Bernard "Pretty" Purdie
| Bernard Purdie | |
|---|---|
Purdie (right) with saxophonist
Tyrone Smith, 2009 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Bernard Lee Purdie |
| Also known as |
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| Born |
June 11, 1939 Elkton, Maryland, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, R&B, Funk, Soul |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Years active | 1958–present |
| Labels | A&M, Atco, EMI, Capitol |
| Associated acts | James Brown, Jeff Beck, Hummingbird, Steely Dan, Aretha Franklin, Gil Scott-Heron, King Curtis, The Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Randy Brecker, Quincy Jones, Hall & Oates, Isaac Hayes, Cat Stevens, Hair, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (soundtrack) |
| Website | www |
Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1941) is an American drummer, considered an influential and innovative funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdie Shuffle." He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013.
Purdie recorded Soul Drums (1968) as a band leader and although he went on to record Alexander's Ragtime Band, the album remained unreleased until Soul Drums was reissued on CD in 2009 with the Alexander's Ragtime Band sessions. Other solo albums include Purdie Good (1971), Soul Is ... Pretty Purdie (1972) and the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film Lialeh (1973).
In the mid-1990s he was a member of The 3B's, with Bross Townsend and Bob Cunningham.
At an early age Purdie began hitting cans with sticks and learned the elements of drumming techniques from overhearing lessons being given by Leonard Heywood. He later took lessons from Heywood and played in Heywood's big band. Purdie's other influences at that time were Papa Jo Jones, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Joe Marshall, Art Blakey, as well as Cozy Cole, Sticks Evans, Panama Francis, Louis Bellson, and Herbie Lovelle.
In 1961 he moved from his home town of Elkton, Maryland, to New York City. In order to be able to obtain a licence to perform in public (minimum age 21), Purdie claimed he was born in 1939, while in fact he was born in 1941. There he played sessions with Mickey and Sylvia and regularly visited the Turf Club on 50th and Broadway, where musicians, agents, and promoters met and touted for business. It was during this period that he played for the saxophonist Buddy Lucas, who nicknamed him 'Mississippi Bigfoot'. Eventually Barney Richmond contracted him to play session work. In a 1978 interview, Purdie claimed to have added drum overdubs to "several [tracks] of the Beatles' Hamburg recording" with Tony Sheridan, including "Ain't She Sweet", "Take Out Some Insurance On Me Baby" and "Sweet Georgia Brown", to give them a punchier sound for the US market.
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