Drummer of The Week: Jerrie Thill

Jerrie Thill has been beating the drums for seventy years… That is not a typo. Born in 1917 in Dubuque, Iowa she began her illustrious music career in the Chicago area when speakeasies where all the rage and notorious gangster names were in the newspaper headlines. You can read more about her interesting career at her website www.jerriethill.com

Last February another amazing woman, lyricist, and creative great, Allee Willis, wrote a song called “Hey Jerrie” honoring her, and produced a little video gem that took YouTube by storm. Click Play below, kick your chair aside, and do a skuttle shuffle across your floor because although Jerrie needs an oxygen tank to help her breathe, she is full of life and soul.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYZkFOZoP-o&hl=en&fs=1&]

The video is lively, colorful and just plain fun. With party-goer sound tracks al la Ramsey Lewis’s The In Crowd it also features Carol Chaikin on the saxophone, a young Milo Sussman on guitar, and his younger brother Owen adding addition drum tracks.

I am inspired by Jerrie and Allee, and this only proves that you are never to old to do ANYTHING. All you have to do is dig deep inside you and let it out!

Check out Allee’s website at www.alleewillis.com and also link to her blog from there.

Alex Carulo