Buddy Rich Photos contributed by Walter Hern
Walter sent the following text related to these photos:
Buddy with Harry James, at Disneyland, September 1963
Here are a couple of photos I shot of Buddy in September 1963 at Disneyland when he was with Harry James. This was the first time I saw Buddy and I could not believe it. I had front row seats and soon realized that in the seat to my right was Betty Grable, Harry James' wife. She was totally lovely and very nice.
Buddy did an amazing solo on "Caravan" and I was so entranced by it that I neglected to shoot any pictures. He also did the amazing and fast"2 O'Clock Jump" solo. I had never seen a drummer hit cymbals the way he did and that image is forever locked in my mind. He was playing a beautiful Rogers set that night (a Rogers endorser at that time) and I was knocked out by the sound of his Dynasonic snare. Since that night, I have only play Rogers drums and still have the set that is pictured in your Vintage Drum section. I play it 3 or 4 times a week.
After the show, I got to speak with Buddy a bit and had my picture taken with him and his daughter (10 years old). He was amazing that night, very nice, signed a few of my album covers. We went with him to his dressing room where he autographed my friend's snare drum head.
So you are welcome to put these on your website to share with all the collectors and fans.
Best regards,
Walter Hern
Buddy's band at Disneyland in 1972
Here is a series of black and whites that I took of Buddy and his band at Disneyland in 1972. Again, I was right up front and you can see from the photos, how close I was to BR! Stayed for both sets (he is wearing a sweater for the first set and a striped shirt for the second set). It was a warm September night and Buddy was absolutely drenched in sweat following each set. He played both Channel One Suite and West Side that night - I do not recall which was in set 1 and set 2. You can see in photo #15, it is Buddy and daughter Cathy bantering on stage. She sang that night.
The band really worked it that evening.
You are welcome to post these for our fellow fans and collectors.
Walter Hern