Recently I was listening to a version of “Route 66” being sung by legendary blues drummer Fred Below from The Aces fine CD “Chicago Beat”, and a smile broke out across my face.  There is something about everything that Below touches that epitomizes precision and class, along with undeniable joy.  His vocals on “Route 66” swing with a jazzy undertone, and his delivery is only matched by the impeccable drumming he offers throughout the cut.  This song popped-up on my iPad as I had it on for background support while I was doing some writing, and it offered a happy respite to an otherwise pedestrian period of the day.

Ironically, I was searching YouTube the next day for some video on another legendary blues drummer, Ted Harvey of Hound Dog Taylor’s band The HouseRockers and, lo and behold, there was a thrilling video of The Aces performing a version of Little Walter’s classic “Off The Wall.”  While Louis Myers offered an enthralling reading of Walter’s harmonica work, and brother Dave Myers kept an immaculate low-end presence on the bass (I couldn’t tell who was playing guitar), I was drawn into Fred Below’s precision drumming, and the obvious joy he felt behind his drum kit.  His performance gripped me.  The link to that YouTube video is found below.

 The Aces – Off The Wall (Live video – 1970) – YouTube

Fred Below was a native Chicagoan, having been born in the city in September, 1926.  In interviews, Below repeatedly stated that his childhood was one where he was surrounded by music, and this continued into his formative years at DuSable High School in the 4900 block of S. Wabash in Chicago.  The high school has a strong musical lineage, with renowned jazz artists including pianist and singer Nat “King” Cole, singer Johnny Hartman, saxophone masters Johnny Griffin, Von Freeman, and Gene Ammons, along with piano genius Dorothy Donegan all developing and realizing their prodigious musical talents while students at the school.

It was at DuSable where Below started devoting himself to music, drumming in particular.  Early in his time there he formed a jazz group consisting of the aforementioned Johnny Griffin and cornetist Eugene Wright.  As an aside, Wright eventually left playing the coronet and went on to become a celebrated jazz bassist, performing in The Dave Brubeck Quartet, and with Sonny Stitt, Cal Tjader, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, and Count Basie, among others. 

However, service to his country would call when Below was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1945.  During his stint in the Army, Below served as an infantryman, but it is chronicled that he said percussion was never far from his mind during this period, and that he would practice on his uniform helmet and other items when he could.

His two-year time in the U.S. Army completed, Below made his way back to Chicago, and he decided to obtain formal instruction into the world of percussion, enrolling in the prestigious Roy C. Knapp School Of Percussion.  A reader of this blog should remember from a recent artist profile on the distinguished blues drummer Odie Payne, Jr. that he too attended and graduated from the Knapp curriculum.  After two years of intense musical and percussion-centric training, Below graduated from the institute.

But, Below’s matriculation did not lead him directly into the world of music, as he decided to re-enlist into the U.S. Army, doing so in 1948.  He was inducted into the Special Services area of the Army, and spent his time in the 427^th Army Band, all the while stationed in Germany.  When Below’s second hitch with the Army was finished, he stayed in Germany for a while working in a musical nightspot.  Below eventually returned back to the U.S. in 1951.

By this time. Below was a highly-proficient percussionist, and relocating back in Chicago, he joined forces with guitarist Louis Myers, Louis’s brother Dave Myers on bass, and a young blues harmonica artist who would go on the great heights of blues acclaim, Junior Wells (this band before Below was known as The Three Deuces), forming the nucleus of a band that would become illustrious, The Aces.

However, there was blues turmoil brewing.  In 1952 when blues harmonica wizard Little Walter left his place in Muddy Waters’ band to forge his solo calling, Junior Wells left the Myers and Below to replace Little Walter in Waters’ band, with Little Walter then engaging the Myers brothers and Below as his band, initially naming themselves Little Walter and the Nightcats, but changing it to The Jukes.  Needless to say, this blues aggregation became one of great renown, and was acknowledged as the finest blues band in Chicago.

But, after three years of relentless touring with Little Walter, Below grew weary of traveling, and left the band to become unquestionably the finest percussionist and one of the top session musicians for the famed Chess Records label.  Below was so integral to the proceedings of Chess Records that he played on the recordings of a who’s-who of the label’s top stars, including Little Walter, John Brim, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Rogers, and Bo Diddley, along with providing support along the way for the likes of Otis Rush and Elmore James, among others.

Around this time, a new sound was breaking out across the musical landscape that would become known as rock-n-roll, and Below was in the thick of it, providing the beat behind one of the most exciting new artists out there who combined blues, R&B, and country into one satisfying meld; Chuck Berry.  Below played on many of Berry’s most notable songs including “School Days”, “Roll Over Beethoven”, “Too Much Monkey Business”, “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”, “Sweet Little Sixteen”, “Johnny B. Goode”, “Memphis Tennessee”, “Rock And Roll Music”, “Little Queenie”, and “Havana Moon”, among others.  This work with Berry on his myriad rousing hits for Chess Records only reinforced Below’s reputation as the “go to” percussionist an artist at Chess wanted on their recordings.

So, what was it about Below’s drumming that made it so appealing?  Before getting into the nuts-and-bolts of his mechanics, certainly the first point would need to be his versatility.  Beginning his musical journey as a jazz-oriented artist allowed him to consider timings and phrasings not normally found with most blues percussionists, an important point when one considers that Below also recorded behind the more R&B stylings of the vocal group The Moonglows, pianist and singer Dinah Washington, and the early rock-n-roll vocal ensemble The Platters, again, among others.  Below was comfortable in many musical formats.

Moreover, Below was creative with the cadenced structure of the blues, especially the backbeat, that syncopated accentuation on the offbeat that is actually a disruption of the regular rhythm.  Many consider the backbeat to be the part of percussion that makes a song danceable.

Below’s work always seems to come across as more sophisticated and polished when held up against that of other drummers, and this is no doubt verification as to the influence that jazz had upon his percussion framework.  Below, unlike many other drummers, was a true artiste.  He also worked to provide additional rhythmic sounds to his percussion efforts, using wood blocks, tom-tom (a cylindrical drum that can be adjusted to differing pitches) fills, and utilizing ride cymbals (a large suspended cymbal that is used to provide a steady rhythmic pattern) to present fresh and novel drumming constructions.

Below’s touch was awe-inspiring, as can be heard on his many recordings, and from available videos.  He never over-played, always maintaining a respectful, buoyant feel.

Finally, as suggested earlier, Below seemed to approach his percussion role as one that brought him great satisfaction and happiness, and again, from watching various videos, studying photographs, and listening closely to recordings upon which he plays, Below’s enthusiasm for his work, and the delight he found within it, are evident.

Below reunited in 1970 with the Myers brothers for a European tour, and they played together after that.  This writer remembers them playing at Chicago’s northside venue Wise Fools Pub.

Below was diagnosed with cancer in the 1980s, and succumb to the disease at the age of 61 in August, 1988.

Below’s artistry put him head-and-shoulder above many other blues drummers.  He is worthy of study, and his brand of percussion is infectious and substantial.