Bernard Purdie

For the Welsh footballer, see Bernard Purdie (footballer).
Bernard Purdie
Purdie in 2020
Purdie in 2020
Background information
Birth nameBernard Lee Purdie
Also known as
  • Bernard "Pretty" Purdie
  • Pretty Purdie
  • Mississippi Bigfoot
Born (1939-06-11) June 11, 1939 (age 85)
Elkton, Maryland, U.S.
Genres
OccupationMusician
InstrumentDrums
Years active1958–present
Labels
Websitebernardpurdiedrums.com

Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician.[1] He is known for his precise musical time-keeping[2] and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdie Shuffle."[3] He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013.[4]

Purdie recorded Soul Drums (1968) as a band leader and although he went on to record Alexander's Ragtime Band, the album remained unreleased until Soul Drums was reissued on CD in 2009 with the Alexander's Ragtime Band sessions. Other solo albums include Purdie Good! (1971), Soul Is... Pretty Purdie (1972) and the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film Lialeh (1973).

In the mid-1990s he was a member of the 3B's, with Bross Townsend and Bob Cunningham.

  1. ^ Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (1999). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press US. p. 541. ISBN 978-0-19-507418-5.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wynn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Hyatt, Greg & Mitchell, Stan. Get Locked. Alfred Publishing. p. 95.
  4. ^ "Modern Drummer's Readers Poll Archive, 1979–2014". Modern Drummer. Retrieved 10 August 2015.