Episode #19- Steve Rucker

Steve Rucker is a drummer who has played and recorded with many artists. His biggest and most well-known act was with the Bee Gees. He appeared on The Tonight Show, Late Night With David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction and a Royal Variety Performance. Rucker appears on the Bee Gees' One Night Only recording and DVD. He is drumset studies director of the Frost School Of Music. 

Mr. Rucker has also performed/recorded with:

• Michael Jackson
• Jaco Pastorius
• Johnny Cash
• Ben Vereen
• Freda Payne
• Joe Sample
• Bo Diddley
• Paquito D’Rivera
• David Liebman
• Steve Khan

He received his bachelor’s degree in Studio Music and Jazz from the University of Miami in 1979 and was awarded his Master’s Degree in Jazz Performance in 1983.

Mr. Rucker got his start in Charlotte, North Carolina, performing locally and touring with the Funk/R&B group “Sugarcreek.”  During this period he became the musical arranger for this seven-piece horn band, and wrote and recorded their first single, "Runnin' Out Of Time".  He moved to South Florida in 1976, and performed and recorded steadily with a number of jazz, Latin, funk and fusion groups.  He was twice been voted “Best Jazz Performer” and “Most Versatile Artist” in South Florida polls.  

In the early 1980s, Mr. Rucker was a member of the Ross-Levine band, a groundbreaking jazz-fusion group. In addition to numerous appearances with them, he recorded the albums “That Summer Something” and “Humidity,” which featured Pat Metheny and Hiram Bullock.

While a member of Randy Bernsen’s Ocean Sound Band, he recorded tracks on “Paradise Citizens” and “Calling Me Back Home,” and performed many concerts internationally, including a billing with Miles Davis.  He also recorded “Blues Hat Dances 'Round Midnight” with Bernsen, and continues to perform with him.

In 1990, Mr. Rucker recorded “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me” with Gloria Estefan.  For many years, he performed internationally with Ben Vereen, and appeared with Mr. Vereen with the Atlanta Symphony and the Dallas Symphony.

In 2015, Mr. Rucker published “Exercises in African-American Funk” with former student Jonathan Joseph.  The book has garnered much positive critical acclaim, and has spawned considerable interest in the application of African rhythms to the funk genre.