3 of the Best Drum Solos in Classic Rock History

Guitars, sure. Vocal performances, fine. Keys, bass, flute—got it. Sometimes what you really need to get riled up is percussion. Percussion! It’s the hits of the drums that get your heart pounding, your shoulders swaying, and your mind alive.

Here below, we wanted to explore three of the best drum solos in classic rock history. A trio of tracks that demonstrate just what a drum kit and a proficient player behind it can do—what it can bring out of a listener or a live audience.

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“Moby Dick” by Led Zeppelin from Led Zeppelin II (1969)

When John Bonham’s life was cut short in 1980 as the result of an alcohol addiction, the world lost perhaps the greatest rock and roll drummer of all time. If anyone needed any proof of that, they could just look to this live video below. It’s 15 minutes of thunderous, skeleton-shaking drum solo improvisation that could just as easily befuddle as inspire you. Not only did he create the heavy spins to so many Led Zeppelin songs, but he could go off in percussive tangents for a quarter of an hour. Who does that? John Bonham does that.

“In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins from Face Value (1981)

This song by Phil Collins has inspired more “air drumming” than any track in the history of the world. The climaxing moment when the drum solo/fill hits is one countless classic rock fans have waited for. Indeed, if anyone puts on this song, you know you have to wait for the moment and when it comes, you pick up your invisible drum sticks, hold them in the air, and let the solo rip as if you’re there in the studio or on stage playing it yourself. It’s the gift that Collins gave us and it’s one that keeps on giving. Dun-dun-dun-dun-dundun-dundun-dun dun!

“Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who from Who’s Next (1971)

The drumming throughout this song is pure madness, but then about two-thirds of the way into the song, it just explodes like a war zone. Big fills meet seemingly never-ending tom hits. The kick drum pounds. You are suddenly inside the drum kit itself. You have become one with it. It is your brain, your skull, your sinews. And it is percolating up and out like a spirit existing in your body. That is what the Who’s Keith Moon could do. That was his magic.

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