Gene Krupa

GENE KRUPA d1973. American jazz big band drummer and composer known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style. He made his first recordings in 1927 with the Eddie Condon band. His prolific career ended with enforced retirement due to back-pain in the late 1960s. He died of Leukemia in New York aged 64 in 1973. In 1978, he became the first man to be inducted into the Drummer Hall Of Fame. In 2009, Rhythm magazine voted him the third most influential drummer in history.