Hero Worship: Black Sabbath's Bill Ward on Gene Krupa

Of all my heroes, I’d have to go with a drummer – the guy who was my biggest inspiration. And that was Gene Krupa. He played big band swing, which I’ve been attracted to since I was a child. My mother and father had records where he’d play with different bands and players that came over during World War Two, so I owe it to them really. 

Picking up his cues from ragtime and the Jazz Age that came before in the 1920s and 30s, Gene’s playing was rich and quite unique. There was a certain power there and he had a lot of be-bop about him, he was an innovator of new rhythms which were stepping stones into what would be defined as rock’n’roll in years to come, into the early 50s.

But Gene was also a troubled man, he was addicted to narcotics. I too have travelled that kind of a journey, so I feel like I’m in a parallel world. He had a lot of hardship but continued to play and work his way through it. Although I saw him in the movies or when he was doing a spot on TV, sadly I never met him. I often felt that I had, in that rare way when you hear somebody play a certain piece of music, it’s as if you’ve known them all your life. To the student drummers out there, I’d recommend you listen to Gene Krupa. He’s a good start. He was leading the way.