Biography
Fred Below entered the world in Chicago on September 16, 1926. He took up drumming during his high-school years before pursuing formal percussion studies at the Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion. At that stage his focus remained on jazz, particularly bebop, which led him to enlist and serve with the 427th Army Band. Upon discharge he settled back in Chicago in 1951, only to discover that blues engagements dominated the local circuit while jazz had entered a quiet period.
Muddy Waters drummer Elgin Evans soon connected him with the Three Aces—Junior Wells on vocals and harp, Louis Myers on guitar, and Dave Myers on bass—who were seeking a drummer. Below’s jazz background left him unfamiliar with blues rhythms, so the initial adjustment proved awkward. Shortly afterward, Little Walter departed the Muddy Waters group following the sudden success of his instrumental “Juke” and was succeeded by Junior Wells. Little Walter then fulfilled a long-standing wish by joining the Three Aces, drawn by the uptempo approach that Muddy Waters had not favored. The resulting lineup, billed first as Little Walter and the Four Aces and later as the Jukes, emerged as Chicago’s most sought-after electric blues ensemble.
The quartet’s influence on the city’s music community proved difficult to overstate, with much of its impact traceable to Below’s refined and elegant drumming. He appears on nearly every one of Little Walter’s landmark recordings and became the first-call session player for Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, Otis Rush, Elmore James, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Dinah Washington, John Brim, the Platters, the Moonglows, the Drifters, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, and countless others. Fred Below & the Aces established the enduring template for the blues shuffle beat and distinguished themselves through imaginative use of the ride cymbal, wood block, tom-tom fills, and additional ornaments, nowhere more vividly than on the drum solo in Little Walter’s classic “Off the Wall.”
Muddy Waters drummer Elgin Evans soon connected him with the Three Aces—Junior Wells on vocals and harp, Louis Myers on guitar, and Dave Myers on bass—who were seeking a drummer. Below’s jazz background left him unfamiliar with blues rhythms, so the initial adjustment proved awkward. Shortly afterward, Little Walter departed the Muddy Waters group following the sudden success of his instrumental “Juke” and was succeeded by Junior Wells. Little Walter then fulfilled a long-standing wish by joining the Three Aces, drawn by the uptempo approach that Muddy Waters had not favored. The resulting lineup, billed first as Little Walter and the Four Aces and later as the Jukes, emerged as Chicago’s most sought-after electric blues ensemble.
The quartet’s influence on the city’s music community proved difficult to overstate, with much of its impact traceable to Below’s refined and elegant drumming. He appears on nearly every one of Little Walter’s landmark recordings and became the first-call session player for Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, Otis Rush, Elmore James, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Dinah Washington, John Brim, the Platters, the Moonglows, the Drifters, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, and countless others. Fred Below & the Aces established the enduring template for the blues shuffle beat and distinguished themselves through imaginative use of the ride cymbal, wood block, tom-tom fills, and additional ornaments, nowhere more vividly than on the drum solo in Little Walter’s classic “Off the Wall.”