Why Carmine Appice turned down Black Sabbath
Carmine Appice began a love affair with drums at a young age. His early years were steeped in dedication to his craft, honing his skills and infusing his passion into every beat. His breakout moment arrived when he joined Vanilla Fudge in the mid-1960s, and the band’s innovative sound, characterised by extended, soulful covers of popular songs, solidified Appice’s reputation as a drummer to watch.
Appice’s drumming is driven by an unwavering surge of vitality that established a benchmark for the rawer strains of rock following the ’60s, spanning genres like metal and punk. Demonstrating the widespread influence of his artistry, Appice’s contributions are acknowledged to have influenced some of the most vigorous contemporary beats.
Among his many standout performances, his captivating drumming on Vanilla Fudge’s 1967 rendition of The Supreme’s ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ stands as a compelling contender for his finest work. “When I first started playing drums, rock music was very basic, elementary,” Appice told Forbes in 2021. “The only music with drums that inspired me was ‘Wipe Out,’ Sandy Nelson’s ‘Let There Be Drums’ and ‘Teen Beat,’ and Cozy Cole’s ‘Topsy II’ – what I would call drum singles.”
He added: “There were no great rock drummers yet. The really great drummers then were more jazz: Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Max Roach, Joe Morello. So those are the guys I followed.”
Although widely hailed as a drumming icon in his own right, Appice once turned down an invitation to join Black Sabbath during the 1980s. It was a bold decision, considering the legacy the band went on to achieve after the fact — but Appice seemed to have his reasons. Despite being approached to replace Bill Ward in Sabbath, Appice declined the offer due to prior commitments.
As he explained to Bravewords: “They wanted me for the gig, but at the time, I was playing with Rod [Stewart], and we were playing 20,000-seat gigs. So, my publicist who worked for Warner Brothers, which was the label Sabbath was on, said to me, ‘Carmine, Sabbath is looking for a drummer’.”
He added: “Would you consider it?’ But at the time, Sabbath was not doing well, and they couldn’t even sell out one night at the same places Rod was selling out six nights at. So, for me, Black Sabbath was a much smaller gig. And with Rod, I had a percentage of the take, so that was good for me, too.”
Continuing, Appice stated: “So, at that point, I felt like Sabbath wasn’t a good gig for me, and I told my publicist I wasn’t interested. Now, from there, they listened to my brother’s album he did with Rick Derringer, and they loved his sound.”
Interestingly, Vinny Appice, Carmine’s brother, eventually joined Sabbath alongside Ronnie James Dio, contributing to albums such as The Mob Rules. Despite not collaborating with Sabbath, Appice later teamed up with Ozzy Osbourne, contributing to some of Osbourne’s initial solo records and taking over from the original drummer, Tommy Aldridge.
