SKF NOTE: I received some good news this week from drummer Jeff Neuhauser. After much research and writing, Neuhauser’s profile of exemplary drummer/drum teacher Roy Knapp, was accepted as a Wikipedia entry.

The Chicago-based Roy Knapp School of Drumming came up several times during my interviews and conversations with noted drummers while I was managing editor of Modern Drummer magazine. While I did have bits and pieces of the Knapp School story, Neuhauser has done a great service by piecing together a fuller story.

Check it out!

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Roy Cecil Knapp (October 26, 1891 – June 16, 1979) known as “The Dean of American Drum Teachers” was an American drummer, music educator and sought-after studio musician skilled as a tympanist, percussionist and xylophone soloist. He was a longtime network orchestra member on shows broadcast during radio’s golden age in Chicago, Illinois.[1][2][3][4] And he was a founding member of the National Association of Rudimental Drummers (N.A.R.D.).

Notable students

Knapp became widely recognized as a teacher. His roster of former students includes:

Gene Krupa
Louie Bellson
Hal Blaine
Mel Torme
Dave Tough
Baby Dodds
George Wettling
Fred Below
Odie Payne
Ed Shaughnessy
Mousey Alexander
Alan Abel
Fred Anderson
Elgin Evans[6]
Others include: John P. Noonan, Duanne Thamm, James Salmon, Gordon Peters, Bobby Christian, Mark Walker, Jamal Mohamed, and Mike Balter.

Full Story