Frederick Below, Jr. (September 6, 1926 – August 13, 1988) was an American blues drummer, best known for his work with

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning hi ...

and Chess Records in the 1950s. According to Tony Russell, Below was a creator of much of the rhythmic structure of

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

, especially its

backbeat In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a p ...

. He was the drummer on Chuck Berry's song " Johnny B. Goode".

Career

Below was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and as he put it - "grew up around nothing ''but'' music". He started learning music and playing drums in the

DuSable High School Jean Baptiste Point DuSable High School is a public four-year high school campus located in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. DuSable is owned by the Chicago Public Schools district. The school ...

and at about the age of 14, formed a sort of a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

band with two of his high school friends,

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

and

Eugene Wright Eugene Joseph Wright (May 29, 1923 – December 30, 2020) was an American jazz bassist who was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Career Wright was a cornetist at high school and led the 16-piece band Dukes of Swing in his 20s. He was large ...

. As a young man, Below served in the Army twice. The first time between 1945 - 1946, after being

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, he served in the infantry ("I practiced on helmet liners, helmets, boxes and things like that"). In 1946, When he was discharged from his service and came back home to Chicago, Below attended the reputable Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion, an establishment he graduated in 1948, and in which he received a wide and thorough musical education. Below re-enlisted the army in 1948, this time as part of the Special Services, and he served in Germany as a member of the 427th Army band. After that second service, he stayed and played in a nightclub in Germany before returning to the United States in 1951. Back in Chicago, Below joined the Aces, a band comprising the guitar-playing brothers Louis and Dave Myers and the harmonica player

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song " Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album '' Hoodoo Man Blues ...

. In 1952,

left the

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...

band to pursue a solo career, Wells took over his role on harp in the Muddy Waters band, and Walter commandeered the Aces (the Myers brothers and Below). As Little Walter and the Nightcats, they became one of the top

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930 ...

bands in Chicago. In 1955, Below left Little Walter's band to concentrate on working as a session musician for Chess Records. However, he continued to play on Little Walter's records. He also played on hit records for Waters, Wells,

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...

Jimmy Rogers Jimmy Rogers (June 3, 1924December 19, 1997) was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters's band in the early 1950s. He also had a solo career and recorded several pop ...

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

, Otis Rush,

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

and others. Below worked with bassist Willie Dixon, Little Walter, and guitarist

Robert Lockwood, Jr. Robert Lockwood Jr. (March 27, 1915 – November 21, 2006) was an American Delta blues guitarist, who recorded for Chess Records and other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the only guitarist to have learned to play directly ...

John Brim John Charles Brim (April 10, 1922 – October 1, 2003) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, songwriter, and singer. He wrote and recorded the song "Ice Cream Man" which was later covered by the rock band Van Halen for their first album, and ...

's last single for Chess, "I Would Hate to See You Go" (1956). Among his more famous work, he played on Chuck Berry's 1957 hit single " School Days" as well as on other Berry recording including " Brown Eyed Handsome Man" (1956), "

Roll Over Beethoven "Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 hit song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records single, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to replace classi ...

" (1956), "

Too Much Monkey Business "Too Much Monkey Business" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, released by Chess Records in September 1956 as his fifth single. It was also released as the third track on his first solo LP, ''After School Session'', in May 1957; and a ...

" (1956), the calypso flavored, "Havana Moon" (1956), "

Rock and Roll Music Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

" (1957), "

Sweet Little Sixteen "Sweet Little Sixteen" is a rock and roll song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry, who released it as a single in January 1958. His performance of it at that year's Newport Jazz Festival was included in the documentary film ''Jazz on a Summ ...

" (1957), "

Reelin' and Rockin' "Reelin' and Rockin'" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry. It was originally recorded in 1957 and released as the B-side of "Sweet Little Sixteen". Recording The song was recorded on December 29-30, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. * Chuck Be ...

" (1957), " Guitar Boogie" (1957), "

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

" (1958), "Sweet Little Rock and Roller" (1958), "

Little Queenie "Little Queenie" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry. Released in March 1959 as a double A-side single with " Almost Grown", it was included on '' Chuck Berry Is on Top'' (1959), Berry's first compilation album. He performed the song in ...

" (1958), " Almost Grown" (1959), " Back in the U.S.A." (1959) and " Let It Rock" (1959). Below rejoined the Myers brothers for a tour of Europe in 1970.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues''. Penguin Books. p. 3. . Below died of liver cancer on August 13, 1988, in Chicago, at the age of 61.

Partial discography

With

*'' Live and Cookin''' (Chess, 1972) With

Roosevelt Sykes Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper". Career Sykes was born the son of a musician in Elmar, Arkansas. "Just a little old sawmill town", Sykes said of his birthplace. The ...

*''

Feel Like Blowing My Horn ''Feel Like Blowing My Horn'' is an album by blues musician Roosevelt Sykes, recorded in 1970 and released by the Delmark label in 1973.973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

With Sonny Boy Williamson *''

The Real Folk Blues ''The Real Folk Blues'' is a series of blues albums released between 1965 and 1967 by Chess Records, later reissued MCA Records. Each album in the series highlighted the music of one major Chess artist, including John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Mudd ...

'' (Chess, 1947-64 966

References

External links

Fred Below — Magic Maker
an article of September 1983 by Scott K. Fish, which includes an in-depth interview with Fred Below, published in the

Modern Drummer ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, and columns offering advice on technique, as well as information for the general public. ''Mo ...

website (retrieved August 24, 2018) * Recordings and transcripts of parts fro
some 1982 phone interviews with Fred Below
as published in Scott K. Fish's personal website {{DEFAULTSORT:Below, Fred 1926 births 1988 deaths American session musicians American blues drummers Chicago blues musicians Rhythm and blues drummers Deaths from cancer in Illinois United States Army soldiers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers United States Army Band musicians Deaths from liver cancer 20th-century American male musicians