Final Rest Stops: Swing-era East Baltimore native and drummer Chick Webb rose to fame on “Stompin at the Savoy”

During the 1930s swing-era, no one got the crowd moving and shaking more than East Baltimore’s Chick Webb. His pulsating drumming and stunning solo riffs earned him the moniker of “The King of Drums.”

Webb had risen from the slums of East Baltimore, overcame physical difficulties and attained musical stardom in an albeit too short life.

In a city that has produced such outstanding musical greats — some of which include Eubie Blake, Cab Calloway, Philip Glass, Leon Fleisher, Frank Zappa, Mama Cass Eliot, Spiro Malas and James Morris — Chick Webb certainly earned his place in that noble pantheon of artists…

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