"The Little Drummer Boy"

By Bill Delingat

The “rat a tat tat” stuck out in my mind and the story was so different from other Christmas carols. What got me was when he was summoned by the Magi to the nativity where, without a gift for the infant Jesus (as he was so poor) he played his drum for him with the Virgin Mary’s approval, remembering "I played my best for Him" and "He smiled at me". This got me hooked as a child as I related to the whole scene of the little boy trying to do his best with the limited things he had access to. In this case his drum.

"The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") was written by the American classical music composer and teacher Katherine Kennecott Davis in 1941. It was first recorded in 1955 by the Von Trapp Family Singers (Sound of Music fame) and further popularized by a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone Chorale. This version was re-released successfully for several years and the song has been recorded many times including Stevie Wonder - 1967, Jimi Hendrix - 1969 and the great duet of “Peace on Earth and Little Drummer Boy - 1977 by Bing Crosby with David Bowie.

The Christmas that stands out for me was when I was around 6 or 7 years old. When I was young, my sister was a real “dish” and all the guys hung out in our backyard where my parents made a “Rock ”n” Roll house for everyone to hang out. One of my sister’s friends was a drummer and left his kit there as his parents didn’t like all the banging in their house. I used to sneak in and play around on the drums. One day he saw me and instead of getting mad told my mother I had some natural rhythm.  I asked my parents for my own set of drums that year. So when the big day came I ran down to the tree and found a wrapped circular gift. I thought where are my drums, when I opened it there was a tin toy drum and a pair of sticks, attached I found a note from my mother and a memo from Mason’s Music in the Weston Rd. area. The note basically said that if I would take drum lessons to show that I was serious I would get the drums next year. Well, I was disappointed but determined and I agreed to go for lessons. That started a long relationship with me and Mr. Paul Robson. Robson went on to open the Ontario College of Percussion, which I attended and graduated in its first years of operation.  In the years after the first run of college students, Neil Pert of Rush fame, went through the course and became a star student of Robson’s. This was a great perk for Robson as he always wanted to prove that drummers were musicians as well and from what I hear after some diabetic issues, Robson is still banging them out in his new location on Laird Avenue in the East End of Toronto.

So the Little Drummer Boy put me on a path to several countries, from Kapuskasing Ontario to London England, playing my drums in various rock bands and loving every minute of it, a Rat a tat tat.