Carmine Appice

Carmine Appice ranks among the foremost rock drummers of his era and enjoys worldwide acclaim for a forceful, technically precise approach that connected psychedelic hard rock to heavy metal. He first surfaced in the 1960s progressive psych-rock ensemble Vanilla Fudge, then launched the early-metal unit Cactus and secured broader notice through his partnership with guitarist Jeff Beck in the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice. After the trio’s self-titled 1973 debut, Appice built a prosperous sideman career that began with Rod Stewart in the 1970s and extended through the 1980s and 1990s to artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Edgar Winter, and Pink Floyd. He also earned recognition as an instructor by becoming one of the earliest rock players to conduct regular clinics and symposiums, and he has issued multiple instructional volumes and videos, among them the widely used drumming guide Realistic Rock Drum Method. In addition to teaching and session work, Appice has sustained his recording activity, notably with his brother and fellow drummer Vinny Appice on the 2017 album Sinister, followed by the 2019 release Guitar Zeus and the 2021 collaboration Energy Overload with guitarist Fernando Perdomo.

Born in New York in 1946, Appice developed his drumming alongside younger brother Vinny Appice. Early influences included big-band and jazz figures Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, and Max Roach before he turned toward rock & roll. By the 1960s he was working professionally in groups such as the cover band Thursday’s Children, where bassist/singer Tim Bogert noticed him and recruited him into the psych-rock outfit the Pigeons, later renamed Vanilla Fudge in 1967. Appice performed on the band’s initial albums—Vanilla Fudge, Renaissance, and Rock & Roll—which featured expansive reinterpretations of pop material including the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” the Zombies’ “She’s Not There,” and the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.”

By late 1969 Appice and Bogert had departed Vanilla Fudge to pursue a project with Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck, whom they had met in 1967 and impressed with their jazz-tinged interplay. A November 1969 car accident hospitalized Beck with a fractured skull, so the pair instead formed the hard-rocking proto-metal band Cactus alongside former Amboy Dukes vocalist Rusty Day and ex-Detroit Wheels/Buddy Miles guitarist Jim McCarty. Across the 1970 album Cactus, the 1971 album One Way… Or Another, and the 1971 album Restrictions, the group cultivated a devoted audience with its blues-infused, high-energy sound, anticipated the stoner-rock movement, and supplied an American counterpart to British hard-rock acts such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. Cactus concluded with the 1972 album ’Ot ’N’ Sweaty after Day and McCarty exited and were replaced by ex-Leaf Hound and Atomic Rooster singer Peter French, guitarist Werner Fritzschings, and keyboardist Duane Hitchings.

While Cactus operated, Beck recovered and assembled a second Jeff Beck Band, issuing two albums before dissolving the project and reuniting with Appice and Bogert to revive their earlier collaboration. The resulting power trio debuted with the 1973 album Beck, Bogert & Appice. Produced by the band and Don Nix, the bluesy, riff-driven record placed Appice on most lead vocals, though Beck sang on the opening single “Black Cat Moan.” Several cover versions, including the trio’s reinterpretation of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” with Bogert handling lead vocals, echoed Vanilla Fudge’s expansive treatment of outside material. BBA toured extensively, yielding the 1973 Japan concert album Beck Bogert & Appice Live. During the tour Appice reportedly introduced Beck to jazz-fusion ensembles such as John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra and Chick Corea’s groups. The trio also began a follow-up album before disbanding in 1974 without an official release.

Appice and Beck reportedly continued collaborating for several months afterward, even tracking material with producer George Martin, yet contractual differences ended the partnership. Appice next recorded with guitarist Mike Bloomfield in the blues-rock group KGB and with guitarist Tommy Bolin before joining Rod Stewart’s band in 1977. Over the subsequent four years he toured and recorded extensively with the former Faces vocalist and contributed songwriting to several major hits, among them “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” from 1978’s Blondes Have More Fun and “Young Turks” from 1981’s Tonight I’m Yours.

As Stewart shifted toward commercial pop, Appice exited to release his 1981 solo debut Rockers, on which he performed drums and sang lead vocals with guitarist Danny Johnson, keyboardist Duane Hitchings, and bassist Jay Davis; the album reached number 38 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart. He then teamed with guitarist Rick Derringer for the 1983 album Party Tested, after which he toured with Ozzy Osbourne. During the same period he rejoined his Vanilla Fudge colleagues for the 1984 album Mystery and appeared on Jeff Beck’s 1985 album Flash.

Following his Osbourne tenure, Appice assembled the glammy heavy-metal band King Kobra with vocalist Marcie Free, guitarist David Michael-Philips, guitarist Mick Sweda, and bassist Johnny Rod. Signed to Capitol, the group issued 1985’s Ready to Strike and 1986’s Thrill of a Lifetime, the latter containing “Iron Eagle (Never Say Die),” used as the theme for the 1986 film Iron Eagle. Further lineup shifts led Appice and Michael-Phillips to form a new configuration with singer Johnny Edwards, guitarist Jeff Northrup, and bassist Larry Hart for the 1988 album King Kobra III on New Renaissance Records before the band dissolved.

In subsequent years Appice remained active, recording with ex-Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes in Blue Murder and touring or recording with Pink Floyd, the Edgar Winter Group, Jeff Watson, Mother’s Army, and additional artists. In 1996 he launched the first installment of his all-star guitar series Guitar Zeus, featuring Queen’s Brian May, Slash, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Ted Nugent among others; Guitar Zeus, Vol. 2: Channel Mind Radio followed in 1997 with C.C. Deville, Richie Sambora, Neal Schon, and further guests. Concurrently he became one of the first musicians to present drum clinics and symposiums while touring, an activity that prompted his 1972 instructional book Realistic Rock Drum Method and numerous later volumes and videos, some created with brother Vinny.

In 2001 Appice reunited with guitarist Rick Derringer and bassist Tim Bogert as Derringer, Bogert & Appice for the album Doin’ Business As…. He also partnered with guitarist Pat Travers on 2004’s It Takes a Lot of Balls and 2005’s Bazooka, and participated in further Vanilla Fudge reunions, including the 2007 Led Zeppelin tribute Out Through the In Door. In 2011 he toured and recorded with Spanish guitarist Javier Vargas and Tim Bogert on Vargas, Bogert & Appice, while a King Kobra reunion album also appeared that year. The 2014 release Drum Wars Live! documented Appice’s onstage exchanges with brother Vinny. In 2017 the siblings introduced their band Appice with the album Sinister, and Carmine published the memoir Stick It!, which included a foreword by Rod Stewart.

In 2018 Appice joined Shuggie Otis for Inter-Fusion, the guitarist’s first studio album since the 1970s. Guitar Zeus appeared in 2019, and Appice maintained an active touring schedule. In 2021 he and guitarist Fernando Perdomo released the all-instrumental collection Energy Overload, comprising both originals and covers such as Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” and Stewart’s “Do Ya’ Think I’m Sexy,” the latter co-written by Appice.