Bill Ward’s Slingerland 20″ Copper Floor Tom Used Wth Black Sabbath In The 1970s And Featured At Cal Jam

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This is Bill Ward’s famous early 1970s Slingerland 20″ copper over wood floor tom, used with Black Sabbath on tour and in the studio in the 1970s. The floor tom is famously known for its use at California Jam (Cal Jam) in Ontario, California, on April 6, 1974, in front of a crowd of over 250,000 people. Bill used this floor tom with Black Sabbath and it can be seen in numerous photographs and videos from the period.

Bill later gave this floor tom along with many other drums and accessories he had used with Black Sabbath, to his friend Malcolm Cope, drummer for Quartz. Malcolm had suffered an equipment accident while performing at The Music Machine in London in 1977. After hearing about the accident, Bill arranged to help Malcolm by giving him many of his old Black Sabbath drums and accessories. These included the 20″ Slingerland copper floor tom, 26″ Hayman bass drum, cymbal stands, Ghost bass drum pedals, additional drum accessories, and drum cases. The orignal Slingerland floor tom legs were also included.

This copper over wood floor tom is a significant piece of Black Sabbath history, having been extensively used by Bill Ward during Black Sabbath’s early touring and recording years. The drum features a distinctive Black Sabbath Vol. 4 sticker on one side, along with a Frank’s Drum Shop sticker below the Slingerland badge. Frank’s Drum Shop was located in Chicago, Illinois..

This floor tom was also featured in the Home of Metal: Black Sabbath – 50 Years exhibition, held at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in Birmingham, England, from June 26 through September 29, 2019.  Not For Sale.