House of Drumming.com

a little more advanced but...

aurora - jing chi
pandas dream - dwb

Jacobs Ladder by Rush. might be a tad advanced but it's a crowd pleaser. Rush doesn't even play this song live

Eye Of The Tiger is quarter notes on the bass drum, 2&4 on the snare. There's a couple of simple fills and the cymbal chokes... that's it.

I'd like to add....

The JB's "Same Beat"

Miles "Freddie Freeloader"

John Mayer's"I dont trust myself with loving you"

Sting "If I ever lose my faith"

Aretha "rock Steady"

Paul Simon "Kodachrome"

Sly "thank for lettinmebemicelfagin"

Nod Your Head - Will Smith
Big Ship - Feddie McGregor (and most Sly+Robbie Rockers stuff is GREAT because the rhythm has those nice big holes for the Bass and Snare)
Purple Rain - Prince (the entire album, really)
Life Is Good - Los Lobos (From Collossal Head, which has some really awesome drum parts)

Can you post this list when you finish with it?

Queen - Another one bites the dust
The Police - Canary in a coalmine

Pink Floyd: Us and Them

Warren Zevon: Johnny Strikes up the Band

wallflowers: One Headlight

Lots of Huey Lewis tracks, those are actually fun to play along to.

I practice lot to stuff like this.

I'll check my playlists at home. I know a few others.

Great suggestions guys. I actually used some of these with students today. Billie Jean STILL gets the best reaction though its a bit quick for some beginners. Interesting that most students know immediately what tune just from the first couple of measures (just the drum groove.)

I may have to start a new list for quarter notes on hi hat BD 1&3, SD 2&4

...and also for sixteenths on the Hi Hat.

I'm deliberately looking for stuff with the simplest BD/SD patterns so that they are totally beginner friendly!

Keep 'em coming. Thanks guys

Another bonus is that when teaching the iPod generation they can download the individual tunes for next to nothing on itunes or similar and it actually encourages kids to listen to music (which incredibly some of them don't seem to really do.)

Don Henley-Dirty Laundry (played by Jeff Porcaro)
Metallica-Enter Sandman