watts and Keith Moon did at their respective drum kits. The right drummer makes a good band great. The perfect drummer makes a great band greater.
Clem Burke was the perfect drummer for Blondie. With the pounding, pummeling drive provided by Burke, Blondie was indeed a great band made greater. Clem's percussion was as essential to the group's sound as Jimmy Destri's evocative keyboard and Chris Stein's arty vision and guitar, even Debbie Harry's sheer electricity at the front (and I'll add a good word on behalf of original bassist Gary Valentine, and respect to third-album recruits Frank Infante and Nigel Harrison). It's never just the drummer. But in a band, the drummer matters. Clem Burke mattered.
Listening to this week's episode of The Spoon podcast, I heard hosts Robbie Rist, Chris Jackson, and Thom Bowers talk about Burke, with Robbie in particular reminiscing about how when Clem lived in Southern California, he would very often just show up at various small venues to see local bands play, and occasionally to join in on stage. This behavior from a drummer who had toured the world as a legit rock star? Man, that enhances Clem Burke's résumé even more in my eyes.
And it's not like Clem Burke's c.v. needs any enhancing whatsoever. Aside from Blondie, Burke also played with Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, Eurythmics, Iggy Pop, the Ramones (though that collaboration didn't go as well), Joan Jett, Kathy Valentine, Kiki Dee, Ray Paul, Dramarama, Robin Zander, John Easdale, Gilbey Clarke, Steve Conte, Dan Markell, and more. He was, at various times, a member of the Romantics, the Plimsouls, the Empty Hearts, Chequered Past, the Tearaways, and Tall Poppy Syndrome. He was fortunate to have such a range of opportunity and experience available to him. And every single one of these acts was damned lucky to have him.
This week, we bid farewell to a fantastic drummer and rockin' pop dynamo named Clem Burke. The world is already poorer for his absence. But we remain enriched by the legacy he left us. It's the beat. It's the pulse. It's the rhythm and groove that helped make the musicians--the other musicians--better by hanging around with him. Godspeed, Clem Burke. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream, and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO.
You can read all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO).
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Carl's new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get Carl's previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
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