Ethan Miller, Getty Images We’d like to send out a very happy 50th birthday today (Oct. 3) to legendary Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee . Having manned the kit for Crue since 1981, Tommy Lee has been a crucial part of rock and metal’s musical fabric for over three decades. Known for his infamous exploits both on and offstage, we celebrate the unique life of Tommy Lee. Motley Crue perhaps set the benchmark for pure debauchery during the ’80s hair metal era. Along with his contributions to Motley Crue’s music, Lee added to the band’s reputation of consuming superhuman amounts of alcohol and drugs, escapades with an immeasurable amount of women, constantly adding new ink to their bodies and having numerous run-ins with the law. Crue dominated the airwaves during the ’80s with tracks such as ‘Girls, Girls, Girls,’ ‘Dr. Feelgood,’ ‘Kickstart My Heart,’ ‘Shout at the Devil’ and many more. After 18 years of drumming for Motley Crue, Tommy Lee left the band in 1999 to pursue other interests. Lee went on the build a career with Methods of Mayhem, along with two solo records, an album with supergroup Rock Star Supernova and a number of guest appearances with Nine Inch Nails , Rob Zombie and more. But thankfully, Lee rejoined the Crue in 2004 and has been rocking out with them since. Tommy Lee is one of the world’s most entertaining live drummers, with stunt-like feats constantly being performed by the percussionist. Along with his 360 degree spinning drum contraption and flying around stadiums to hidden percussion kits, Lee now brings his drum rollercoaster to Crue performances, upping the insanity level to a new high. We wish Tommy Lee a very happy 50th birthday, as does his bandmate Nikki Sixx in the tweet below: HAPPY B DAY to my brother @ mrtommyland .I love you. — Nikki Sixx (@NikkiSixx) October 3, 2012 Tommy himself tweeted out to all his well-wishers, with a big thank you: HOLY F@cking B-DAY WISHES!! My laptop’s smokin! Thank you n I love you guys… #rage — TOMMY LEE (@MrTommyLand) October 3, 2012 Check out Lee’s awesome live drum solo in the following video, which features the insane drum roller coaster. Then, click below that to see Ultimate Classic Rock’s list of the Top 10 Motley Crue Songs. Tommy Lee Rollercoaster Drum Solo [button href=”http://ultimateclassicrock.com/motley-crue-songs/” title=”Next: Top 10 Motley Crue Songs” align=”center”]