Didn't even know who he was most of my life. Turns out I was hearing him all over the place and was one of the ones who "taught me" how to write drum parts behind a singer/songwriter. Thank you so much, Russ!!
Lee Sklar always says Russ is the best Pocket and the perfect fill man. When you think it needs fill Russ is right there perfect timing. Essentially he says you can not touch Russ.
I was older before I began to appreciate drummers like him. It's not about all the crazy licks - it's about playing the right part and keeping the pocket, and Russ Kunkel just crushes it, again and again.
Love everything he plays, stays in the pocket and never plays something that interferes with the vocal or the music flow, one of the best and underrated drummers around
One of the most “in demand” session and recording studio drummers in history. I saw him with Linda Ronstadt and he was magnificently invisible because this caliber of musician is there to make the star shine brightly.
40 years after the album was recorded (live) Russ is still perfectly in that pocket and completely nailing it. Talent + skill + professionalism = godlike playing!
A perfect example of taste and playing for the song. Like a lot of drummers, I started out being enthralled by the drummers who could play anything and to a degree I still am. But, age and maturity leads us down other roads. Russ Kunkel definitely occupies a room for any aspiring drummer to learn from in terms of melody, tempo and playing for the song. On top of that, he seems like a nice guy.
I had the honor of teching for him on the very last leg of the very last CSN Tour in 2015, a true professional, and a lovely gentleman. Solid, on the money every night, truly a joy, rock on russell!
I am a drummer for 50 years. Since my kid years, I always mimicked him in all aspects in the field of Pop music because he always sounded right in sound and arrangements. Even his setup is very simmilar to mine! Well, Thank you Mr. Kunkel. I love your music!
To give you some context, growing up in New Zealand, we only had the radio, perhaps Modern Drummer magazine, albums or 45's I would buy based on who was playing on the records of the time which I would pour over to get a finger nail hold on the names that appeared on countless albums I had. My reading was the credits of who played on what. I fell in love with the session players of the West Coast of America. This was all pre you tube days of around 2005 and that love has only deepened. No bars to go to and hang out with my mates to dig on the players, no Troubador club or The Baked Potato to go and watch my hero's play cause they were all over there and not here on NZ soil. Now......thanks to modern technology, I can sit, watch and admire the Cat's I came to love since the 60's. I am now in my late 50's now. Thank you and copious blessings for uploading this of one of my many hero's who helped me come to love drumming myself and the art of music. Russ Kunkel, you are a living legend brother in my estimation. Thank you for inspiring me all the way down here. Blessings from New Zealand.
@@80narik Yes! Leland is a goldmine of information about the early days. (It's easier to list the important artists he _didn't_ work with. He did sessions or played live with just about everyone.) And the Immediate Family is a treat.
I was a kid when I saw the Running On Empty tour and can remember it vividly. Russ was killer then and is incredible now. I get to see him on occasion playing with The Immediate Family which is The Section plus Waddy Wachtel. Check them out if you get a chance. Danny Kortchmar, Lee Sklar, Russ Kunkel, Waddy Wachtel, Steve Postell.
omg. that was right in there . i just smile when he plays with fineese inside of the tune push and pull just when its right. Kunkel is a lmaster and right on . loved this :) . drum sound sweet too :)))
Love This RUSS!! Todd Southwick here, remembering California yrs back @ Bixby Knolls w/ Steve Renolfsson playing piano at Grandparents backyard music room, Love your smile brother! Always
I went to this event at my shop up here in Portland, ME. I drove two hours down from the midcoast and it was a great event. I was hoping for some clinic show and tell stuff, but it was still cool. Plus I got Russ to sign my loved copy of Jackson Browne's Lawyers in Love album. He told me the crazy the story of the album cover shoot. (It's a real Beamer drowned in water!) I also got to meet John Good. Such a cool dude and he raved about how beautiful the coast of Maine is and how lucky we are to get to live here. (Not in the winter but the summer is nice!) Plus their wives were there and they made a nice trip out of it.
Russ Kunkel probably doesn't get his due but he was the drummer on a lot of hits back in the 70's. I think he was THE West Coast drummer for a lot of those singer/songwriters back then. I do get a kick out of seeing the guys who had wild hair back in the day who are now bald. :-) Part of the aging process many will go through but he still can play!
I was there at the Pitbull Audio DW Workshop with Russ Kunkel and he is of the the most humble talented hit makers of our time. He was playing on his New Custom DW drum set and killed it. He said that they were amazing and very happy with his custom choices.
Lyle Lovett's Large Band, with both Leland Sklar and Russ Kunkel, are simply as good as you can get. Great horns, awesome guitars, AMAZING vocals, and the best rhythm section going right now. No idea how Lyle keeps them coming back year after year ... although he has always had a reputation for putting together absolutely stunning musicians for his monster US tours. But his fans are blessed for it.
My fav drummer of all time! Saw him with Jackson Browne on the Running on Empty tour. He was playing the set pictured on the album cover. I almost fainted when I saw the drums on stage before they started.
Amazing. You took me back in time, Russ! your percussion in ALL of "Running On Empty" was perfect. God bless you! You're amazing! That was perfect, and just what I needed this evening!
I saw him along with Leland Sklar backing Dan Fogelberg at the Summit in Houston, 1982 I believe. Dan's voice was shot from touring but still, what a great show!
Russ is one of the best there ever was..at what he does...The drummer of a band and or supporting the lead performer. He always plays to the song...never making his drumming about him or his performance. I have seen him elbows, arms and wrists on solos but even then he was under control...He is back in a new band "The Immediate Family" with two of his "The Section" pals great guitarist Danny Kortchmar and master bassist Leland Sklar along with their long time friend the amazing rocker guitarist Waddy Watchel and Steve Postel on guitar and vocals. They are putting the final mix on a new album with all new original songs. Also when this mess clears up they will be on tour. Last but not least Denny Tedesco (son of Tommy) who did a wonderful documentary on the famous studio recording stars The Wrecking Crew..is now filming a similar documentary on the Immediate Family. Stay safe and healthy everyone. God Bless
Didn't even know who he was most of my life.
Turns out I was hearing him all over the place and was one of the ones who "taught me"
how to write drum parts behind a singer/songwriter.
Thank you so much, Russ!!
Lee Sklar always says Russ is the best Pocket and the perfect fill man. When you think it needs fill Russ is right there perfect timing. Essentially he says you can not touch Russ.
Great playing of course, cymbals sound phenomenal.
Once physicists get that damn time machine built, the 70’s will be the prime destination.
Thank You Russ! Perfect.
I was older before I began to appreciate drummers like him. It's not about all the crazy licks - it's about playing the right part and keeping the pocket, and Russ Kunkel just crushes it, again and again.
Same for me man. The drum track on the original is perfection. Not a ghost note to be had and I’m not opposed to it.
Russ Kunkel is so tasteful. He plays what the music calls for. No more, no less. A true musician.
Love everything he plays, stays in the pocket and never plays something that interferes with the vocal or the music flow, one of the best and underrated drummers around
The groove is so smooth and the pocket is deep. This is why Russ was so sought after in the studio.
One of the most “in demand” session and recording studio drummers in history. I saw him with Linda Ronstadt and he was magnificently invisible because this caliber of musician is there to make the star shine brightly.
Love seeing him smiling and playing so smoooth. He and Leland Sklar were/are the best rhythm section ever.
Oh yeah, two white guys the best rhythms ever? Maybe you should wonder who the two white guys looked to for inspiration.
40 years after the album was recorded (live) Russ is still perfectly in that pocket and completely nailing it. Talent + skill + professionalism = godlike playing!
Such beatiful whisling sound his cymbals has❤️
The best. All those musicians from the late 60’s and 70’s are still so awesome
No drummer has such class behind his instrument. Masterfully clean & 'simple'. Young cats take note.
A perfect example of taste and playing for the song. Like a lot of drummers, I started out being enthralled by the drummers who could play anything and to a degree I still am. But, age and maturity leads us down other roads. Russ Kunkel definitely occupies a room for any aspiring drummer to learn from in terms of melody, tempo and playing for the song. On top of that, he seems like a nice guy.
Always liked Russ...he was everywhere back in the day
I had the honor of teching for him on the very last leg of the very last CSN Tour in 2015, a true professional, and a lovely gentleman. Solid, on the money every night, truly a joy, rock on russell!
Woah dude, that’s mega!
You are truly fortunate to have worked with Russ....he is a solid dude
Wow! I wish every drummer in the world would study this video!
This made me cry -- it's so beautiful to see that he is still just as fantastic (and solid) after all these years.
Weird, this made me cry, too!
That was awesome. That was epic incredible. amazing.
Watching this always makes my smile.
I could listen to him play JUST the drum part to this song. A thing of beauty.
Russ was Jackson’s drum sound in the 70s and 80s!! He’s amazing
You rocked it man awesome
Russ is Pure Class. Old school. great pocket. !!!!!
I am a drummer for 50 years. Since my kid years, I always mimicked him in all aspects in the field of Pop music because he always sounded right in sound and arrangements. Even his setup is very simmilar to mine! Well, Thank you Mr. Kunkel. I love your music!
Funny as soon as I saw the title of this video I had to watch. Beautiful playing Russell just perfect.
Just playing the music is always a win ! Sounds great.
You can see what fun he's having
Awesome!
Wow. After all these years he nailed it. Wonder what it feels like to have played one of the most iconic songs ever.
Love it all
Russ is one of my all time favorite drummers. He rocks!
Same
To give you some context, growing up in New Zealand, we only had the radio, perhaps Modern Drummer magazine, albums or 45's I would buy based on who was playing on the records of the time which I would pour over to get a finger nail hold on the names that appeared on countless albums I had. My reading was the credits of who played on what. I fell in love with the session players of the West Coast of America. This was all pre you tube days of around 2005 and that love has only deepened. No bars to go to and hang out with my mates to dig on the players, no Troubador club or The Baked Potato to go and watch my hero's play cause they were all over there and not here on NZ soil.
Now......thanks to modern technology, I can sit, watch and admire the Cat's I came to love since the 60's. I am now in my late 50's now.
Thank you and copious blessings for uploading this of one of my many hero's who helped me come to love drumming myself and the art of music.
Russ Kunkel, you are a living legend brother in my estimation. Thank you for inspiring me all the way down here.
Blessings from New Zealand.
Coconut Grove Music NZ Well put!
Please check out Leland Sklar channel, and their new group The Immediate Family
@@80narik Yes! Leland is a goldmine of information about the early days. (It's easier to list the important artists he _didn't_ work with. He did sessions or played live with just about everyone.) And the Immediate Family is a treat.
His meter during his fills is world-class!
I was a kid when I saw the Running On Empty tour and can remember it vividly. Russ was killer then and is incredible now.
I get to see him on occasion playing with The Immediate Family which is The Section plus Waddy Wachtel. Check them out if you get a chance.
Danny Kortchmar, Lee Sklar, Russ Kunkel, Waddy Wachtel, Steve Postell.
tears in my eyes I guess... as I relive one of the best ever soundtracks to my life :) (and inspirations to become a drummer!)
Holy crap those overhead mics make the cymbals sound amazing!
Very well dressed sir! Hats Off great playing…🎉🎉
It was great to see Russ play this. Thanks so much
Excellent, really enjoyed this! 🎵🎶🎼🥁👍
Seen him play with Linda Rondstadt a couple of times in the late 70's! Awsome!
NAILLLLEEEDDDD ITTTTT!!!!!!!!!
omg. that was right in there . i just smile when he plays with fineese inside of the tune push and pull just when its right. Kunkel is a lmaster and right on . loved this :) . drum sound sweet too :)))
Just saw Russ perform with James Taylor. Loved it.
Such an epic drummer! Such a talented dude with lots of energy. Just looking at his album credits is quite a read.
Just caught him with Immediate Family the other night. He listens so well.... so supportive of the song/singer. Total Class.
exactly
Love This RUSS!! Todd Southwick here, remembering California yrs back @ Bixby Knolls w/ Steve Renolfsson playing piano at Grandparents backyard music room, Love your smile brother! Always
Russ "Mr. Clean" Kunkel as the great James Taylor calls him is certainly clean when he plays those drums! He's one of my all-time favorites.
That simple fill on the snare in the break before the lap steel solo is MONEY!
I went to this event at my shop up here in Portland, ME. I drove two hours down from the midcoast and it was a great event. I was hoping for some clinic show and tell stuff, but it was still cool. Plus I got Russ to sign my loved copy of Jackson Browne's Lawyers in Love album. He told me the crazy the story of the album cover shoot. (It's a real Beamer drowned in water!) I also got to meet John Good. Such a cool dude and he raved about how beautiful the coast of Maine is and how lucky we are to get to live here. (Not in the winter but the summer is nice!) Plus their wives were there and they made a nice trip out of it.
Russ has been one of my favorite drummers sence i can remember .
Legend. It’s all about feel
Such a great video of a great player. He's lovin' it and so am I.
Wow, perfection! Thank you Russ!
First knew of his work when he backed studio albums with John Stewart back in the early 70's. Great musician.
Russ Kunkel probably doesn't get his due but he was the drummer on a lot of hits back in the 70's. I think he was THE West Coast drummer for a lot of those singer/songwriters back then. I do get a kick out of seeing the guys who had wild hair back in the day who are now bald. :-) Part of the aging process many will go through but he still can play!
He played with EVERYBODY back in the day.....
And Jim Gordon
Cierto, amigo. Yo lo vi con Linda Ronstadt y Stevie Nicks. Es sensacional el tipo. El tiene mucha personalidad.
I love to see the old vets doing their stuff. Inspiring.
Goddamn, I wish I had been there!! One of the best rock tracks ever, thanks in no small part to Kunkel’s performance.
I was there at the Pitbull Audio DW Workshop with Russ Kunkel and he is of the the most humble talented hit makers of our time. He was playing on his New Custom DW drum set and killed it. He said that they were amazing and very happy with his custom choices.
Great track ❤ love his playing on James Taylor's fire and rain also , didnt know he used brushes on that track , those tom fills were thunderous
Lyle Lovett's Large Band, with both Leland Sklar and Russ Kunkel, are simply as good as you can get. Great horns, awesome guitars, AMAZING vocals, and the best rhythm section going right now.
No idea how Lyle keeps them coming back year after year ... although he has always had a reputation for putting together absolutely stunning musicians for his monster US tours. But his fans are blessed for it.
Saw them last year - spectacular musicians! Have loved Leland and Russ since James (love him too).
Awesome to see those drums in isolation. Very cool
LEGEND.
Waatching Ronstadt or Nicks back in the 70s and early 80s, it was always Kunkel on drums, Wachtel on guitar. Amazing duo.
Yeah Brother!! That's how you play a song!!!
He has a Very Solidly unique style of drumming! Love watching him re create those famous drum licks from yester year!
I just love how Russel plays! ⭐️🙏😃 A master!! 100%
70s icon on drums...…...and still an icon
Russell kunkel is a great drummer.....period
after seeing this a thousand times it's still wow
My fav drummer of all time! Saw him with Jackson Browne on the Running on Empty tour. He was playing the set pictured on the album cover. I almost fainted when I saw the drums on stage before they started.
An Idol!
Pure class.
Great drumming on an awesome song!
So good!!! Thanks for posting this.
this here is a drumming masterclass in one song
Russ is so into the groove!
I have chills watching this …..
Legend right there! Seeing you live playing fire and rain was life changing for me and my drumming. Thank you for all you have played.
Big boy kit there. I love it! I've never understood these tiny kits of the players today. Its like a pianist playing a piano with one octave of keys
Love those Paste cymbals. I think I will be switching later on next year!!
Great action great drummer❤
Russ has always been a percussive hero if mine
Some of my favorite Russ Kunkel drumming can be found on Jackson's album Lawyers in Love, check it out!
I grew up to his beats! The man rocks!!
Such rock solid timing! Love some of Russ’ work over the years - one of my favorites is his work on JT your smiling face. Such a feel to that one!
Hey Russ.. Love it...🥁🎶🌎✌️💙🙏
Beautiful!
Lovely. Been a fan from Section times.
Sorry, this is so great I had to comment again. An album take played right before your eyes.
Amazing. You took me back in time, Russ! your percussion in ALL of "Running On Empty" was perfect. God bless you! You're amazing! That was perfect, and just what I needed this evening!
always the perfect part for the song with RK
That kit sounds AWESOME!!!!
I saw him along with Leland Sklar backing Dan Fogelberg at the Summit in Houston, 1982 I believe. Dan's voice was shot from touring but still, what a great show!
Awesome.
Russ is one of the best there ever was..at what he does...The drummer of a band and or supporting the lead performer. He always plays to the song...never making his drumming about him or his performance. I have seen him elbows, arms and wrists on solos but even then he was under control...He is back in a new band "The Immediate Family" with two of his "The Section" pals great guitarist Danny Kortchmar and master bassist Leland Sklar along with their long time friend the amazing rocker guitarist Waddy Watchel and Steve Postel on guitar and vocals. They are putting the final mix on a new album with all new original songs. Also when this mess clears up they will be on tour. Last but not least Denny Tedesco (son of Tommy) who did a wonderful documentary on the famous studio recording stars The Wrecking Crew..is now filming a similar documentary on the Immediate Family. Stay safe and healthy everyone. God Bless
All over Chicago radio in the 70's. Fantastic taste & imagination.
Such a pleasure to see the relaxed body expression and perfection of a lifetime pro! Thank you, Russ! (keep smilin).