Keith Moon

(http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Keith_Moon.html)

Keith Moon was reckless, crazy, irresponsible, and brilliant. He was one of the greatest drummers of all time. He is the perfect example of true rock: sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll; he could jam on stage and be fun as heck off. Although he died in 1978, at the age of 32, he is still an inspiration to drummers everywhere, including me. Moon got his first set of drums when he was 14, and began taking lessons. Between the ages of 14-17, he was in “The Escorts” and “The Beachcombers” (a cover band). At the age of 18, however, Moon left “The Beachcombers” and joined “The Who.”

“The Who” had been having problems with their current drummer, and when they saw Keith play, they asked him to join the band. Peter Townshend, the guitarist, had a love of wreaking havoc on stage, and Keith shared that love. On one occasion, he loaded explosives into one of his bass drums, and detonated it at the end of “My Generation.” The blast caused pieces of cymbal to break and temporarily caused Peter Townshend to go deaf. Another time, he filled both of his bass drums with goldfish (and water) and played them on live television. Pretty soon, people began calling him “Moon the Loon” and “Mad Moon.”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Moon)

Moon did some crazy things off stage, too. He was known for his destruction of hotel rooms and property. His favorite thing to do in any hotel room he stayed in was to blow up the toilets. At first, it was just fireworks like cherry bombs and M80s, but soon he graduated to dynamite, getting that loud bang he really wanted. One story about his birthday party recalls him driving a car into The Holiday Inn’s pool, getting “The Who” banned from the hotel chain forever. He was all about being extreme, and dangerous, everything awesome about Rock n’ Roll.

Even though he was wild and crazy, he was still a great drummer; he changed Rock n’ Roll forever. Keith didn’t just keep the beat for the music, he asserted himself. Robert Daltry, lead singer of “The Who” says, “He sounded like a locomotive at full pelt. His speed was incredible…and he made very much his own thing out of the drums.” Tony Fletcher, the author of Keith Moon’s biography, says, “Keith was the first to treat the drums like they were a lead instrument…” With Keith’s drum rolls and cymbal crashes, he was able to rival the lead guitars.

Keith Moon did not really have much family. When he was 20, he married his girlfriend, who was carrying his child. His wife, Kim Kerrigan, left him for the keyboard player of “Faces” in 1973, and he divorced her in 1974. Keith and Kim only had one child, Amanda, who was born in July of 1966.

Keith Moon was more than just a crazy drummer; he was the crazy drummer. Rock n’ Roll has been changed forever, and thus lives of millions of people have been changed. His craziness only added to his amazing drum playing and to The Who’s image. He provided that wild freedom that Rock n’ Roll is known and loved for, and The Who greatly benefited from it. As Tony Fletcher said, “This is somebody without whom we might still be listening to drummers going ‘boom-cha boom-cha.’”