Chapin, Jim (USA)

Jim Chapin (July 23, 1919 – July 4, 2009) was born in New York City. He only began playing the drums at the age of 18, inspired by legendary drummer Gene Krupa.

In the early 1940s, Jim began working on a drum instruction book that was published in 1948 as Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer, Volume I, Coordinated Independence as Applied to Jazz and Be-Bop. Shortly after, Jim always carried a pair of drumsticks in his back pocket in case he was asked to demonstrate a challenging passage and prove he could play every pattern in the book! Advanced Techniques, now simply known as “The Chapin Book,” became the most important drum set text ever written and is still in print today. In 1993, Modern Drummer recognized it as one of the top 25 drum books.

From the 1940s through the 1960s, Jim performed and toured with many bands, including Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, and with leaders such as Mike Riley, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey, and Tony Pastor. He also occasionally performed with his sons Tom, Steve, and the late Harry Chapin, one of the top singer-songwriters of the 1970s and a founder of World Hunger Year. For the last 20 years, Jim led his own groups.

In the past decade, Jim found a second career, as he was “discovered” by a new generation of musicians eager for the deep knowledge he had of drummers and drumming. He spent most of his time traveling the world teaching and presenting seminars, and he was a familiar face at music trade shows and percussion conventions.

Due to his longevity, Jim was often taken for granted. In an industry full of “here today, gone tomorrow” artists, he remained a constant. For over 55 years, he observed, studied, and analyzed every great (and not so great) drummer. He was present almost from the beginning of modern drum set playing—and that era will never return.