World Drum Corps Hall of Fame’s Steve Gadd wins Grammy for top Contemporary Instrumental Album

World Drum Corps Hall of Fame member Steve Gadd’s self-titled album was named the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album during the recent 61st Annual Grammy Awards. He had previously been nominated in the same category for his 2016 album titled “Way Back Home: Live from Rochester, NY.”

A native of Irondequoit, NY, next door to Rochester, he is one of the best-known session and studio drummers in the music industry, featured on more than 600 albums since he began recording in the late 1960s. He was inducted into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in September 2016 for Distinguished Professional Achievement.

During his early years in Rochester, he played snare drum with a number of area drum and bugle corps, including the national champion Rochester Crusaders. He credits his drum corps experience for teaching him the power of team members playing together, practicing hard, trying to sound like just one person.

The Grammy award is the latest in a steady stream of honors over many years Gadd has received.

He was named to the Rochester Music Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2005, he received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music for outstanding contributions to contemporary music. He was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame the same year. In 2003 he received the Zildjian American Drummer’s Achievement Award. He received the Drummer’s Collective Award in 2002.

He has been a member of the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame since 1984. In 1961, he was one of about 70 high school students from across the country selected to play in the School Band of America, which visited 12 cities in six European countries during a four-week tour.

He’ll be returning to his hometown area on June 21, 2019 when his band headlines the Rochester Jazz Festival, performing at Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre.

The World Drum Corps Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization founded in 1976 by the late Vince Bruni, who served as director of national championship corps in two different eras -- the Rochester Crusaders and the Empire Statesmen of Rochester.

This article originally appeared in the March 2019 Drum Corps World.

World Drum Corps Hall of Fame member Steve Gadd