"You've done it… You've done hired the hit-maker! Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie."
Legend has it that at one time, whenever he did a session with a new artist, Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie would set-up two signs emblazoned with these words behind his drums. I vaguely recall seeing a photo of this at one point but unfortunately couldn't find a copy of it for this article, so although it remains anecdotal the words themselves are indubitable: Purdie has played on literally hundreds of hit records. This example is loosely based on one of my absolute favourites - the groove that Bernard plays on the track Rock Steady by Aretha Franklin.
First I'll demonstrate it on it's own and then you'll hear it with bass and percussion. And remember, the bass and perc loop can be downloaded for you to play along to, completely free, at my website, www.justindrums.com.
