"JR" Robinson explains "Rock with You" @Drumtrainer Online
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- Check out this excerpt of a tutorial by legendary studio-drummer John "JR" Robinson about recording the famous song "Rock with You" by Michael Jackson.
Known as the most recorded drummer in history John "JR“ Robinson has worked for pop music giants like Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Chaka Khan, Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton, Madonna, Steve Winwood, Lionel Richie and most recently Daft Punk.
JR's motion picture credits include The Bodyguard, Father’s Day, Free Willy, Hercules, Independence Day, Jerry McGuire, South Park, Rush Hour 2, Pirates of the Caribbean and many more. On top of these credits JR has also recorded with jazz and fusion artists like George Benson, Jeff Lorber or Sergio Mendes.
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John "JR" Robinson plays DW drums and Paiste cymbals.
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JR, you have no idea how you changed my music trajectory. I've been a musician all of my life (a year younger than you) and tried several times to make my music with the instruments I knew. Then I got Drum Drops from a fellow musician and it was YOU... Rufus' drummer! I've listened to you ever since! Thanks for your playing and musicianship!!!
That’s pure musicianship right there. Pullin’ out an iconic fill like that straight outta the air, two bars after they hit the record button 🏆 JR’s a legend, man.
Rob!! We love your channel, you've put out some great videos over the years! Yes it's truly amazing what can happen in the studio when your musicianship is at that level. He's also such a great hang and all round top guy!
Rob! Love your channel! The guys are spot on. You have amazing content. Thank you!
Yeah man I agree. You see guys like the Groovefather who has insane chops but he sounds like a human drum machine and to be honest nothing has a feel but drumming like this is the stuff legends are made of. No disrespect to the GF but it’s just a preference for me
Been playing for 27 years and for me this kind of drumming is far more impressive than all these crazy chops. And imagine saying you played drums on Off the Wall?!?
thanks for that comment Tristan.. we hear you!:)
You can just hear the braggarts talking about how skilled they are and they're the next big thing and 47/26 time and faster than the speed of smell and blah blah...UNTIL a guy like this happens down the pike and someone asks "So, what's your deal?" - Meh! Nothing much. I was just recalling that time I played drums for Michael Jackson. *cricket banter*
Imagine *playing* on Off the walls.
I been playing for 25 years and I couldn’t agree with you more. Keeping it simple and solid as a clock is best!
Agreed, this is much more impressive. Can’t imagine saying I played this for MJs album.
Kick drum was inching away at the end there!
I was 19 when OFF THE WALL was released . For me , It was MJ'S BEST ALBUM ! At 61 , It's still my FAVOURITE !
man he makes that look easy - he's got every limb time tracked down to the millisecond.. Genius.
Crazy.
Awesome comment.
That’s a great description of the term ‘studio drummer’. Time tracked down to the millisecond- every limb.
Agreed.
His bass drum needs spurs though. See it walking away from him?
Very Very Very clean. This is what's missing in modern groove oriented drumming. There is no sound replacement or plugin you can use to replace human feel. This expression of feel played here is one of the reasons why I picked up a pair of sticks as a kid and never laid them down. Praise to all drummers and musicians who preference feel over fills. If it weren't for you, there would be very little little to none human expression in music ie.. today's commercial music.
Get the thought that while he's drumming he's running the music in his mind, truly awesome
What an interesting way he holds his sticks. Very cool. One of my favorite drum tracks, too. Legend!
yep.. looks like he only touches the drums but believe me he hits HARD,
This is absolutely incredible. A Rolex doesn’t keep time like this man. You are incredible JR.❤
this is astonishingly beautiful!!! look at that HH work 🤯 JR is N.1 at disco drumming.
It's The Falling In Love is one of my favorites as well. 💕
This guy is a time machine. My goodness.
Thats magic right there. Smooth as butter 😎
I can sing verse and chorus over his beat and it fits perfectly. Even his hihat embellishments, fills and everything are perfect. You can definitely tell the song was written around that beat. His sense of tempo and timing is on point to the max!
Thanks for the comment Neal..yeah, JR was and IS a true Master of Time, Taste & Groove!
Exquisite drum part for an exquisite record 🌟
Wow. 1979. A year after he'd moved to LA. Made real, iconic music history on request...on request from Q himself, no less...Damn near 50 years hence, and, in my humble opine, every track on that masterpiece would still be a #1 hit. I'm still tryna play JR, Bernard, and Jeff's licks today...So Thankful for real musicians who loved to play and weren't to big/famous to teach and share their amazing skills with the rest of us mere mortals...
Hey man, thanks for the comment. Yeah what a drummer and also the other gentleman you mention: Purdy & Porcaro..just legendary groove keepers!!! Thanks for whatching our stuff.. cheers🙏
JUST INCREDIBLE !!!!!! - this is better than any machine / software programmed stuff - !!!!!!
Feels good. Notice that when the hat goes to 8ths after having been playing 16ths, but nothing else in the groove changes, the gas doesn't go away. That's the mark of someone who has made friends with the click and understands how to keep the pocket cooking even though the subdivision changes. It's also nice to see JR's right foot technique. It's kind of a rocking back and forth thing. For years I've heard people say he plays "heel down" and was skeptical because I couldn't imagine getting any kind of power and sound for pop music with a traditional heel down technique. Here we see that it's a hybrid. Nice video JR and Dirk!
Brother Graham, thanks for the comment! Hope all is well in NYC..keep in touch!
Oooh, wait a second, there's some other funky thing also happening in the bass! He's PRESSING the pedal after the last kick of the double-note, so the sound is a bit muted and the pitch is a bit higher than the single bass in the beginning of the phrase, which he plays heel down! It looks to me like it's an intended nuance, as sometimes he doesn't do it (so it's not automatic), and it often comes in a bit late, like he's actively making an effort to do that effect on top of other playing.
In the end, even the bass drum has some variation inside the phrase. Thanks for bringing up the bass drum technique!
I love how he just turns his wrist for the snare, and the same for high hat, he just wiggles his fingers, and twist his wrist.
I love the occasional hi hat embellishments in the drums to Rock With You. Scarcity = value. A lot of drummers need reminding about that
So GREAT!!!! The best pop drum track ever in my opinion. That hat is like a machine but with feel and purpose!! Thansk JR for a groove that will never get old...ever.
Beautiful. Kick drum sounds amazing!
Some of these young cats out here now would absolutely fall apart like a 1 cent cookie if they had to keep it simple and in the pocket like this for basically 4 in a half minutes.
WORD!
This is so solid you can sing along in perfect time!!
Incredible. I'm convinced that the live drumming is what creates the inertia in a song so the other sounds can phase conjugate and accelerate emotion to faster than light. This song lives eternaly in the heavenly realm.
Love this guy!
My uncle Wah Wah Watson played on some sessions with JR!!! RIP to Melvin Ragin aka Wah Wah Watson!!
So incredible, there are no words. JR's groove is truly the shot heard around the world. LEGEND.
Maaaan... These drums or mix or whatever sound awesome!
So beautiful.
Dont get me wrong. I have huge respect and admire guys like Lang, Minnemann, Donati, Mangini. But there ist a reason why JR is the most recorded drummer. He serves the music. That is our job as drummers. Keep the time. Make the timekeeping interesting and be tasteful and serve the song.
WORD! So siehts mal aus Klaus!:) danke für den Kommentar.. LG
To do what he does with exact perfect consistency from the 1st take to the 83rd is the hardest thing to do.
Well that depends of what kind of music you want to play. If you're a pop session drummer like JR, yes of course. If you play in Dream Theater, what Mangini or whoever else is doing is it. Do whatever you want to do....
Wow, shows how can have power heel down on bass drum. Even his doubles are heel down. He's so precise with the note placement.
Man! He’s dead on it!!! I can hear the tune while he’s playing
yeah man, sooo amazing!
That kick is 🔥 so is everything else
20 years in love with JR on Off The Wall and drumming since 30 years, finally, after he counted me in, I understand that break.
Excellent!!
Mr John Robinson I had no idea that you played on many of my favourite songs. It's to my shame I just discovered who you are after listening to Back in the High Life, your drumming on that song is just amazing.
That’s why you always gotta buy a physical copy of any release you purchase, so you can read the liner notes for the track information you can’t get from a download.
Every single hit in the perfect place. Touchdown!
Man that was some of the most funkiest in the pocket drumming I think I ever heard!
🎉🎉 Amazing!
Very mindful and in the pocket 🙏😉❤
thanks for the comment..yeah JR is one of a kind!
That`s pretty fine, what a lesson, live performing, only drum track. So nice to know for me, that John uses the technique I was thinkin while listening the track all this time since 1980, the open hi-hat sound, and the double kick stroke as well, just the same as in the original take recording. John`s style is so tasteful and groovin'. A legend it self.
simply gorgeous...
Absolutely incredible!!!!
Working that bass drum! Near the end the bass drum starts creeping away due to the force. Solid in every way.
Amazing!One of my favorite drum tracks and it's so cool to see you play it, thanks for all of the inspiration!
Love John! Such a great groove! Anyone else notice the unfortunate creeping of the kick drum? Full screen it and start watching the top of the screen at the 5:48 mark.
Thanks for the comment heylad..what creeping ?! ;-))
Great!
Beautiful. Less is more, and that is an iconic song and drum fill for sure at the beginning. It serves the song, and not the drummer - meaning no crazy fills and oddness. There is a place for that, but lets face it - this is a pop classic, and the drums are perfect.
We couldn't have said it better ourselves
John, You sure succeeded on Quincy's request. I'm a longtime drummer (60yrs old) I was at a sound check getting drum sounds just messing around with beats and because Off the Wall is one of my all time fav's was familiar with most of the moves you made. Anyway, was messing around and I broke into that intro and beat and couldn't remember what it was. The monitor engineer piped up "man, that's the Rock With You intro". They remember!!
Class!!
yeah he is. I met Mr. Robinson in NYC at my job back in 05. I said to him " boom fillrrrap boom frack ka ka ka coom" he gave me a big smile, shook my hand and asked me my name.. He also gave me a hand signed copy his CD Funkshui and we rapped for a while.. Class Act 1000%
word!
Vinnie Colaiuta, Jeff Porcaro and JR Robinson 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Great Bass and Snare Drum tone!
Awesome
Wow, what a machine
What a badass
Comes to mind: Girl, close your eyes
Let that rhythm get into you
Don't try to fight it
There ain't nothin' that you can do
Relax your mind
Lay back and groove with mine
You got to feel the heat
And we can ride the boogie
Share that beat of love
YEAH!
@@drumtrainer P.S. I haven't played drums since I was about 28, (58 now. Played for 20 years.) but I still watch thousands of drumming videos from Weckl to Donati to Vinnie to Sucherman to Coleman to Lang to amazing drummers like yourself and STILL I am inspired by each and every one of you. Thank you for sharing your gift.
@@tortillasarenotbiceps7622 Hey man, sorry for the late reply & happy new year! thanks for the nice comment & why don´t you start drumming again..it´s a lifelong passion & never too late to start again! Best...
@@drumtrainer I do still have my practice pads, one of which is my Drumeo pad, and sticks to tap on. Do it just about daily. I may go electronic kit due to noise factor. Rock on, brother.
This is so badass
What a great story! ”No pressure” haha JR is great 👌🏻
yeah, isn´t it! He is amazing & really funny;-)
JR is the truth
He plays exactly how my teacher always told me NOT to play, palm up. But then again, once, he told me to keep my thumb and forefinger together on my left hand (traditional grip). I told him I saw a picture of Jack DeJonette and his thumb and finger were wide apart. I’ll never forget his response: “Well, you’re not Jack DeJonette, and neither am I”
Groove master right here
fkn love this guy!
YOU DA BESS...JR
JR making it look easy
when you cross over with left hand on high hat palm up, is that a french grip ? 🥁🥁👏
JR is the maestro :)
WORD!
MY GOD !
Iconic !
i always listen out for the 3 note kicks played half way through
wow
houuuu💥💥💥
💥
The human clock.....💯👍
ladies and gentlemen how to play sixteenth notes on a hi hat ..
ROBINSON PORCARO PURDIE THE GROOVE MEN..
On the album you play the kick on the backbeat on certain beats that land with the bass.. kinda something porcaro did a lot to punctuate
The groove assassin.
O cara tocar e o swing emana do corpo.
This was just like magic to me!
Unusual to see that left hand palm up on the high hat
I just want to know who made the giorgios by morode drums solo?
Could you explain what mics / preamps were used here for overhead and kick drums ?
Great video. Your kick drum slowly edging away from you gave me gig anxiety the entire time though :)
Dude is literally a human metronome! Big pocket, always groovin’
Google this Guy, Amazing Song Credits.
yeah, the list goes up to the moon and back ;-) what a great career!
*Play every single note like he went back in time* "And that is a form..." Right. No wonder why the call him, "The time machine"!!!!!
Besides the opening pattern sounds like Boz Scaggs Lowdown
Girl, close your eyes… let that rhythm 🥁 get into you…
Memories fade… The actual record is different
i am just a fan of good music and especially the production of MJ's song, but i wonder how can you as a drummer stay on beat like that? is there something drummers can learn or is it a naturally gift/talent? i might get distracted in my head while playing..
First I thought it was Caribbean queen
Michael Jackson's awesome dance-moves-rythm's.. where equal to the drumbeats lol..
What kind of drumpatch is stuck into his bass drum head ?
i think he just hears it in his head, no track!
Ummm....what's with that cymbal crash on the 1?
Nice try, J.R. (jk)
I love your playing but hate your drum tone. For the love of God someone get this master a 1965-75 drum set. 😁✌🏽
Watch JR's magical fingers guys, that's his secret! Watch his hi hat hits ,crazy cool ! Peace from Detroit MI.