In collaboration with the Slingerland drum- and Zildjian cymbal-manufacturers, he became a major force in defining the standard band-drummer's kit.

[4] Upon his death, The New York Times labeled Krupa a "revolutionary" known for "frenzied, flashy" drumming, with his work having generated a significant musical legacy that started "in jazz and has continued on through the rock era".

[citation needed] The Playboys were the house band at the Golden Pumpkin nightclub in Chicago and toured throughout the eastern and central United States.

Krupa's influences during this time included Father Ildefonse Rapp and Roy Knapp (both teachers of his), and drummers Tubby Hall, Zutty Singleton and Baby Dodds.

[7] But conflict with Goodman prompted him to leave the group and form his own orchestra shortly after the Carnegie Hall concert in January 1938.

[1] He appeared in the 1941 film Ball of Fire, in which he and his band performed an extended version of the hit "Drum Boogie" (composed by Krupa and Roy Eldridge), sung by Martha Tilton and lip-synced by Barbara Stanwyck.

In 1943, Krupa was arrested on a falsified marijuana (cannabis) drug charge;[2][8][9] this resulted in a short jail sentence, and the breakup of his orchestra.

In 1951, Krupa cut down the size of his band to a ten-piece for a short while and from 1952 on he led trios, then quartets, often with Charlie Ventura then Eddie Shu on tenor sax, clarinet, and harmonica.

[6] During the 1950s and 1960s, Krupa often played at the Metropole near Times Square in Manhattan and by 1956 his recordings were showcased on national radio networks by Ben Selvin within the RCA Thesaurus transcriptions library.

[10] He continued to perform in famous clubs in the 1960s, including the Showboat Lounge in northwest Washington, D.C. With peer Cozy Cole, Gene started a music school in 1954 that carried on into the 1960s.

His compositions which he wrote or co-wrote included "Some Like It Hot" in 1939, "Drum Boogie", "Boogie Blues", his theme song "Apurksody", "Ball of Fire", "Disc Jockey Jump" with Gerry Mulligan, "Wire Brush Stomp", "Hippdeebip", "Krupa's Wail", "Swing is Here", "Quiet and Roll 'Em" with Sam Donahue, "Bolero at the Savoy", "Murdy Purdy", and "How 'Bout That Mess".

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.

[14] Roy Knapp affirmed: "There is not a professional drummer, percussionist or other instrumentalist who does not in some way owe something and should be grateful to Gene Krupa for his imaginative and creative contributions in the modern drum techniques and styles in performance that we are using today".

[15] Music critics such as Charles Waring have remarked that Krupa's methods of performing, particularly his flamboyant charisma and use of solos, evolved into the approach taken by rock drummers such as John Bonham, Bill Ward[17] and Keith Moon.

[18] Ian Paice[19] and Carl Palmer[20] claimed they started to play the drums at early age after listening to Krupa.