The Fastest Drummer: Clap Your Hands for Viola Smith!

The Fastest Drummer plays homage to Viola Smith, a groundbreaking female drummer born in 1912. Viola was encouraged to pick an instrument and join the family band to make music together. I love the closeness and fun they must have had jamming together and onstage. It is hard to convey music and motion in a still medium like illustrations, but Susanna Chapman did a phenomenal job. The use of swirling strokes and bold clashing colors went a long way to conveying the crashing boom of an enthusiastic drummer. Viola is credited with a pivotal article during the 40’s, when men were leaving for war making it easier for females to get a job as musicians. With this chance, women blew up the music scene and paved the way for females today. Viola Smith was not a name I was familiar with so I like that this biography shed some light on her many accomplishments. One of the coolest facts was she was still rocking to the beat at 100. I appreciated the background information and glossary in the back. The illustrations were fantastic although when reading about real events and people I always appreciate if a photograph is included, which this book did not have. Overall, this is a great biography giving recognition to a talented female musician who paved the way for others. This book would also be great for drummer enthusiasts as well.

Born in 1912, Viola had older sisters who formed the Smith Sisters Orchestra. The only instrument not already take was the drums. Viola didn't do too well with them at first, but learned quickly, and was soon playing jazz in her father's ballroom. In the 1920s, they traveled and performed all over, probably in Vaudeville type performances. As the group traveled, Viola talked to other drummers, and got all of the tips and tricks from them that she could. When her sisters got older and left the band, Viola found it hard to get gigs, because people didn't believe that women could be professional musicians, so she put together another band of all women, The Coquettes. The drum kit she used had twelve pieces, far bigger than the kits used by other drummers. The group became popular, and got a lot of publicity and accolades, and when World War II started, Viola wrote an article for a magazine outlining why women musicians should be able to step into roles previously held by men who were off fighting the war. Viola was one of the most acclaimed drummers of the twentieth century, and continued playing until her death in 2020. She opened musical doors for many women.