Customer Reviews

The Rogers Book

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rogers Drums are quite simply, the best! For at least a brief, but illustrious period of time. There were several great American Drum Companies - Ludwig, Slingerland, Gretsch, Camco and Leedy - all notable and interesting - but none of them ever achieved the status of The Rogers Drum Company of Cleveland, Ohio.

Rob Cook has accomplished the unattainable with his unique interviews, rare photo's and the riveting insight on this mysterious, intensely private drum company. Quite frankly, only Rob as an experienced investigator and the author of numerous other vintage drum books could bring this book together, although many have tried and ultimately abandoned the quest.

The Rogers Book accurately portray's Rogers rise to prominence during the early 60's due to the greatest triumvirate of percussion and businesss talent ever assembled under one roof. Businessman Henry Grossman who bought the company from "Cleveland Rogers" (yes, that really was his name) hired inventor/engineer Joe Thompson and marketing genius Ben Strauss to collaborate with the World's Greatest jazz drummer Buddy Rich and completely revamped the drum line to a level never before seen in the industry. They started by introducing the World Famous "DYNA-SONIC" snare drum and Swivo-matic hardware in 1961 and things would never be the same.

At least until 1966 when CBS bought the company, disbanded the team of craftsman, slashed the quality and moved the operations out to Fullerton, California. Rob takes a hard look at the chronology and doesn't pull any punches. Mistakes were made, deals were struck and insiders double-crossed each other, the industry and numerous musicians in a profit making scheme that left the company in shambles.

Rob Cook, a world-recognized authority on drum history, has a winner here. Replete with more details than you would ever need, Rob has left no stone unturned in this look at those wonderful Rogers Drums.

Kudos to Rob for providing another missing link to the small, yet growing, library of Drum History.

Rob Cook, a world-recognized authority on drum history, has a winner here. Replete with more details than you would ever need, Rob has left no stone unturned in this look at those wonderful Rogers Drums.

Kudos to Rob for providing another missing link to the small, yet growing, library of Drum History.

This book is certainly an interesting read. It's not particularly well organized and has heaps of typos. The real let down for me was that it doesn't go into enough detail about all of those little details about differences in hardware, shells and finishes. It is still worthwhile if you're a Rogers owner.

A great history by a truly dedicated fan. I'm so glad he is doing this!!!

If you have any interest in American-made drums,this is a must read. Chock full of info and photos,it's a real page turner. And a must have if you own ROGERS drums. A drummers book written by a drummer-doesn't get any better than that!

Highly recommended. A must-have for all drummers and others with
some interest in drum-history & vintage drums.

Yes, Roger's drums were some of the greatest drums ever made. The book does contain informative information, but sometimes mires itself in irrelevancy. Go down to your local drum shop and look for the guy that looks like he's stil stuck in the 60s; a much better source for information on vintage drums than a corporate publishing machine.