POP & SOUL STYLE

Pop drum patterns.

A clean backbeat and a steady hat built to sit under a vocal, played by session drummers and later programmed.

130 grooves
1963–2023
5 landmarks

The Pop timeline

20 of 20 grooves

1963
Landmark
Be My Baby Open Be My Baby in a new tab
The Ronettes
Hal Blaine's two-bar intro, snare only on beat 4 until the chorus, became one of the most copied drum phrases in pop
1965
Ticket to Ride Open Ticket to Ride in a new tab
The Beatles
Root: Ringo's stop-start, tom-heavy broken beat (Lennon credited the idea to McCartney) gave Beatles pop a heavier drive
1978
Heart of Glass Open Heart of Glass in a new tab
Blondie
Built around a Roland CR-78, one of its earliest pop uses: a rock band on a disco beat, with odd seven-beat interludes
1980
Intruder Open Intruder in a new tab
Peter Gabriel
First record with the Padgham/Collins gated-reverb drum sound; Collins dropped cymbals and repeated one tom-snare figure
1981
Landmark
In the Air Tonight Open In the Air Tonight in a new tab
Phil Collins
A CR-78 preset ticks for minutes, then the gated-reverb tom fill explodes: the best-known moment of the 80s drum sound
1981
I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)Open I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) in a new tab
Daryl Hall & John Oates
Grew from a Roland CompuRhythm preset; Michael Jackson later told Hall the Billie Jean groove came from this record
1982
Landmark
Rosanna Open Rosanna in a new tab
Toto
Jeff Porcaro's half-time shuffle with ghost notes, mixing Purdie and Bonham shuffles; now a standard of drum repertoire
1982
Landmark
Billie Jean Open Billie Jean in a new tab
Michael Jackson
Dry, tightly isolated kick, snare and hat (Swedien built a special drum riser): a groove recognisable from its first bar
1983
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)Open Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) in a new tab
Eurythmics
Attic-studio hit run from a rare Movement Systems Drum Computer that also triggered the synth bass sequence
1984
Landmark
When Doves Cry Open When Doves Cry in a new tab
Prince and the Revolution
Linn LM-1 drums carry a No. 1 single with no bass line at all; drum-machine pop at its most stripped and bold
1986
Nasty Open Nasty in a new tab
Janet Jackson
Jam & Lewis's hard, sample-built machine funk at 100 BPM; Control-era programming that fed into new jack swing
1990
Freedom! '90 Open Freedom! '90 in a new tab
George Michael
Five-layer drum track built on James Brown's Funky Drummer break: sampled breakbeats arrive in mainstream pop
1998
...Baby One More Time Open ...Baby One More Time in a new tab
Britney Spears
Max Martin's heavy 93 BPM faux-funk beat, reworked from Cheiron's earlier productions; the late-90s teen-pop template
2002
Cry Me a River Open Cry Me a River in a new tab
Justin Timberlake
Timbaland's beatboxed percussion over a slow half-time pulse carries his R&B drum style into mainstream pop
2007
Umbrella Open Umbrella in a new tab
Rihanna
Beat began with a pounding hi-hat from GarageBand's stock Vintage Funk Kit 03 loop: a No. 1 groove from consumer software
2008
Just Dance Open Just Dance in a new tab
Lady Gaga
RedOne's clipped, marching electropop beat at 119 BPM set the template for Gaga's club-pop run
2013
Royals Open Royals in a new tab
Lorde
Little more than finger snaps, kick and bass at 85 BPM: a bare hip-hop beat that topped the Hot 100
2019
bad guy Open bad guy in a new tab
Billie Eilish
Minimal kick, amplified finger snaps and 808 bass: the sparse late-2010s pop drum style at its biggest
2019
Blinding Lights Open Blinding Lights in a new tab
The Weeknd
Driving drum-machine new-wave beat whose opening critics likened to Beat It; led pop's 80s-revival drum sound
2023
Super Shy Open Super Shy in a new tab
NewJeans
Staccato Jersey-club kick pattern over liquid drum and bass: club rhythms move into mainstream K-pop