44. George Hurley
Hurley, born in 1958, is best known for his drumming work with Minutemen and fIREHOSE. Hurley actually began as a promising surfer, before ultimately deciding to pursue music full time. Hurley is a self-taught musician, even creating his own drumsticks out of Plexiglas and wood. He finally obtained his first drumkit aged 19 after trading his motorcycle for it. Known for his punk rock drumming, his early influences are actually jazz based. Minutemen’s frenetic and counter-intuitive — yet oddly natural-sounding — music would’ve dissembled into chaos without George Hurley, whose impossible speed, versatility and nuance made him the most inventive drummer to come onto the American indie-rock scene of the 80s.
George Hurley
43. Phil Rudd
Rudd, an Australian drummer, is best known for his time playing the drums for AC/DC across three different stints. He entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside the other members of AC/DC in 2003. He released his first solo album in 2014, titled Head Job. Rudd was unable to join AC/DC’s Rock or Bust World Tour in 2015 due to legal problems, and so was replaced on drums by Chris Slade. It was announced that Rudd would be rejoining the band for their comeback album, Power Up. Rudd’s economic style and monster groove helped pave the way for the iconic band’s stardom, but recently his drug issues and outside lifestyle has drawn more attention than his ability. A shame.
43. Phil Rudd