Bernard “Pretty” Purdie has been on thousands: Tighten Up: Video

Drummer Bernard “Pretty” Purdie has been on thousands of pop, rock, soul and funk records. His first album as a leader was Soul Drums (1968), a powerful funk tour de force. He’s best known for the “Purdie Shuffle”—a much-in-demand use of triplets against a half-time backbeat.

One of his earliest hits was playing drums on Doris Troy’s Just One Look in 1963. A few weeks ago, Jimi Mentis sent along a link to Purdie playing Archie Bell and the Drells’ Tighten Up. [Photo above courtesy of Bernard Purdie]

The clip of Purdie in 1993 backed by trumpeter Virgil Jones, alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, tenor saxophonist Bill Bivens, organist Sonny Phillips, guitarist David T. Walker, bassist Chuck Rainey and Poncho Morales on congas…