The Bernard Purdie Half-Time Shuffle

The Untold Story of Bernard Purdie, the Groove Genius Behind the World's Greatest Hits

De: Spang-a-Lang Publishing

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Bernard "Pretty" Purdie is the drummer you've heard a thousand times—but never by name. From the soul-drenched backbeats behind Aretha Franklin to the impossibly smooth shuffle that inspired Led Zeppelin and Steely Dan, Purdie's grooves shaped half a century of music while he remained in the shadows. Half-Time Shuffle: The Bernard Purdie Story finally gives this unsung architect of modern rhythm the spotlight he earned and the recognition long overdue.

This definitive biography pulls no punches. Drawing from session logs, tour itineraries, rare interviews, police reports, liner notes, bootlegs, and decades of oral histories, it reveals the unvarnished truth about one of America's most recorded, most imitated, and most overlooked musicians. Purdie’s story is one of genius forged through gospel, refined in sweat-soaked studios, and sampled into eternity by hip-hop producers who never knew his name.

From his groundbreaking work with King Curtis and Aretha to his infamous claim of overdubbing The Beatles, from the invention of the Purdie Shuffle to the coded politics of being a Black session musician in a white-controlled industry, this is not just a music biography—it’s a study in race, rhythm, labor, and legacy. Written in a voice as soulful and sharp as its subject, the book swings like a midnight jazz solo and hits as hard as a downbeat.

If you’ve ever tapped your foot to a song without knowing why, chances are you were feeling Bernard Purdie. Now it’s time to hear his name.