It is crazy how many songs have the sound of Clyde's drums, but is a number close to 10,000 tracks. Yeah, it sounds impossible. How a single man was able to play in so many recordings? only a God-like being could do it. Well, even considering that Stubblefield is the closest we have to a funk God, the story is a little more complicated.
Master's Origin
Back in the 1960s, behind James Brown gigantic figure, a young drummer from the South was about to make history. Born in 1943 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Clyde Stubblefield, showed interest in drums at a young age after watching a parade back in his hometown. At that time he used to play with tin can lids. Even though he loved drums, he wasn't able to receive any proper training. Yet, Clyde managed to become a session musician by his late teens, working with the legend Otis Redding. However his real breakthrough was in 1965 when James Brown was filling his band with new musicians, and Clyde managed to become one of Brown’s five drummers. In the end, only Stubberfield and Jabo Starks ended up as permanent drummers of the orchestra.
With only 22 years old and with no proper training Clyde became the drummer of one the hottest musicians of those times. As he got comfortable around James’ orchestra, Clyde started playing what he felt he should. There was not written rules. He had the freedom to create his sound. And it was exactly this natural feel for the music that changed the course of funk drumming.
Birth of the Funky Drummer
Although the song Funky Drummer has a special connection with Clyde Stubblefield, his magic started with another song. In the late sixties, James Brown orchestra experienced a transcendental evolution from soul music to the funky sound. And there is one song that represented this musical rupture. In 1967 James Brown and his band released the two-part single titled Cold Sweat. This song was different from any other track made by James Brown, mainly because he added three groundbreaking changes.
First, Brown managed to turn his whole band into a percussion section, naturally lead by the drums. Every single instrument was a part of a big one percussion device, even James Brown singing add up to the funky sound. But it was not only this new approach to music as a rhythm orchestra.
The second change was in the rhythmic groove. This song focused on that famous first note on the beat, The One. This emphasis on the first note of the measure aroused an African-tribe nature that took over people’s body as if they had them in their DNA. The One became the bedrock of the funky sound and the foundation of the groove feeling. The final change was the drums' spotlight. Stubblefield was the drummer in this recording, and just by listening to the track you don't hear the drum beat, you FEEL it. It was so catchy, so groovy, so funky that James Brown decided to add a drum solo to the song, and this subtle, rather simple, change wrote musical history.
Because of Clyde’s magic, the drums solos became a must in later funk recordings, and people start to call them drum breaks. Since Cold Sweat, every song that wanted to become funky had a drum break. And somehow this became part of early funk musical practices.
Although Cold Sweat was the beginning, two years later in 1969, James Brown and his band recorded the song, Funky Drummer. An ode to the magic groove of Stubberfield, but history wanted it to be more than a that. In just 18 seconds Clyde performs one of the most important drum breaks in music history. And simple as that, without knowing it, Clyde’s musical groove was changing the whole sound of a generation. Along with his drums partner Jabo Starks, Clyde’s drumming became the foundation of funk. Every funk drummer behind him was inspired by his sound.
The Most Sampled Drummer
The drum breaks and Funky Drummer were not a big deal when released. But they would later become part of musical history. By the late 70s, while the Disco Fever was taking the world, a group of teenagers in the Bronx were writing a new musical story. By using two turntables and his favorite Funk tracks, this youngsters were making an infinite drum beat loop and were singing over it. They called it Hip Hop. And even though by that time James Brown was in his dawn in the mainstream industry, the teens back in the Bronx were still loving it, and they like it so much that his records became essential for any DJ of the Bronx.
But it was not James Brown, it was James Brown drummer who matched perfectly with the upcoming Hip Hop project. Clyde’s drum breaks were so groovy and funky that it fitted perfectly in any mix used for hip hop. Later in the 80s and 90s, the Hip Hop movement arrived at the mainstream and Clyde’s drumming was immortalized in millions of recordings. The most notable examples being NWA and Public Enemy tracks
*Just listen to songs like Fight the Power (Public Enemy, Run's House (Run-Dmc), Shadrach (Beastie Boys), and you will hear Funky Drummer break sample all throughout the song...its crazy! Even Fuck Da Police has a Funky Drummer moment during the 2:16 bridge.
The Man Behind the Drum Set
Clyde Stubblefield died in 2017, and besides becoming one of the most important drummers in Funk music and Hip Hop sampling, he is still unknown for many people that enjoy his talent. His contributions have been greater than his recognition. He created all his drums beats but was never acknowledged. He was the Funky Drummer but no one attributed to him (he had to do it himself!). And many people sample his music, but just a few know his name. That's why in memory of the late Clyde Stubblefield, I invite you to explore and enjoy the talent of the drummer behind Funk and Hip Hop.
References
-Susan Masino (2003). Famous Wisconsin Musicians. Badger Books. pp. 67–71. ISBN 9781878569882
-"The Original Funky Drummers On Life With James Brown". NPR Music. January 5, 2015.
-Ben Sisario (March 29, 2011). "Living Legend Tries to Make a Living". The New York Times.
-David Stanoch (September 9, 2010). "Where Old School Meets New – The Timeless Rhythm of Clyde Stubblefield". vicfirth.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012.
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