Big Time

"Big Time" is a song by English rock musician Peter Gabriel from his fifth studio album So (1986). It was his second top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at no. 8. Recording The song underwent many permutations before being finalized: Jerry Marotta remembers an early version of "Big Time", which he described as more intense and so far out from the released version that it "would not have been a hit." The song's bass guitar part is unique in that backing bassist Tony Levin and drummer Marotta teamed up to record it. Levin handled the fingerings while Marotta hit the strings with his drumsticks, resulting in a percussive sound; it was inspired by a technique developed by Gene Krupa in the 1940s or early 1950s. Inspired by this sound, Levin later invented funk fingers, small drumstick ends that could be attached to the fingertips in order to reproduce it during live performances. The drum parts were a considerable challenge to record, with Marotta, Manu Katché and Stewart Copeland each playing a take over a click track from the LinnDrum. Gabriel liked Copeland's drum take but felt that it did not quite lock in rhythmically. He said, "I love Stewart's playing. He's not the world's best timekeeper, as he would be first to admit, but he can drive a track like very few others; it's always ahead of the beat, sits right up and forward, and his kit always sounds very alive."