At the World Fusion Jazz performance at the 2022 Taipei Jazz Festival, Taiwan’s top drummer, Rich Huang, wielded his drumsticks, sometimes demonstrating virtuoso technique and sometimes urgently attacking the drum kit. He deftly interacted with percussionist Alex Wu and drummer Chen Wen-wei—who both studied under Huang—as they performed an extremely demanding percussion trio work. The overlapping of drum sounds was seamless and moving, transforming a rainy late afternoon into a passionate experience.

Coming off stage, Huang reveals that he slept only four hours the previous night. Listless off the stage, he was energized as soon as he stepped onto it. Born to perform and living for the drums, Huang has mastered all kinds of musical styles and can play them extemporaneously with great ­dynamism.

Rich Huang playing in a recording studio in the 1980s (above right), and performing on stage in the folk music era of the 1990s

The drummer who can play anything

At age 14 Huang started out as an errand boy for a band in a dance hall. He took the opportunity to observe what he could on the sly, and taught himself to play the drums and piano. Because he had learned guitar in primary school, he could read sheet music, and utilizing his innate musical sense and rhythm, he mastered the drums without a teacher. In 1967, at age 17, he got the opportunity to be the drummer in a band playing in the restaurant of a hotel in Penghu, and thus entered the world of professional drumming.

In 1969 Huang, who already had a foundation in jazz, began working as a drummer at the US military club at the Ching Chuan Kang airbase in Tai­chung. That was right in the middle of the Vietnam War, and American service personnel would come to Taiwan for rest and recreation. The club invited American artists who came to entertain the troops in the Philippines, Okinawa, and Taiwan to perform there, and they introduced popular country and rock music from the US into Taiwanese society.

Local singers who sang at the US military club in those days included Martha Huang, known as Taiwan’s female Elvis Presley; Su Rui, with her strident and powerful voice; and Tracy Huang, with her gentle and lovely vocals, who all became popular singers of the “genuine talent school” in the 1980s.

When Rich Huang played drums in the nightclub of the Yuanshuai Hotel, he met the well-known composer Weng Ching-hsi, who thought that Huang’s drumming was very progressive. Weng hired him away from the hotel to join the house band at Taiwan Television Enterprise (TTV).

The golden age of popular music

“If I hadn’t been discovered by Weng Ching-hsi, I never would have become what I am today.” The first disc Huang ever played on was “When the Grapes Are Ripe,” which Weng wrote for songstress Chen Lan-li.

Huang stayed with Weng, who was conductor of the TTV orchestra, and took part in the recording of countless variety shows in the 1970s, including Stars Gathering and Wu Deng Jiang (“Five Light Prize”). During that ­period when TV was transitioning from black and white to color, Taiwan’s economy was taking off, and society was becoming more liberal, these shows not only served as a major pastime for ordinary people, they also gave shape to the first golden age of Taiwan pop music.

In the history of television in Taiwan, with the exception of the news on the various channels, Wu Deng Jiang is the longest running program. Huang was responsible for drumming as the lights went on to indicate the scores of competitors on the show. “I got really good at drum rolls thanks to this program.” Among the people who became famous on the show were Li Pei-jing, who first became popular with the song “I Love the Moon,” and Taiwan’s empress of song A-Mei, who defeated all her challengers to become the show’s 73rd “five lights star.”

A group photo taken in 1983 of musicians including singer Su Rui (center, in white slacks) and drummer Rich Huang (fourth from left).

Songs in the collective memory

After Rich Huang left TTV, he got many gigs doing session work for recording studios.

Having worked in recording studios for over 40 years, when we ask Huang which singers he has worked with, he replies that it would be easier to tell us which singers he has not worked with. Laughing heartily, he says: “I’ve worked with probably 90% of the singers out there, which you can see by looking at my Wikipedia page.”

Each singer would typically put out two to three albums a year, each with ten to 20 songs, while some more prolific artists, such as Yu Tien and Yeh Hsien-hsiu, have come out with more than 30 albums each. Also, many singers have rerecorded their work as technology has changed from vinyl to cassette tapes to compact discs and laser discs, while many have also covered works previously recorded by others. This is how Huang has been able to achieve the astounding feat of playing on an average of 2,000 recordings a year, or a total of 100,000 over his career.

Having backed up so many singers, Huang says that his favorite stars have been Fong Fei-fei and ­Louise Tsuei. Huang remarks, “Among the old Mandarin songs that I’ve played on, the song ‘Ride the Wind and Waves,’ which Louise Tsuei released in 1976, was one of the pioneering tunes to use a funk beat.” As he talks, Huang sits down at a drum kit and demonstrates a funk groove. He emphasizes that drummers must be able to multitask, thinking and observing as they play.

Fong Fei-fei’s unique voice and musical style make her one of the most recognizable singers in the Mandarin and Taiwanese-language music scenes. “I was the drummer for the song ‘Maple Leaf Love.’ Because its composer Lo Ming-tao was skilled at writing very odd tunes, there were four eighth notes to each beat. During the intro I added the heavy sound of the floor tom—boom, boom, boom, boom—which was also something I was very adept at,” says Huang. 

With the rise of digital music platforms, the record market has withered, and live events from small autograph-­and-­singing sessions to large-scale concerts have become important venues for pop music. Huang, who has a wealth of live performance experience, has the ability to convey the sensibility of slow songs at concerts. This is why the singer Chiang Yu-heng, for example, who has sung enduring songs like “Looking Back Again” and “Restless Heart,” has worked with Huang on over 20 albums, more than 200 songs, and more than 70 concerts. The two have great chemistry on stage and their friendship of 30 years remains strong.

A performance at the Breeze Music Festival at the Kaohsiung Music Center in 2022.

Rich Huang sets up his drum kit in a unique way and uses diverse hand movements to produce a special sound.

Rich Huang performs with percussionist Alex Wu at the 2022 World Music Festival. (photo by Kent Chuang)

Creating his own unique rhythm

“For me, music is sociology,” says Huang. “As musical styles evolve, the characteristics of the music that is played also change.”

Huang has continually adjusted his role as a musician. In 2000 he became the first pop music performer to have a solo concert at the National Concert Hall, which he did as a “jazz drum solo artist.” In 2002 Huang set up the jazz band Rich Huang & Friends, which besides releasing four albums of jazz music has performed on stage at jazz festivals in Taipei and Taichung, including at the National Theater and Concert Hall, while also promoting jazz music education. With his versatile skills, Huang has performed with Western symphony orchestras and traditional Chinese orchestras, playing with them in perfect harmony as his rhythms provided the beat to drive the music forward.

“Jazz music is about everyone playing together. But for me, right now, I want every performance to throw off sparks.” At age 72 Huang is still riding the musical waves, as he prepares to record his latest personal ­album. 

Rich Huang feels that drumming is happiness, and the point is to make listeners feel happy too.