Fred Below

Fred Below was born in Chicago on September 16, 1926. Below played drums in high school and went on to study percussion at the Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion. Primarily a jazz drummer at the time, he played bebop and joined the Army as part of the 427th Army Band. After the service, he returned to Chicago in 1951 to find that blues gigs were what was happening. Jazz was in a lull. Then Muddy Waters drummer Elgin Evans introduced Below to a group called the Three Aces -- Junior Wells (vocals, harp), Louis Myers (guitar), and Dave Myers (bass) -- who needed a drummer. As a ...