Clyde Stubblefield – James Brown’s ‘Funky Drummer’ – dies

Clyde Stubblefield, one of funk’s defining drummers whose solo in a James Brown song became a standard sample for hip-hop but earned him little money, died Saturday. He was 73.

Stubblefield’s death from kidney failure was confirmed by Joey B. Banks, a fellow drummer who played with him in his home of Madison, Wisconsin.

The self-taught Stubblefield in 1965 joined funk legend James Brown’s band and became best known for the 1970 track Funky Drummer, in which Stubblefield breaks out a solo at the singer’s urging.

The solo, danceable while projecting utter confidence, years later would became one of the most frequent samples in music history as rappers built off its beat.

Some of the classic rap tracks to sample his solo include Public Enemy’s Fight the Power, N.W.A.’s F*** tha Police” and LL Cool J’s Mama Said Knock You Out.

It was not only hip-hop. His solo was sampled in George Michael’s hit Freedom! ‘90 and in Baby Love Child by Japanese pop group Pizzicato Five.

But artists were not required to compensate for samples until a landmark 2005 court decision. Even then, revenue would go to the estate of the famously high-handed Brown, who alone is credited as the songwriter.