During a new appearance on Rock History Music, the former Police member Stewart Copeland named his choice for the greatest drummer ever.
The host said that he watched a lot of Copeland’s interviews, where he talked about the impact of Mitch Mitchell on music history. He then asked whether he was the guy for Stewart, and he replied:
“Totally, yeah. It’s a strange thing that he eats everybody’s lunch, all the others. Ginger Baker was up there, but he and Ginger Baker came before John Bonham, who was amazing, a mountain of power, energy, and everything like that, but Mitch Mitchell was not noticed because he had Jimi Hendrix in front of him.”
Mitch’s Distinctive Drumming Approach
Further explaining why Mitchell was such a unique drummer, he went on to talk:
“It’s an amazing thing. You listen to live records, and you can hardly hear them, but on the albums, the drumming there has not been surpassed, in my opinion. He’s the Mozart of drums. He’s the Joey Jordison of his day. He had more chops than anybody, and he changed the formula of how drums operate in a band.”
How Mitchell Revolutionized The Role Of Drums In Music
Copeland also detailed how Mitch had given the drums a more dominant role in the music, noting:
“Before that, it was a backbeat, a supportive role, and when he came along with Jimi Hendrix, it was a lead instrument. Unlucky for his reputation and his legacy, he had Jimi Hendrix in front of him. So very few people noticed.”
Copeland’s Previous Comments On Mitchell
The rocker’s pick for the best drummer of all time shouldn’t come as a surprise, as he discussed it several times in different conversations. Speaking to Far Out in 2022, he said the following about Mitchell’s impact on him:
“I liked the fact that Ginger [Baker] used his tomtoms a lot. He was playing more of his drums than the others, as was Mitch Mitchell who was probably the most inspiring out of all them. It was between him and Buddy Rich. Mitch Mitchell just had that electric spark that was just perfect for Jimi Hendrix on guitar. As a frustrated guitarist myself, that was a problem; ‘Who am I?’ ‘Am I the guitarist, drummer, or both?'”
In a 2022 chat with Classic Rock, Copeland also chose the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s ‘Are You Experienced’ as one of the records that changed his life. He then revealed that he realized how great Mitch was after watching a live recording of a Hendrix concert. Stewart used to think he invented some of his own drumming techniques, but after seeing Mitch play, he recognized that he had actually been influenced by Mitchell’s style.
You can watch the rest of his interview below.
