Gene Krupa

Birth Name:

Eugene Bertram Krupa

Birth Date:

January 15, 1909

Birth Place:

Chicago, Illinois

Death Date:

October 16, 1973

Place of Death:

10 Ritchie Drive, Yonkers, New York

Age:

Cause of Death:

Heart failure coupled with leukemia and emphysema

Cemetery Name:

Holy Cross Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Music

Associates:

Before Keith Moon, before John Bonham there was the one and only Gene Krupa - one of the greatest drummers and drum kit innovators in the 20th century. With his arms flailing behind the drum kit, Krupa forever changed the role of the drummer and provided his fans with an everlasting visual and musical image of the swing era. In 1936 he joined Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson for the first incarnation of the Benny Goodman Trio (later expanding to a quartet with Lionel Hampton) where his drum work made him a national celebrity. His tom-tom interludes on the hit "Sing, Sing, Sing" were the first extended drum solos to be recorded commercially. After his gig with Goodman he continued to record with his own group, Tommy Dorsey, Gerry Mulligan and starred as himself in several Hollywood musical-based films. In addition to his drum skills, he was also a well regarding composer with compositions which he wrote or co-wrote included "Some Like It Hot" in 1939, "Drum Boogie", "Boogie Blues", his theme song "Apurksody", "Ball of Fire", "Disc Jockey Jump" with Gerry Mulligan, "Wire Brush Stomp", "Hippdeebip", "Krupa's Wail", "Swing is Hee", "Quit and Roll 'Em" with Sam Donahue, and "How 'Bout This Mess". Even today Krupa’s reputation still looms large in pop culture: Rolling Stone recently put him at Number 7 in its list of the 100 greatest drummers of all time.

Fun Fact

With peer Cozy Cole, Gene started a music school in 1954 that carried on into the 1960s. Some of the school’s students included Peter Criss of KISS and Jerry Nolan of The New York Dolls. Doug Clifford of Creedence Clearwater Revival cited Krupa as an inspiration.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Holy Cross Cemetery

801 Michigan City Road

Calumet City, Illinois, 60409

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Holy Cross Cemetery Calumet City Illinois

Grave Location:

Immaculata, Lot 22, Block A

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery off Michigan City Road, make an immediate left turn and follow the road to the second right turn you can make. Upon turning right the sections Good Shepard (19) will be on your right and St. Michaels will be on your left. Make the first left turn and St. Michaels will still be on your left and Immaculata will be on your right. Park halfway down the sections (about 200 feet) and park. Look to your right for the Sadowski monument (a large tombstone with a cross on top) 20 feet from the road and behind that monument you will find the final resting place of Gene Krupa.