So now my young students, I just tell them, you know, if you're going to learn one lesson, don't get married.

This is Joe Wong. Welcome to the Trap Set, where each week we explore the lives of drummers.

I want to play something for you.

I want to play something for you. You're hearing That you ever say

That's the way it was

Happen so naturally Didn't I know it was love You're hearing Ain't Nobody by J.R. Robinson on drums.

A native of Iowa, JR moved to Los Angeles in 1978. Robinson cuts an imposing presence behind the kit, and his extraordinary command

of time, crisp tone, and gift for developing rhythmic hooks all contributed to his status

as one of the most in-demand session drummers of his generation.

Now over four decades into his career, JR is perhaps the most recorded drummer of all time.

His discography is rife with error-defining hits with artists including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Barbara Streisand, Eric Clapton, Madonna, Stevie Winwood, and Daft Punk. And now my conversation with one of the all-time greats, John J.R. Robinson. I started playing piano when I was five.

And...

Was that a choice?

Dad wanted me to play piano.

And I don't blame him.

And I made all three of my boys do the same thing.

They probably hated me just as much as I hated him for it.

Because it was at age five, you still don't necessarily have your mathematical skills together to play piano.

And so, I mean, I could see him breathing over me and like, you know,

me screwing up.

And, you know, we always went to church and sang in church.

And he was always in the chorus.

...