Roy Cecil Knapp (October 26, 1891 - June 16, 1979) was an American drummer and music educator. Known as "The Dean of American Drum Teachers", he founded the Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion in 1938. He was a longtime network orchestra member and sought-after studio musician skilled as a tympanist, percussionist and xylophone soloist. He performed on shows broadcast during radio's golden age in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and a founding member of the

National Association of Rudimental Drummers The National Association of Rudimental Drummers (N.A.R.D. or NARD) is an organization created to encourage the study of Drum rudiments, rudimental drumming. NARD is responsible for the creation of the Standard 26 American Rudiments. History The N ...

(N.A.R.D.) formed in 1933.

Early life and career

Born October 26, 1891 in

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 67,314, making it the List of cities in Iowa, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

, Knapp learned to play various instruments through his father Jerry who owned a theater. After working in New York for a year, he moved to

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

where he studied under Casey Kasolowsky of the Duluth Symphony, now the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. He also studied under William Faetkenheuer of the Minneapolis Symphony. Knapp moved to Chicago in 1921 and became a sought-after drummer, percussionists and xylophone soloist. Working for the WLS radio station starting in 1928, he played on shows such as the National Barn Dance and the Don McNeil's Breakfast Club. Knapp also taught percussion in various private studios and at the old Dixie Music House (est. 1902).

Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion

In 1938 Knapp opened his own studio in Kimball Hall and, with the help of his wife, Betty, started one of the first schools of percussion in the United States.This School was a private one, specializing in professional performance, but with no accreditation in the educational world. In 1946, Knapp founded his second School of Percussion, but with the addition of piano, voice, composition, string and wind instruments receiving full accreditation to grant the bachelor’s degree and the performer’s certificate in voice, orchestral instruments and piano, including approval for veterans under the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

the same year. He chose John P. Noonan, widely known percussionist, formerly Educational Director of the Ludwig & Ludwig Drum Company, as teacher and Vice President/Associate Director. Within a short time, Knapp had assembled a faculty of top people including twelve artist-percussionists hand-picked for their teaching skills. It was the first full-time percussion school, the first to require percussion ensemble participation, and the first to emphasize drum set study which at that time was not offered in any music school. At one point the school had 500 students with 22 teachers. Knapp retired from performing in 1960 and closed his school in 1966. From then until his death he taught at Frank’s Drum Shop, owned by Maurie Lishon since 1959.

Honors and death

In May 1966, The Dal Segno Musicians Club of Chicago honored Knapp with the Dal Segno Man of the Year award in recognition of his outstanding contributions as the teacher of more top-flight percussionists than any other person in the business. Knapp was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society's inaugural class Hall of Fame in 1972. Knapp's friends, associates and students honored in September 1974 at the Roy C. Knapp Testimonial Day, "...for the full and talented life of Roy Knapp, his patient drawing-out of students' skills and his care to foster art above applause and honest creativity above quick dollars" and his original WLS drum set is on permanent display at the Percussive Arts Society's museum in Indianapolis Indiana. Knapp died in Chicago on June 16, 1979.

Notable students

Knapp became widely recognized as a teacher. His roster of former students includes: *

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

Louie Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paolino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer ...

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

Dave Tough David Jarvis Tough (April 26, 1907 – December 9, 1948) was an American jazz drummer associated with Dixieland and swing jazz in the 1930s and 1940s. He has been described as "the most important of the drummers of the Chicago circle"., p. 2 ...

Baby Dodds Warren "Baby" Dodds (December 24, 1898 – February 14, 1959) was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is regarded as one of the best jazz drummers of the pre-big band era. He varied his drum patterns with accents and f ...

Sid Catlett Sidney "Big Sid" Catlett (January 17, 1910 – March 25, 1951) was an American jazz drummer. Catlett was one of the most versatile drummers of his era, adapting with the changing music scene as bebop emerged. Early life Catlett was born in Eva ...

* John P. Noonan * George Wettling *

Fred Below Frederick Below Jr. (September 6, 1926 – August 13, 1988) was an American blues drummer who worked with Little Walter and Chess Records in the 1950s. According to Tony Russell, Below was a creator of much of the rhythmic structure of Chicago ...

* Odie Payne *

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman studied music at Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion. He returned to Nashville ...

Mousey Alexander Elmer "Mousey" Alexander (June 19, 1922 – October 9, 1988) was an American jazz drummer. Career Alexander was born in Gary, Indiana to Assyrian parents from Iran. He grew up in Chicago, eventually studying at the Roy C. Knapp School of Percu ...

Alan Abel Alan Irwin Abel (August 2, 1924 – September 14, 2018) was an American hoaxer, writer, and mockumentary filmmaker famous for several hoaxes that became media circuses. Education and early career Abel was born to a Jewish family in Zanesville ...

* Fred Anderson * Elgin Evans *Mark Walker

Publications

*''The Fundamentals of Modern Drumming'' (1939). Stanger, Philip. Collection, Box 6, Folder 11, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago, IL. *''Fundamental Rudiments of Mallet Technique and Tympani Tuning Excerpt from Lesson Studies'' (1939) Ludwig & Ludwig (4-page brochure) *The Ludwig Drummer (publ. by

Ludwig Drums Ludwig Drums is a United States musical instrument manufacturer, focused on percussion instruments, percussion. It is a subsidiary of Conn-Selmer. Products manufactured by Ludwig include timpani, drum kits, and drum hardware. The company also ...

): **"Roy Knapp...The Grandaddy of Percussion with Young Ideas" (1968). Vol. 8, No. 1, p. 18 - 20, * Percussive Notes (publ. by Percussive Arts Society): **"Matched Grip vs. Conventional Grip" Vol. XVI Issue 1, (Fall 1977) p. 49

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Roy 1891 births 1979 deaths American percussionists People from Waterloo, Iowa