Jazz-fusion drummer and former Journey [ tickets ] member Steve Smith was recently selected by Modern Drummer magazine readers as one of the "Top 25 Drummers of All Time," a list that also includes the likes of Tony Williams, Gene Krupa, Max Roach and Buddy Rich.

"I'm thrilled," Smith said of the honor. "It's very rewarding to be getting some recognition for the work that I've been doing all these years. I know there are many great drummers who spent their whole lives playing and making important contributions to the development of music, and have gotten very little or no acclaim."

In recent years, Smith has kept busy touring and recording with his seminal fusion group Vital Information [ tickets ], supporting the album "Live Around the World: The Where We Come From Tour 1998-99" and laying the groundwork for the upcoming studio effort "Show 'Em Where You Live." Also recognized as a fervent ambassador of the drums in American music, Smith is involved in a project with Hudson Music detailing the history of the instrument in early rock 'n' roll.

"I've been spending some time every day researching the history of rock 'n' roll drumming for [the] new video series 'Legends of Rock Drumming,'" Smith explained. "Paul Siegal and Rob Wallis, along with their longtime collaborator Bruce Klauber and myself, have been working on 'Vol.1 Roots Of Rock Drumming 1945-1964.'

"This is a very interesting project that has me reading about and listening to the music of Louis Jordan, Roy Brown, Wynonie Harris, Big Joe Turner, as well as Fats Domino, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, the Crickets, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bo Diddley, to name a few. There are so many great drummers who played with these and many other artists, but received no credit. In fact, it's been very difficult to find out any information at all about some of these drummers. We plan on talking about and including film clips of the drummers who played with these artists--where there are clips available--as well as trying to interview as many of the players as we can. So far, we've videotaped some great interviews with two of the masters, Earl Palmer and Hal Blaine."

While revered in the drumming and musician communities, many remember Smith as the rhythmic anchor of the popular San Francisco-based rock group Journey [ tickets ], which will be featured on a VH1 "Behind the Music" special on February 18th.

In 1972, the Massachusetts native enrolled at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, after which he performed with the Lin Biviano Big Band, Buddy DeFranco, Jean Luc Ponty, and Ronnie Montrose before joining Journey. After several multi-platinum albums, including "Escape" and "Frontiers," Smith left the group in 1985 to focus his attention on jazz and session work with the likes of Bryan Adams, Savage Garden and Mariah Carey. He currently resides in Northern California.