This week’s guest is Fred Eltringham! If you listened to our recent episode with Sterling Laws, you heard Fred get a lot of love as one of Sterling’s five picks—so it was an honor to finally have him on the show himself.
And I gotta say…his voice is so soothing and calm. Puts mine to shame.
Fred has been playing with Sheryl Crow since 2012, but his résumé also includes The Wallflowers, The Chicks, kd lang, Willie Nelson, Gigolo Aunts, Juliana Hatfield, Ben Kweller, and plenty more. He’s a steady, calm ship at sea behind the kit, and it seems like songwriters line up around the block to work with him.
In addition to his international touring with Sheryl, you can catch him on Instagram whenever he’s doing something cool in Nashville—especially with Jules Belmont, as part of their tasty little instrumental group.
So, please enjoy my chat with Fred Eltringham about the five records that shaped him into the musician he is today.
Cheers!
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Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
FRED’S BIG FAT FIVE:
Artist – Led Zeppelin
Album – Led Zeppelin I
Release Year – 1969
Key Track(s) – “Good Times, Bad Times,” “Dazed and Confused”
Drummer – John Bonham
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Artist – The Beatles
Album – Abbey Road
Release Year – 1970
Key Track(s) – “Come Together,” “You Never Give Me Your Money,” “Polythene Pam,” “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window,” “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” “The End”
Drummer – Ringo Starr
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Artist – Squeeze
Album – Singles
Release Year – 1989
Key Track(s) “Pulling Mussels,” “Tempted”
Drummer – Gilson Lavis
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Artist – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
Album – Greatest Hits
Release Year – 1993
Key Track(s) “The Waiting,” “Last Dance With Mary Jane,” “Free Fallin”
Drummers – Stan Lynch, Phil Jones
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Artist – Sheryl Crow
Album – Sheryl Crow
Release Year – 1996
Key Track(s) – “If It Makes You Happy,” “Sweet Rosalyn,” “Home”
Drummers – Michael Urbano, Brian Macleod, Jim Keltner, Pete Thomas
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Any Honorable Mentions?
Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (Donald Lindley on drums) / Essence (Jim Keltner on drums)
Mitch Mitchell – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Buddy Miles – Band of Gypsys
Jim Keltner – All things: Steely Dan, Leon Russell, John Lennon, George Harrison, Traveling Wilburys
Jim Gordon – Sessions, Leon Russell, Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson – The Point (John Guerin on drums), Nilsson Schmilsson (Jim Gordon on drums)
Charlie Watts – All things Rolling Stones
Keith Moon, Kenny Jones (The Faces) – The Who: Who’s Next, Tommy, Live from the Isle of Wight, It’s Hard
Nick Mason – Pink Floyd
Gary Mallaber – Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits 1974–78
Levon Helm – The Band
Alex Van Halen
Dave Houghton – Joe Jackson’s Look Sharp
Dave Grohl – Anything he drums on
Queens of the Stone Age – First 3 albums: Nick Lucero, Gene Trautmann, Dave Grohl, Alfredo Hernández
Steve Jordan / Charley Drayton – X-Pensive Winos: Live at the Palladium, Main Offender
Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life, Innervisions
Prince – Dirty Mind through Diamonds and Pearls
Roger Hawkins – Muscle Shoals / Sessions / Aretha Franklin: The House That Jack Built, Respect
Russ Kunkel – Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King
The list goes on and on and on…I’ve reached max characters!
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