The Bernard Purdie Interview: Steely Dan, Aretha Franklin & “The Purdie Shuffle“

Bernard Lee “Pretty“ Purdie (born June 11, 1941) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the “Purdie Shuffle.“ Purdie is known as a groove drummer with immaculate timing who makes use of precision half note, backbeats, and grooves. He often employs a straight eight groove sometimes fusing several influences such as swing, blues and funk. He created the now well-known drum pattern Purdie Half-Time Shuffle that is a blues shuffle variation with the addition of syncopated ghost notes on the snare drum. Variations on this shuffle can be heard on songs such as Led Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain“ and Toto’s “Rosanna“ (Rosanna shuffle). Purdie plays the shuffle on Steely Dan’s “Babylon Sisters“ and “Home At Last“. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------