Poll Question to vote go to www.trueprincestories.com

Who was the best Prince Drummer?
Sheila E
Bobby Z
Kirk Johnson
John Blackwell
Michael Bland

In my opinion, Sheila was. Hands down. She was the most versatile all the while holding down that crucial pocket.

Then I would say Bobby. Got to go with him second mainly cuz Z was there from the very get go and he went through the crucial periods during Prince's career. He "understood" P's music better than any other drummer P's ever had, I think.

This is going to be interesting; especially with Mike B. sneaking a peek at this thread.
You know you're peepin' it out big playa! Don't EVEN front!

Tough one, Real Tough one, it's between Michael B. & Sheila E I need to think about it

Bobby & Sheila were part of that sound that we associate with Prince's glory days, but I'd have to go with John or Michael for all around drumming technique.

Both are good enough that I couldn't say which is better, maybe another drummer could, maybe neither.

I know he was not a Prince drummer, but Jellybean was pretty Damm good too (777-9311). It will be interesting to see who wins the poll

NOSLEN633CSI said:

and is the "who is prince's best drummer" the new "whatever happened to cat" for 2006?

Has 2 be Michael B with Sheila and Blackwell running a VERY close second.

Graycap23 said:

Aye.

I can't pick one. I like both Sheila E and Michael Bland. It's to tough to pick between the two.

PRINCE IS HIS OWN BEST DRUMMER!!!!!
Other than that, I'd have to say
Sheila E., Michael B. & John Blackwell!!!!!
Even though Bobby Z. was there from the beginning, by the end he got reduced to "hitting cymbals". The funniest Bobby Z moment was the "America" video. When Prince kicked him off "cymbals" & bear rhe hell outta those electronic drums. HILARIOUS!!!!!

Michael Bland was the best timekeeper and groover Prince ever had in his bands. John is the more flashy player, and sheila is original because she applies percussion technics to the drumkit. But MB is def. the best one.

woogiebear said:

first and formost it is sheila e
second would have to be john blackwell
third is micheal bland
then it would be bobby z.
the reason i put bobby last, even though he was with prince for the longest,
is because he was with prince during the linn drum machine faze of prince' career and didn't really play alot of drums (live drums that is)

tripp said:

The Bobby Z quote is very true

I think that these kind of questions are a bit unfair..."BEST" drummer ? I´m not a musician but IMO they all played an important part and added something, yes, even Kirk J. ( I wasn´t really that much into his skills, but you gotta admit that he added a certain "sound" to the music, gave it a special flavor, though most people hated that style and the man with a passion).

Of course Bobby Z was there from the beginning and probably "understood" Prince´s music better than the rest ( except maybe for Sheila E) , and of course Sheila ´s use of percussions and congas added a unique flavor to the music and it´s easy to distinguish her style and the sound she added to Prince´s music but is she really "better" than, say, Michael Bland ?
What is your definition of "best" drummer ?
I loved Sheila´s contribution to Prince´s body of work but I also miss Michael B. and Sonny,a nd you know you can´t have one without the other.

Michael B. was , in my amateur opinion, the one who truly had the best timing, the one who was probably the least selfish, most into the music , ever.

Teh kind of drummer who makes me stop a song in the middle just to hit that "skip-back" button to hear a particular beat again, and I´m not just talking about drum solos. The guy was simply incredible...don´t know what it is about his drumming but he´s one of my favorite drummers ever.

Not just his solos but how he "feels" songs and the music and how he knows EXACTLY what and how to play/hit the skins.

"Best" is always reltive, they are all good in their own right. John Blackwell on the "TRC" album is incredible, he really deserved that "magnificent" label that Prince gave him in the album credits. But is he really "better" than Michael Bland ? Would Michael, John B and Sheila ( or Bobby ) ever discuss this kind of stuff?
I know that Bobby once admitted that Sheila was a far better drummer than he´d ever be, but hey , he´s Bobby Z, the guy who was part of the Aug.3rd 1984 First Ave. show ....he was part of the Dirty Mind tour.

Prince himself gave him props in that Rolling Stone interview from 85.

And John B bowed before Sheila E in the late 90´s...so there you go.

I think they´re all "the BEST" and I wish Prince would play with different drummers from time to time, why not use all of them occasionally ?


Anyway, "best" or not, I seriously miss the magic that Sonny and Michael Bland created..they were the new Wendy&Lisa, just in a totally different way, if you catch my drift.


They were / are al great musicians or meant somethnig to him and his music, otherwise Prince wouldn´t have played with them.

KoolEaze said:

Very nice

I've always liked the element of accurate bombast that Michael B. brings to the proceedings. Precise power with cool fills. Reminds me a lot of if Carter Beauford ever guested with Prince, how it might sound.

woogiebear said:

I would say Sheila E. her energy, her style the band is so alive.

Michael he worked them. Love watching him play.

Bobby no.

Who cares who's the best. It's got to be the stupidest question anybody could ever ask. "Best" is an opinion. Unless you're asking who my favorite drummer is that would have to be Kirk first then Michael Bland second. Both these drummer had that sound that fit with prince perfectly. I thought Sheila E. and Blackwell was alright soundwise but wins in the area of showmanship.

I don't care for showmanships or flashy sticks twirling cuz it doesn't have anything to do with music. I love listening to Kirk play Release Ur'Self and American Woman on the Rave DVD and Michael on Get Wild and Billy Jack Bitch... His playing is powerful but I liked kirk's pocket feel better.

Bobby Z was cool but didn't do anything for me but at least he got the job done. I'm not going to go off and start hating him like how some of you guys hate Kirk or Larry Graham which I don't understand.

KoolEaze said:

There you go... now I respect you a whole lot... It's about the sound and the music. A lot of people don't get that.

blackguitaristz said:

And don't forget that she is a decent singer and does/did everything the guys were doing while wearing heels.


Go Sheila!

My amatuer opinion is Michael.
I have listened to a lot of Prince's released music and nothing stops me in my tracks the way the intro of "Shhh" does.

I was often AMAZED to think how could someone hear that solo in his mind before it was ever played. Somebody had to hear it mentally before writing out the notes... right? I always thought it was Prince. But in the Michael B's thread he related how Prince would basically say, "solo here" and Michael B would more or less come up with something on his own.

I told Michael that intro sends shivers up my spine every single time I hear it!
it's been 2 years now since I first hear it, and it still does!!!

prodigalfan said:

2 answer your question.....not really. Artist often just play and sometimes u luck into something. I'll bet half of a lot musicians best material comes but just playing without "thinking".

I think Cora should be on this list because in just a few performances she's surpassed a few drummers already

Sheila, Michael or John...were the best!

The worst was Kirk...sounded like a piece of shit with sticks and cymbals!

I used to believe it was Sheila, then John. But recently I've been listening to alot of P's music from when Michael Bland was drumming. I didn't realize how cool he was.