They were literally drawn from the stage over to Billy's corner in the orchestra pit! Something that happens once in a hundred years! He was the epitome of a snare drum player. When he did this, it caught the attention of the entire audience.
With the Rockettes on stage, Billy did one of those great sforzando rolls that was so magnificent. The first night I used that drum Tommy Dorsey and all the guys in the band turned around and said "Wow, what's that you're playing on?" The drum sounded that good! I can recall one time going to hear Billy at Radio City and he did something I never saw a drummer do and probably will never see again. Billy also made me a snare drum when I was with the Dorsey band. ".Billy was the real master and leading exponent of the finger technique. When he played a roll, you couldn't tell if it was a roll or if he had only one stick on the drum.the actual playing was done more from a forearm and wrist motion rather than the whole arm.he built a great snare drum that I owned at one time. Every stroke was like an arrow.without the slightest bit of motion he could almost shatter your eardrum. I used to listen to him at Radio City.I used to sit in the last seat in the last row of the balcony and listen to him articulate off the snare drum. "…Billy Gladstone's concept was totally legitimate. And through his genius his legend lives on.