Songs That Start With A Drum Fill

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I was listening to Sirius XM’s tribute to Yacht Rock station and was noticing how many songs start with drum fills — “Lowdown” by Boz Scaggs, “Escape” by Rupert Holmes, “Sweet Freedom” by Michael McDonald (which is not on Spotify, what?!) to name a few.

I made a quick collection of some of these songs including non-yacht rock bands like Weezer, Led Zeppelin, and Elvis Costello. I then reached out to Facebook and got over 100 responses of songs of all genres that start with some kick-ass drum fills.

To clarify, starting with a drum fill is different than just starting with a drum beat. A drum beat is a pattern of notes that sets the tempo and groove of a song. A drum fill is an improvisatory group of notes (or note) that propels the music forward usually at the end of a phrase into the beginning of a new phrase.

For example, Billie Jean by Michael Jackson starts with a drum beat. Superstition by Stevie Wonder starts with a drum fill consisting of four snare hits leading into a drum beat.

So check out the playlist below. You can rifle through the first few seconds of each song to just hear the fills or enjoy the full songs. 
Follow the playlist here — https://open.spotify.com/user/enderrob/playlist/595tafRaFVxBOBnwSQBr5q

I’m constantly adding more. And I’m sure there are plenty more songs to add to the list.

Do any songs with drum fill intros come to mind? Let me know in the comments!

Rob Kovacs5 Comments