Gene Krupa in Calumet City, Illinois. In the 1930s, Krupa became the first endorser of Slingerland drums. At Krupa's urging, Slingerland developed tom-toms with tuneable top and bottom heads, which immediately became important elements of virtually every drummer's setup. Krupa developed and popularized many of the cymbal techniques that became standards. His collaboration with Avedis Zildjian developed the modern hi-hat cymbals and standardized the names and uses of the ride cymbal, crash cymbal, splash cymbal. He is also credited with helping to formulate the modern drum set, being one of the first jazz drummers (for that recording studio) to use a bass
The Gene Krupa Story success; he throws wild parties in his ostentatious home, embarks on a downward spiral of alcohol abuse and cheating on Ethel, and alienates Eddie. Ethel leaves him. A female singer urges marijuana cigarettes on him, as she slurs her words and behaves clearly under-the-influence. Gene achieves greatness leading his own ensemble, but he develops a crippling psychological addiction to marijuana. A few times, while performing, he drops his sticks and his timing is off, which he later does blame on the illegal substance. At the peak of his career, Krupa is busted on dope charges after marijuana cigarettes in envelopes