1968 Rock Hit Named Among Greatest Drum Solos of All Time - It Was Sampled by Kanye West
Michael Giles helped form King Crimson and delivered its first two albums before moving on to fuel his self-expression.His work on 21st Century Schizoid Man was listed by Far Out Magazine as one of the 10 best drum solos of all time."Containing Duke Ellington-esque free jazz, you immediately understand why King Crimson are hailed as the definitive prog-rock band by some camps," Far Out Magazine wrote. "Giles’ drumming shifts between time signatures and tempos, and it clearly marks him out as one of the most underrated drummers of all time.""The instrumental middle section of the song, known as ‘Mirrors’, is where he really takes off. As if we had taken a whole load of speed, he definitively takes the song down its 'schizoid' route.Michael Giles Left King Crimson to Explore New IdeasGiles eventually left King Crimson in 1970, a move he says was inspired by needing to explore and develop new ideas."I did consider continuing to develop so-called ‘prog rock’ drumming and soonly decided to stop considering and say 'enough is enough,'" he told The Strange Brew."I would have needed to join another prog band and be on the road, aargh, in order to continue developing prog drums, whatever they are, but I needed to explore and develop new ideas for a much more expansive approach to playing drums and percussion into being equal and integral to my own compositions."Michael Giles Influenced the Next Generation - And Kanye WestIconic Rush drummer Neil Peart listed Giles as a "very important" influence to his career."Soon there were other adventurous and accomplished rock drummers, like John Bonham, Michael Giles (the first drummer with King Crimson and a very important influence on me), Bill Bruford with Yes, his replacement Alan White, Phil Collins with Genesis, and certainly Billy Cobham and Steve Gadd, who must have influenced every drummer in those days," Peart revealed.The song was later sampled by Kanye West on Power, which eventually resulted in Universal Music Group settling a lawsuit from Declan Colgan Music Ltd, which owned rights to the song and received royalties from the 2010 hit.Related: 1966 Rock Hit Named Among Greatest Drum Solos of All TimeThis story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
