Bill Ward, rock ‘n’ roll drummer, singer...

Bill Ward, rock ‘n’ roll drummer, singer and songwriter; founding member of the seminal British heavy-metal band Black Sabbath; Seal Beach resident. His favorites include, in no particular order:

* The Beatles, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”: I remember feeling resentful that the Beatles had stopped touring. I was one of those loyal fans, and I had expectations. Then when “Sgt. Pepper’s” came out, it all made sense why they’d come off the road. I was utterly amazed at what the Beatles had gotten into. It set a precedent in music (that created) so much of a standard, and so much freedom, for other players.

* Pink Floyd, “A Momentary Lapse of Reason”: I like Pink Floyd, period. What I like about this is the growth. They seem so relaxed and matured. I just see it as a very sincere and honest album. I see self-honesty and maturity in their playing, and that gives me hope, because I try to strive for that in my music, too. I’ve worn out one cassette of it, and I’m on the second one now.

* Peter Gabriel, “Shaking the Tree”: I get a lot of hope from Peter Gabriel, too. This album is a compilation, and I play it nearly every day. His sound is very original, extremely fresh. I like a lot of the African rhythms, I like a lot of his political views, and I respond to his vulnerability. He shares his pain right up front.

* Buddy Rich, “Caravan”: It’s an album I listened to when I was around 17 years old. I was at a place in my percussion development where I could listen to it and be very influenced by it. He was using some real basic, simple drumming, and that made it reachable. I didn’t try to emulate Buddy Rich--I ain’t no Buddy Rich, I’m Bill Ward--but I really connected with Buddy and his style, so I made up my version of what he was doing, which later ended up on Black Sabbath albums. It’s a fantasy of mine that one day I’d like to put together a big band.

* Traffic, “John Barleycorn Must Die”: This was an album Ozzy (Osbourne) and I played all the time. On our first or second American tour, whenever we were partying or anything, Ozzy or I would say, “Shall we listen to it?” And we all knew that we were talking about “John Barleycorn Must Die.” It was an extremely progressive album. The era of the ‘60s had gone, and a new thing was going on. These guys were carrying on, growing and doing what they had to do. They didn’t seem to care particularly whether they were in the limelight.