Funky Drummer
"Funky Drummer (Part 1)" | ||||
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Single by James Brown | ||||
from the album In the Jungle Groove | ||||
B-side | "Funky Drummer (Part 2)" | |||
Released | March 1970 | |||
Recorded | November 20, 1969 | |||
Studio | King Studios, Cincinnati, Ohio | |||
Genre | Funk | |||
Length |
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Label | King | |||
Songwriter(s) | James Brown | |||
Producer(s) | James Brown | |||
James Brown charting singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
External videos | |
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Drummerworld – Stubblefield breakdown of "Cold Sweat" and "Funky Drummer". |
"Funky Drummer" is a single released by
music recordings.Recording and composition
"Funky Drummer" was recorded on November 20, 1969, in
As in the full-length version of "Cold Sweat", Brown announces the upcoming drum break, which comes late in the recording, requesting to "give the drummer some." He tells Stubblefield "You don't have to do no soloing, brother, just keep what you got... Don't turn it loose, 'cause it's a mother." Stubblefield's eight-bar unaccompanied "solo", a version of the riff he plays through most of the piece, is the result of Brown's directions; this break beat is one of the most sampled recordings in music.
After the drum break, the band returns to the original
Release
"Funky Drummer" was originally released by
More than one
Sampling
"Funky Drummer" is one of the most widely
As Stubblefield did not receive a songwriter credit for "Funky Drummer", he received no
Personnel
- James Brown – vocals, Hammond organ
with the James Brown Orchestra
- Richard "Kush" Griffith – trumpet
- Joe Davis – trumpet
- Fred Wesley – trombone
- Maceo Parker – tenor saxophone
- Eldee Williams – tenor saxophone
- St. Clair Pinckney – baritone saxophone
- Jimmy Nolen – guitar
- Alphonso "Country" Kellum – guitar
- Charles Sherrell – bass guitar
- Clyde Stubblefield – drums[8]
Charts
Chart (1970) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] | 41 |
US Billboard Hot 100[10] | 51 |
US Billboard R&B[11] | 20 |
US Cash Box Top 100[12] | 37 |
See also
- Amen break
- "Think (About It)"
- Woo! Yeah!
- "Funky President (People It's Bad)"
References
- ^ Collins, Sam. "Funky Drummer". Iomusic News. Archived from the original on 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ^ White, Cliff (1991). "Discography". In Star Time (pp. 54–59) [CD booklet]. New York: PolyGram Records.
- ^ Gordon, Jason (2006-12-26). "James Brown: Most Sampled Man in the Biz". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
- ^ "Untangling the knotty world of hip-hop copyright". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. 2016-06-25. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-14.
- ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (2017-02-18). "Clyde Stubblefield, James Brown's 'Funky Drummer,' Dead at 73". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ^ James Brown, Clyde Stubblefield and the Madison Area Music Awards. (2007, January 4). Isthmus. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- ^ Leeds, Alan, and Harry Weinger (1991). "Star Time: Song by Song". In Star Time (pp. 46–53) [CD booklet]. New York: PolyGram Records.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3796." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of April 11, 1970". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: Week of April 11, 1970". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 for the Week Ending April 18, 1970". tropicalglen.com. Cash Box. Retrieved 18 August 2018.