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1950's...
Receives
his first drumset from his grandfather and
really
starts "studying" at Levi's
Music with
Elmer
Frolig in 1952.
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Steve & Eddie Gadd |
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Steve tap dancing with
little brother Eddie 1953 |
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At age nine makes first
appearance on
The Mickey Mouse
Club tap dancing and
playing drum solo.
He had begun studying with Bill and
Stanley
Street
, both gentlemen played
in the Rochester Philharmonic.
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Steve Gadd - 1955 |
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William and Stanley
Street |
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Begins hitting the clubs with his Dad,
leading to meeting
his hero Gene
Krupa and also
getting the chance to sit in
with Dizzy Gillespie and
others at an extremely young age.
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Steve Gadd - 1955 |
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At
the same time Steve with
his younger brother Eddie had
a tap dance routine they'd entertain folks
in nursing homes
and hospitals.
They won a
contest and got to appear on
The
Mickey Mouse Club, this was at
age 11
and Steve danced and played a drum solo. |
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Steve on The Mickey Mouse Club |
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Steve age 9 with Gene
Krupa at the Ridgecrest Inn - 1954 |
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Steve & Eddie
Gadd 1955 |
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Steve & Eddie
Gadd |
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Steve
Gadd 1955 |
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Steve
Gadd 1955 |
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When Steve was 14 he met John
Beck,
who then became his
teacher right thru til his
graduation from The Eastman School Of Music. He
also had the advantage of a loving family who's
living
room became a virtual percussion studio,
they were incredibly supportive. His father
would always take Steve to all the clubs
to soak
up the sounds and often Steve could sit in with
artists
like Groove Holmes and Jack
McDuff. George
Benson first
played with Steve when he was only
14,
they still record to this day. |
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John Beck |
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22" calfskin bass drum head today, from Steve's
first drum kit in the late 1950's that his grandfather bought him. |
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