Pistol Allen The influence of Northern Soul on Disco

**tyree_kevin** · June 30th, 2009, 05:23 PM

I`ve always admired the Northern Soul fans for making their movement work! I`m curious how Pistol`s drums became one of the prime components of the NS sound. Bear with me folks I`m studying the greats like Pistol, Jamerson, Earl Young, Bobby Martin etc.

**Disco Funk** · July 1st, 2009, 10:09 PM

I haven't been a follower of the Motown sound, so I can't tell who plays on what record, Pistol Allen vs Uriel Jones, or any other Motown drummer. I kind of have a feel from Andrew Smith because he went on to become a Philly drummer and producer.

The Motown beat certainly had an influence on dance music into the 70s. The marching beat for uptempo tracks was used by different producers, including the philly producers. Eventually the Philly guys would develop their own dance beat, thanks to Earl Young copying Al Green's Let's Stay Together drum pattern on I'll Be Around in 1972, which was a tom drum on top of a snare for the up beat (or I think it's called the back beat).

Disco Funk

**tyree_kevin** · July 2nd, 2009, 12:03 PM

Thanks for the reply Disco Music:I`ve never made the connection between Willie Mitchell and Earl Young. Thanks for pulling my coat.

**Disco Funk** · July 2nd, 2009, 06:58 PM

Originally Written by tyree_kevin

Thanks for the reply Disco Music:I`ve never made the connection between Willie Mitchell and Earl Young. Thanks for pulling my coat.

I had suspected it for a while after giving Let's Stay Together a real good listen and hearing the tom drum on top of the snare. I think Al Jackson was playing on that track. But then I recently read an interview with Bobby Eli, I believe, and he said that Earl had borrowed the drum pattern on I'll Be Around (and subsequently on many other philly tracks like Could It Be I'm Falling In Love) from Let's Stay Together. I think the difference in the sound was partially due to which tom drum each drummer was hitting, and the quality of the studio. Sigma seemed to have better audio fidelity compared to the studio Al Green was recording in.

Until Earl switched to that pattern, and eventually four on the floor, his uptempo drum patterns were either hitting the snare on every beat a la Motown, like on What You Gave Up from 1971, or an uptempo soul beat like on The Ebonys I'm So Glad I'm Me, which featured a constant hit on the beat on the hi hat, also a la Motown