Terry Silverlight breaks down the music that shaped him

Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming. This is another installment of Big Fat Five—the series where I sit down with my favorite drummers and ask them to break down the five records that shaped how they approach the kit.

Lately I’ve been fortunate to have guests who’ve already appeared in other drummers’ Big Fat Fives, and today’s guest is one of them: Terry Silverlight.

Terry’s career is so deep and wide-ranging that I almost don’t even want to start listing artists. His discography is massive — you can check it out on his website HERE and he’s still extremely active today. He was already recording at 14 on his brother Barry Miles’ record, and he hasn’t slowed down since. Along the way he’s worked with everyone from George Benson to Roberta Flack to Natalie Merchant, just to name a few.

This episode doesn’t veer from the Big Fat Five format, but Terry interleaves the records that shaped him with the way music has been ingrained in his life from day one. I mention this at the top of our chat, but it’s worth saying again here — the through-line of music in Terry’s story is undeniable.

Toward the end, I also ask him about a session that came up in Aaron Steele’s episode a while back, when Aaron brought up Terry’s work with the band Change. If you haven’t heard that one, go back and check it out — Aaron’s a young legend in his own right.

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Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.

SONGS PLAYED IN THIS EPISODE:

Artist – Barry Miles
Album – White Heat
Release Year – 1972
Key Track – "White Heat"
Drummer – Terry Silverlight

Artist – Max Roach
Album – Max Roach + 4 ... On The Chicago Scene
Release Year – 1958
Key Track – "Memo: To Maurice"
Drummer – Max Roach

Artist – The Tony Williams Lifetime
Album – Emergency!
Release Year – 1969
Key Track – "Emergency"
Drummer – Tony Williams

Artist – Ravi Shankar & Alla Rakha
Album – The Genius of Pandit Ravi Shankar
Release Year – 1990
Key Track – "Yaman - Gat in Matta Tal"
Tabla – Alla Rakha

Artist – Shakti
Album – Mind Explosion (50th Anniversary Tour Live)
Release Year – 2025
Key Track – "5 In The Morning, 6 In The Afternoon"
Tabla – Zakir Hussain

Artist – McCoy Tyner
Album – Trident
Release Year – 1975
Key Track – "Elvin (Sir) Jones"
Drummer – Elvin Jones

Artist – Airto Moreira
Album – Fingers
Release Year – 1973
Key Track – "Fingers (El Rada)"
Drummers – Airto Moreira & Ivan Conti

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