10 Greatest Drum Performances In Rock Music History

One of the biggest lessons that a drummer needs to learn starting out is how to hold down a groove. Even though playing fast is the main thing that everyone behind the skins wants to do, it sometimes comes down to just serving the song and laying into the right tempo so everyone feels comfortable. You can never go wrong with a shuffle though, and Rosanna may be one of the tightest drum grooves that has ever been put to tape.

Based on the Purdie shuffle from Bernard Purdie of Steely Dan fame, Jeff Pocaro actually has much more of a pocket in his drumming on this song than most other rock stars could claim to have, almost like they took the rhythm section straight out of a funk song from the likes of the Isley Brothers. You can even hear the rest of the band following his lead in terms of the funky style, from the jazzy lead lines of Steve Lukather to actually hearing some slap bass lines every time you get to the chorus.

As much as this fits well in the context of Toto's timeless classic, this is the kind of shuffle that would work just as well over a hip hop song, practically begging to be turned into a sample. Seeing how tight that these guys could be on the record, it's no surprise that these were the musicians that Michael Jackson would pick out to work on Thriller around the same time.