Shelly Manne
The history of Gretsch drums goes back to the 1870s, when Friedrich Gretsch left Germany for a new life in America and settled in Brooklyn. His first job was with the Albert Houdlett and Son company, making drums and banjos. At the age of 27 Friedrich opened his own shop on South 4th Street, Brooklyn, in 1883, and was also involved in the production of drums, tambourines and toy instruments for various wholesalers. Unfortunately Friedrich died unexpectedly in 1895, and so his 15 year old son Fred Gretsch Sr took over the business, showing incredible business sense despite his young age. Within 5 years he had moved the company to bigger premises, and was actively promoting his business by spending time on the road selling his products to wholesalers (at this time they werent sold under the Gretsch brandname).
By 1916 the business had outgrown its premises again, and Fred moved the firm to a 10 story building in Broadway, Brooklyn, which would remain the company headquarters until the early 1970s. Production continued for many years with Gresch continuing to make products for other companies (such as Billy Gladstone). Fred Sr retired in 1942, and appointed his son Fred Gretsch Jr as president of the company, although had to take leave of these duties to serve with the US Navy during World War II, resuming in his role in 1948. During these turbulent years, the Gretsch factory produced items for the war effort rather than musical instruments. Once life got back to normal however, Fred Jr wanted to start making drums again, but this time he wanted to produce the best drums possible and spent many evenings in New Yorks music clubs, talking with working drummers and taking their opinions on board. One of their requests was for smaller, easier to carry drums. Gretsch developed the 20" bass drum, disappearing bass drum spurs and shell mounted tom holders for this purpose. A few of the famous drummers of that era such as Mel lewis and Louis Bellson started to use these new drums.. indeed it was gretsch that put together an idea of Bellsons, the first drum kit with double bass drums! Another Gretsch innovation from that time was the adjustable internal muffling tone control.
Another area in which Gretsch challenged the traditional drum making of the time was their approach to making drum shells.. rather than using shells that required reinforcing hoops, Gretsch shells became 6 plys, with each ply being joined in a different place, making for a much stronger shell that did away with the need for internal support rings. This was the start of what became known as "that great Gretsch sound". These drums were fitted with Die-Cast hoops, and by the 1950s they were the first drum company to exclusively use chrome plating rather than nickel. During this period, many of the biggest names in the jazz drumming scene were playing Gretsch drums, including Art Blakey, Max Roach and Shelly Manne, and by the 1960s they were joined by greats such as Elvin Jones, Sonny Payne and Tony Williams.
Fred Gretsch Jr retired in 1967, selling the company to the Balwin Music Group. They promptly shut the New York factory and moved it to Arkansas. Whilst the production of Gretsch drums continued, the ethos of the firm seemed to have changed, top people such as Phil Grant left the company, and the firm wasnt without its problems in both production and marketing (although the quality of the drums was never in doubt, they always remained excellent). Charlie Roy bought Gretsch in 1982 and became its president, and in 1985 the company was sold again, this time to Fred W Gretsch, the great grandson of the original founder.. Once again the Gretsch brand was back in the hands of the Gretsch family. This revitalized company moved to Savannah, and the line of drums (and guitars) met with great success. The American Gretsch drums of today are almost unchanged from those famous drums of the past... 6 ply maple shells, 30 degree bearing edges, die-cast hoops and the famous "silver sealer" paint on the inside of the shells. As in the early days, many top drummers are playing Gretsch drums, including Vinnie Colaiuta, Phil Collins, Taylor Hawkins, Stanton Moore and many others.
The Kaman music Group signed a distribution deal with Gretsch in 2000, giving the drum brand a higher profile worldwide, and currently the Gretsch brand has 2 sides to it... the American made drums such as USA custom series are made in Ridgeland, South Carolina, whilst Kamans Asian based factories produce the less expensive lines (catalina series etc). These great drums are winning over a new generation of drummers from all musical styles.
Author David R Fletcher is a keen user of Gretsch drums. He first played a set belonging to Nottingham jazz drummer Barry Page back in 1984 at the age of 14, and from that moment on aspired to own a set of Gretsch drums! It took until 2005 to make this a reality when he purchased a set of USA Maple drums in Matte Natural finish. David is also a director of UK music retailer Nottingham Drum and Guitar Centre.
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