Who are the best left-handed drummers of all time? Finding a left-handed drummer is rare and there aren’t many to talk about. However, most people don’t know that some of the most famous drummers in history were, in fact, left-handed!
Some even championed new techniques and drumming styles, which revolutionized how modern drummers, play. This article will give you a potent understanding of the most famous left-handed drummers in history and today and see how their legacies inspire drummers even today.
Our Requirements To Make the List:
The list was made including famous and prolific drummers across the globe with extensive experience in the field of drumming and their ability to work with their left hand successfully.
First, we focus on famous left-handed drummers such as Phil Collins, Ringo Starr, and others who have made significant contributions to music. Alongside them, we highlight underrated drummers who may not be household names, but have unique left-handed playing styles worth celebrating. We ensure diversity across music genres like rock, jazz, and metal to appeal to a wide audience.
Additionally, we include fun facts about how these drummers adapt their kits, overcome challenges, or develop distinct sounds due to their left-handedness.
Famous Left-Handed Drummers
Phil Collins
This legendary drummer, singer, and songwriter has won multiple Grammy Awards and sold over 150 million records worldwide. From his work with Genesis to his solo career, Collins has left an indelible mark on the music industry.
Collins eventually left Genesis in 1996, launching a wildly successful solo career with several charting albums, including “Both Sides” and “Face Value.”
And while his unique voice certainly set him apart as a star for the last four decades, his innovative drumming style influenced a generation of drummers. Beyond his dynamic playing style and intricate fills that can be heard throughout his music, especially in his more delicate ballads, he was most noted for his use of gated reverb in his recordings.
Listen to “I Don’t Care Anymore” and you can hear this technique in action, which involves throwing a snare through a tight reverb with a short decay to create a uniquely explosive effect.
Ringo Starr
When mentioning the drummer of the Beatles, Ringo Starr, people do not even require a brief introduction of the performer. His grooves and relaxed manner of playing have influenced a great multitude of musicians through the ages. Starr became a member of the Beatles in 1962 and went on to become one of the most celebrated drummers when the group was contemplating kicking out the original drummer Pete Best.
One of the drum tracks that we admire most of all is the introduction to the song “Ticket to Ride,” where it can be heard that he initiates with his left hand.
Keep in mind, he’s left-handed, but uses a right-handed drum kit! Pretty impressive!
Simon Phillips
Simon Phillips is among the most diverse assimilating left-handed drummers who managed to play with plenty of artists and bands including Judas Priest, The Who, Jeff Beck, Toto, and more during the last century. Although Philips is not strictly a left-handed drummer, he does alternate very often and has been seen on a few occasions leading with his left on some songs and the right on others.
His career commenced with the Jack Bruce Band at the age of 19 which led to his worldwide fame as a talented drummer. Listen to the song Pentangle to hear more of his drumming expertise.
Robert “Sput” Searight
Next, we have Robert “Sput” Searight, also known as one of the drummers of the multi-genre fusion Snarky Puppy band. He’s a talented, ambidextrous drummer. Like other left-handed drummers, Searight also employed his open-handed playing style instead of moving the entire drum kit to the left.
Although can play left-handed jazz, hip-hop, world, and neo-soul music, he blends many genres into his style. Besides the years he has spent performing with Snarky Puppy, where he won 3 Grammy Awards, he has recorded and performed with plenty of familiar faces like Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, and Erykah Badu. Out of all the modern drummers in the industry right now, Searight has the most dynamic and innovative style. To more about the style of drumming, you can listen to “What about Me”.
Carter Beauford
Sticking to the same pace, we have another left-handed musician, Carter Beauford, who also stayed with the conventional configuration of the kit and used an open-handed style. Renowned as the drummer for the Dave Matthews Band since 1991, he has partnered with diverse musicians like John Popper, Bèla Fleck and the Flecktones, and Santana. Listen to “What Would You Say” to understand his style on the kit.
He has had a tremendous influence with the open-handed style of drumming and has been especially good at playing along for countless encores throughout those extraordinarily long concerts held by the Dave Matthews Band.
Bobby Jarzombek
Bobby Jarzombek has worked along with other well-known musicians and bands such as Riot, Fates Warning, Sebastian Bach, and Halford. Apart from the fact that he also takes the open-hand approach, allowing him to get a wide range of super complex grooves down, he is a master of double-bass drumming too.
To say he shies away from the flashy percussion that most other prog-metal drummers indulge in is an understatement. If you are Bobby’s fan, listening to him in “Peppered Cancer” will be a treat.
According to Jarzombek’s words, he started to use that technique about twenty years ago. He still tends to lead with the right hand for fills though.
Mike Bordin
Mike Bordin is perhaps best known as the drummer for the band Faith No More with whom he performed in the early 80s until the late 90s only to start touring once again with them in the 2010s. Like Jarzombek, Bordin is equipped with powerful and versatile drumming skills that extend from metal to jazz to funk and pop.
In addition to his experience with Faith No More, Bordin also worked with some of the more notable metal bands ever – Korn and Ozzy Osbourne. Although he plays in a right-hander kit, he keeps his primary cymbal on the left side of the kit, the side that he plays from.
Bun E. Carlos
Bun E. Carlos joined Cheap Trick in the 1970s and instantly gained a reputation for his straightforward hard drumming style. Cheap Trick’s songs shined in the 70s and 80s because of his groove.
An interesting fact about Carlos is the fact that he tends to use both his left and right hands alternately, but he still plays on a right-hand kit.
Steve Coy
Steve Coy was one of the few drummers on this list who plays on a left-handed kit, but also showcases right-hand leads most of the time. We cannot say why, but it’s interesting to see a rare occurrence and setup like that.
Though Coy played with plenty of great acts throughout his career, he became best known as the drummer for Dead or Alive, which he started playing for in 1982. What separated Coy from most of the drummers at the time was his incorporation of electronic kit elements, which were vital to the group’s unique sound. Some might even say that electronic music wouldn’t be what it is today without Coy.
FAQs
Is Dave Grohl left-handed?
No, Dave Grohl is not a left-handed drummer. He plays a right-handed drum kit. Grohl used a Tama drum set while he was in Nirvana. He was often mistaken as such, because Kurt Cobain often played his set during recording and practice sessions left-handed.
Is Ringo Starr left-handed?
Yes, Ringo Starr is left-handed, but he plays a right-handed drum kit. His unique style is a result of this combination, which has allowed him to play in ways that most other drummers can’t.
Is Phil Collins left-handed?
Drum legend and pop star Phil Collins plays drums, and does everything else, left-handed. This means he has the hi-hat cymbal on his right and plays it with his left hand, but he kicks the bass drum with his right foot, as most drummers do. The musician from London became famous with the progressive rock band Genesis. When he was younger, the Beatles were among his idols, and he saw left-handed musicians like Paul McCartney play from early on.