Where does Funky Drummer come from?
James Brown told his drummer not to solo, just keep what he had. Hip-hop sampled those eight bars for decades.
Funky Drummer · James Brown, 1970
Where it came from
- Was played by Clyde Stubblefield (drummer, James Brown band). Stubblefield improvised the eight-bar break on James Brown's orders. With no songwriter credit, he got almost nothing from the samples. Prince paid his chemotherapy bills, reported as $80,000 to $90,000. Source: Wikipedia: Funky Drummer, Wikipedia: Clyde Stubblefield, Rolling Stone
What it became
- Compiled on In the Jungle Groove (James Brown, 1986). No album release until the 1986 compilation In the Jungle Groove. Source: Wikipedia: Funky Drummer
- Sampled by South Bronx (Boogie Down Productions, 1986). One of three 1986 tracks whose use of the break helped popularize sampling. Source: Wikipedia: Funky Drummer, Wikipedia: South Bronx (song)
- Sampled by Eric B. Is President (Eric B. & Rakim, 1986). One of three 1986 tracks whose use of the break helped popularize sampling. Source: Wikipedia: Funky Drummer
- Sampled by It's a Demo (Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, 1986). One of three 1986 tracks whose use of the break helped popularize sampling. Source: Wikipedia: Funky Drummer
- Sampled by Fight the Power (Public Enemy, 1989). Only the break's first two eighth notes appear, buried under other samples. Chuck D name-checks "the funky drummer". Source: Wikipedia: Fight the Power (Public Enemy song), Wikipedia: Funky Drummer
- Sampled by Freedom! '90 (George Michael, 1990). The backing beat is a Funky Drummer sample. Source: Wikipedia: Freedom! '90, Wikipedia: Funky Drummer
- Sampled by Mama Said Knock You Out (LL Cool J, 1990). Samples "Funky Drummer". Source: Wikipedia: Mama Said Knock You Out (song), Wikipedia: Funky Drummer
- Sampled by The Powerpuff Girls theme (Cartoon Network, 1998). The opening theme uses a sped-up sample of Stubblefield's break. Source: Wikipedia: The Powerpuff Girls, Wikipedia: Funky Drummer, Treble
- Sampled by Beastie Boys. Named among the hip-hop acts that sampled the break. Source: Wikipedia: Funky Drummer, Wikipedia: Clyde Stubblefield
- Answered with Revenge of the Funky Drummer (Clyde Stubblefield, 1997). With no credit on the original, Stubblefield put the name on his own 1997 album. Source: Wikipedia: Funky Drummer
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