"So, how do your dancing moves compare to your drumming skills?"
Born in Rock Falls, Ill. (where a three-day event was held in observance of his 80th), Bellson started out as a tap dancer at age 12 before switching to drums. While still a teen, he hit on an innovative concept that would alter his approach to drumming and have repercussions for generations of drummers to come. "Back in 1938 when I was in high school," Bellson says, "my mechanical drawing teacher saw me making this rough sketch of a double-bass drum kit, and he said, 'What is that?' I told him, 'It's a new style of drum set' and he said if I would make a drawing of it he would pass me. When I did the final drawing and showed it to him he said, 'This is great,' and encouraged me to send it to several drum companies, which I later did. And they all said I was crazy. One company said, 'Why don't you join Buck Rogers and go to the moon? Forget about it!'"
Being a good tap dancer seemed to only help Louis Bellson as seen in this autobiography here. Being a dancer helped his footwork which led to his idea of using two bass drums early on. Funny that a drum company told him to get lost. The rest as we know is history. On a personal note though, my wife and I used to go out on weekends and it was usually discos and such but we had a great time and I learned a few moves from her as her mom and sister were professional dancers for a while. For the longest, I found myself moving on my throne as I play but I have ZERO interest in doing anything on the dance floor anymore. I may take my wife out again in the future as she loves to dance but I find it a real PITA so I'll continue to put it off as long as possible
! BTW...can anybody here actually sit through an entire hour or two of Dancing With the Stars? My wife's mom comes over to watch that crapfest every week and I retire to the mancave...kill me now.