Buddy Rich, The Person
Buddy Rich may have been the world's greatest drummer, but in his dealings with his bandmembers off the stand, he was a total prick with ears. Rich had an ego that fed a perverse sense of perfectionism and the need to control and dominate the players in "HIS" bands. Below is a little compilation of some of Buddy's tirades that took place at different times and in different venues. It would appear that these "conversations" were transcribed from tapes that were made to document Buddy's explosive and sometimes verbally abusive behaviour. If Buddy had known that there were tape recorders being snuck into the rooms, I'm confident that he might have hurt someone. Please note that this little document contains GRAPHIC EXPLITIVES.

The follow links contains sounds files with transcriptions, of some memorable moments off of "The Tape", the infamous bootleg tape of Buddy screaming at his band between sets, often on a tour bus. Adult language abounds, so read at your own risk.

The tape was created by a pissed off band member or two, who hid a walkman in their clothes between the sets to capture the dark side of Buddy.

1) After the first set
2) In the bus between sets
3) In the tour bus between sets
4) In a tour bus traveling to the next gig