PTDI: Pardon the Divine Interruption

I watched "The Gene Krupa Story" the other night, the 1959 biopic about the legendary big brand drummer, portrayed with wild abandon by the late Sal Mineo. I knew about Krupa the natural drummer. I didn't know about Krupa the seminary student.

Krupa once said there are two kinds of drummers: those who learn to play and those who are born to play. "When I speak of natural drummers," Krupa told Metronome Magazine in 1956, "I'm talking about guys who are playing with the talent God gave 'em."

Turns out, Krupa's devoutly Catholic mother and father thought God had given him another gift. They wanted him to be a priest. Young Krupa actually went to seminary for a year, hoping to fulfill their wish for him. Fortunately for music lovers everywhere, Krupa realized his true vocation was behind a drum set, not an altar.

Fredric Buechner wrote that your vocation is where "your deep gladness meets the world's deep need." Watch, listen and enjoy Krupa's deep gladness.

By

David Waters

 |  August 1, 2008; 2:47 PM ET  |  Category:  Under God
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