Date of birth: 23 June 1919
Date of death: 4 July 2009
Website:

James Forbes Chapin was born in New York City, son of the teacher and writer Abigail Forbes Chapin and the painter and illustrator James Ormsbee Chapin. He began playing the drums at age 18 after being inspired by legendary drummer Gene Krupa. In 1948, he published his first drum instruction book, Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer. From the 1940s through the 1960s, he performed and toured with several big-band era bands, including Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, Mike Riley, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey and Tony Pastor. He also occasionally performed with his sons, Tom, Steve, Harry Chapin. In addition to playing and writing instruction manual, he taught drumming, specifically the moeller method of drumming, to many other musicians.

In 1994, Chapin received the American Eagle Award presented by the National Music Council in Washington, and a lifetime achievement award from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 1995, he was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame.

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