My personal list of rock and roll's top cowbell moments

First I have to 2nd B. J. Wilson's "Power Failure" work. B. J. was one of my earliest influences. A really great player with a wonderful feel for the dynamics of the songs.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the iconic cowbell song, "Time Has Come Today" by the Chambers Brothers.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
Dumb thing about this song is in the last few years Neil has talked about the Cowbell being an overdub in the studio, and he can only now play this song live because he can trigger the cowbell with his left foot, as seen on the Time Machine tour and DVD.

Yet, on the Grace Under Pressure concert (which used to air on MTV back in the day, and is now on DVD) he is clearly playing the cowbell with his hand, in, as you said, a fabulous display of dexterity. Apparently Neil doesn't always remember his own dexterity. lol



That would have been José "Chepito" Areas playing the cowbell.



Dumb thing is I know Mike had a cowbell on his drum kit on the Awake tour, and I think maybe the I&W tour as well, but I can't think of a single song from that era where he actually uses a cowbell.
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I have th p/g DVD and I know what you're talking about. He must have overdubbed it and then gone back and learned it. For some reason that's probably my favorite live DVD from Rush. Those red Tama Artstars were badass...
 
KamaK said:
I believe that it occurred the day after the Earth's first shepherd had to tell his wife that he had lost his flock.
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Hahaha....that is funny!

Zero Mercury Drummer said:
I have th p/g DVD and I know what you're talking about. He must have overdubbed it and then gone back and learned it. For some reason that's probably my favorite live DVD from Rush. Those red Tama Artstars were badass...
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Mine too. WhenI was a kid, I taped that concert off of MTV and I used to watch it constantly. It's my favorite too. It really has the best camera angles and best lighting of the earlier filmed concerts. And yeah, the red Artstars!
 
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longgun said:
IMO, Mississippi Queen by Mountain and Hair of the Dog by Nazareth should be on this list...........................whenever I think of "cowbell songs" they are the first ones that come to mind.
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These are exactly the two songs my band started covering once I got my cowbell and we were searching around for more songs to use it in! The song I got the cowbell for in the first place is Me and Mary Jane by Black Stone Cherry.
 
Zero Mercury Drummer said:
2. Charlie Watts- Rolling Stones "Honky Tonk Woman"- it starts the song, you know the song, the song is legend. Enough said. Ever notice the tempo about doubles in this tune? You won’t see that in the modern age of computerized quantization and click tracks. But nobody remembers tempo.
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FTR, that's not Charlie playing the cowbell. Some producer thought it would sound better with a cowbell intro so he just added it. Which is why it's entirely out of time. :p

Edit: LOL, I just saw that in your first line you mentioned that this is irrelevant. Oh well.
 
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DrumEatDrum said:
Dumb thing about this song is in the last few years Neil has talked about the Cowbell being an overdub in the studio, and he can only now play this song live because he can trigger the cowbell with his left foot, as seen on the Time Machine tour and DVD.

Yet, on the Grace Under Pressure concert (which used to air on MTV back in the day, and is now on DVD) he is clearly playing the cowbell with his hand, in, as you said, a fabulous display of dexterity. Apparently Neil doesn't always remember his own dexterity. lol



That would have been José "Chepito" Areas playing the cowbell.



Dumb thing is I know Mike had a cowbell on his drum kit on the Awake tour, and I think maybe the I&W tour as well, but I can't think of a single song from that era where he actually uses a cowbell.
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"Caught In A Web" 3:33-3:45 !
 
Pigs (Three Different Ones) by Pink Floyd with Nick Mason on drums was the only reason I bought a cowbell way back when. Nice high pitch one too, anyone knows what cowbell that might be?
 
Neil Peart's unique use of cowbells to play little tunes during his solo, 1970s-90s.

Ian Paice: You Fool No One

John Bonham: Houses of the Holy album track. Really embellishes the groove when it comes in for the 3rd verse onwards...
 
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