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Is Steve Gadd the most influential drummer ever? He's not saying

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"The fun thing about playing with Eric - and I could say this about a lot of people - is that every night is different. A lot of nights are pure magic; others aren't. The trick is not to set the bar so impossibly high every time you play, because there's too many variables that can affect a performance: the energy of the audience, the energy of the band, the sound, all the kind of stuff. What I've learned over the years is to appreciate the nights that are magic, and on those nights that aren't magic, hey, you still give everything you've got. You always try, though."

Your discography is so vast, there's no way to list even half of the artists you've worked with. However, I do want to ask you about playing with Paul McCartney, who's no slouch on the drums himself.

"In one way or another, the job is always the same: you try to come up with parts that are supportive of the music. When I worked with Paul, he didn't give me a lot of direction per se. There were a few times, I think, when I wasn't playing as big and loud or as energetic as he wanted, so I made whatever adjustments were necessary.

"Again, I try to listen to the song. If you can listen to the song and really visualize in your head what it needs to be, you can figure out the dynamics and the backbeat and everything else.

"I remember there was a lot of emotion in the air the first time I recorded with Paul. It was not too long after John Lennon had been shot, so as you can imagine, things were…it was heavy. The emotions that everybody was feeling, coupled with the beauty of our surroundings [the island of Montserrat, where George Martin operated AIR Studios], it all came out in the music. Oh, and Ringo Starr was there, too. I had played with him on one of his solo records, so we were old friends. It was great being around him; he's so inspiring."

"There was a lot of emotion in the air the first time I recorded with Paul [McCartney]. It was not too long after John Lennon had been shot, so as you can imagine, things were…it was heavy."

What kind of musical dialogue do you have with somebody like Ringo? Even though he's one of the greatest drummers in rock 'n' roll history, he's very unlike you in that he doesn't read or write music, never studied theory…

"Yeah, I know what you mean. We had a great time together. See, Ringo comes from a different kind of school, and I find that totally exciting and challenging. How he does what he does…it's so different from what other drummers do. If somebody approaches music or their instrument in a way that's unique, I want to be around that person. To me, there's something to learn there."

So many drummers the world over put you at the top of their Best Drummer Ever list. I'm curious, who's on your list? What drummers float your boat?

"Well, first of all, I learn from everybody. Whatever it is I'm listening to, I take something from it. Growing up, I had a lot more opportunities to listen, so I've got my guys who were my favorites and who will always be my favorites. Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, Louis Bellson, Philly Joe Jones, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Jimmy Cobb, Papa Jo Jones - they were all unbelievable.

"And then there are people who are now my co-workers, but I don't get many chances to listen to them because we're all working. There's so many drummers who blow me away. Drumming has come so far and the techniques people have developed are unbelievable. I'm always flattered when somebody says they like what I do, but really, I'm just continuing a thread that was started a long time ago."

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