Born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 4, 1929,[1] of Russian-Jewish[2] ancestry, Drucker began clarinet studies at age ten with Leon Russianoff, and remained his student for five years.
Although Drucker entered the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 15, he left after one year when he was recruited by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
He gave the first performances of clarinet concertos by John Corigliano and William Bolcom, both of these commissions for the New York Philharmonic.
[11] Drucker was highly regarded for his musicianship and his longevity of service with the New York Philharmonic, totaling 10,200 concerts,[3] such as expressed by Gustavo Dudamel in November 2007: "He's a legend.
[14] On June 4, 2009, Drucker was awarded a Guinness World Record for longest career as a clarinetist after his performance of Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto with the orchestra.
[19][20] They have two children, Leon, who is the double bassist for The Stray Cats under the stage name of "Lee Rocker",[21] and Rosanne, an alternative-country singer–songwriter.