International Jazz Banjo Newsletter

The name of Ludwig is synonymous with the manufacture of drums, and Ludwig instruments have been played by generations of drummers. William F. Ludwig II's father was the founder of the drum-making dynasty, but it was William junior's marketing expertise that established the company as a world leader.
In 1886, his grandfather Henry Ludwig had left Germany and settled in America. He taught and played trombone, but encouraged his son William to learn a different instrument as he considered that good teeth were needed for the trombone and that the dental care at the time was poor. William F. Ludwig I took up the drums and the manufacture of drum-kits became his passion. His wife, Elsa, a singer with the Chicago Grand Opera Company, retired when their son William was born in 1916.
William F. Ludwig I formed Ludwig & Ludwig in 1910, in partnership with his brother Theobald (who would die of pneumonia in 1918). He wanted William II to become a drummer and forced him to practise incessantly. The boy studied at the Culver Military Academy and did Saturday work at his father's factory. But in 1928, after the family went to see the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer, they drove home in silence. Finally, William senior said, "This is the end." Live music would no longer be required at cinemas and he thought that hundreds of drummers would become unemployed. After the stock market crash the following year, he sold Ludwig & Ludwig to an Indiana drum company, C.G. Conn.
In 1935, William F. Ludwig II was a lead player in the International Marimba Symphony Orchestra which came to the UK for the festivities surrounding the 25th anniversary of King George V's accession. However, the Musicians' Union objected and the orchestra was not permitted to play. They could not play in Germany because one of the marimba players was Jewish, but they did play in France. After returning home and playing in Carnegie Hall, they disbanded.
William junior attended the University of Illinois while his father worked at a new business, the William F. Ludwig Drum Company, which became the WFL Drum Company when Conn objected to Ludwig using his own name. In 1938 William II started working full-time for WFL on $10 a week. A leading jazz drummer, Gene Krupa, was being sponsored by Slingerland drums with great commercial success, and William I asked his son to obtain similar deals for WFL. Krupa was willing to move for $35,000, but as WFL's most expensive drum was only $65, they realised that they would have to sell a lot of drums to make it viable. Instead, William II enlisted Ray Bauduc from Bob Crosby's Dixieland band, a delightful man who participated in drum clinics to help young players.
William II was drafted in 1942 and in the forces organised drum and bugle corps and taught hundreds of musicians. On returning to work, in 1949 he persuaded Buddy Rich to endorse WFL drums, but the prickly Rich was prone to giving drums to his friends and expecting replacements. He would call William F. Ludwig II for a new set and say, "You got that, birdbrain?" He refused to turn up for drum clinics or, if he did, would play for a few seconds and tell the audience to see his show that night. For all that, Rich achieved a great sound on WFL drums and, with the company's help, pioneered smaller bass drums, going away from the standard 28 inches.
In 1954 William F. Ludwig II met a record retailer, Maggie Parker; they were married within two months and Ludwig adopted her daughter, Brooke. In 1955 they had a son, William F. Ludwig III, who became known as "B3". Possibly the Ludwigs were not the best people to have as next-door neighbours, as B3 recalled that "there was always drumming in the back yard, plus my father was a big civil war buff who had three cannons. We would get the drums out on 4 July, play some marches and then blow off the cannons."
In 1955 and behind his father's back, William II bought back the Ludwig name for $90,000. It was an excellent move and he led the company into prosperity. One key sponsorship was of Joe Morello from the Dave Brubeck Quartet. By sheer good fortune, Ringo Starr started playing Ludwig drums and in 1964, when the Beatles played Chicago, Ludwig presented Starr with a gold-plated snare-drum by way of thanks. Many rock drummers played and endorsed Ludwig drums, including John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Alan White of Yes and Ginger Baker from Cream.
After the death in 1973 of William F. Ludwig I, the company continued independently until 1981.

Spencer Leigh

William Frederick Ludwig II, drum manufacturer: born Chicago, Illinois 13 September 1916; married 1954 Maggie Parker (died 2002; one son, one adopted daughter); died Chicago 22 March 2008