Episode
Season 5 Episode 8 | John Lingan | Marching to the Beat of Many Drummers
- Published
- Feb 17, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4220
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Summary
Had the pleasure of sitting down with John Lingan on Some Things Considered to talk about his new book, Backbeats: A History of Rock and Roll in 15 Drummers — and I can’t recommend it highly enough. A few highlights from our conversation: * Drummers are the perfect lens for understanding rock history: feel, time, culture, and collaboration all live at the kit. * John Bonham vs. Charlie Watts isn’t about better or worse — it’s about how radically different approaches shape a band’s identity. * Ringo Starr remains one of the most misunderstood musicians in rock history: subtle, musical, indispensable. * James Brown’s drummers, especially Clyde Stubblefield, changed music forever — while also exposing some of the industry’s deepest moral failures. * Unsung innovators like Moe Tucker expanded what rock music could sound like by breaking rules that didn’t need to exist. * Great drumming isn’t about flash; it’s about feel — sometimes the most restrained performances carry the most emotional weight. * Writing about music well means honoring mystery while still making craft accessible and joyful. Backbeats isn’t just about drummers. It’s about rhythm as storytelling — and how music history is built, one beat at a time. MORE ABOUT JOHN LINGAN Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_lingan/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlingan/ Website: https://www.johnlingan.com/ ABOUT SOME THINGS CONSIDERED Award-winning author Sean Murphy in conversation with creative thinkers, spanning the literary, music, art, politics, and tech industries. As a cultural critic, professor, founder of a literary non-profit, Sean is always looking to explore and celebrate the ways Story is integral to how we define ourselves, as artists an…