| "Funky Drummer (Part 1)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byJames Brown | ||||
| from the albumIn the Jungle Groove | ||||
| B-side | "Funky Drummer (Part 2)" | |||
| Released | March 1970 (1970-03) | |||
| 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 | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
| Audio video | ||||
| "Funky Drummer (Pt. 1 & 2)" onYouTube | ||||
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Drummerworld – Stubblefield breakdown of "Cold Sweat" and "Funky Drummer". |
"Funky Drummer" is a song byJames Brown recorded in 1969 and released as a single in 1970. Itsdrum break,improvised byClyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequentlysampled music recordings.
"Funky Drummer" was recorded on November 20, 1969, inCincinnati, Ohio. It is an extendedvamp, with individual instruments (mostly theguitar,tenor saxophones andorgan) improvising brieflicks on top. Brown's ad-libbed vocals are sporadic and declamatory, mostly concerned with encouraging the other band members. The song is played in the key of D minor, though the first verse is in C major.
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 tellsStubblefield "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 theriff he plays through most of the piece, is the result of Brown's directions; thisbreak beat is one of the mostsampled recordings in music.
After the drum break, the band returns to the originalvamp.[1] Brown, apparently impressed with what Stubblefield has produced, seems to name the song on the spot as it continues, and repeats it: "The name of this tune is 'The Funky Drummer', 'The Funky Drummer', 'The Funky Drummer'." The recording ends with areprise of Stubblefield's solo and afade-out.
"Funky Drummer" was originally released byKing Records as a two-part45 rpmsingle in March 1970. The difference between the album version and the single version is that the single version contains Brown's vocal percussion ('kooncha'). Despite rising to No. 20 on theR&B chart and No. 51 on thepop chart,[2] it did not receive an album release until the 1986compilationIn the Jungle Groove.
More than onemix of "Funky Drummer" was made around the time it was recorded, including one withtambourine and another withvocal percussion by Brown andtrombonistFred Wesley. The most commonly heard version of the track lacks these elements, which were apparentlyoverdubbed. In addition to the original version of "Funky Drummer", the albumIn the Jungle Groove includes a "bonus beat reprise" of the piece. This track, edited by Danny Krivit, consists of a 3-minuteloop of the drum break, punctuated only by Brown's sampled vocal interjections and an occasional guitar chord and tambourine hit.
"Funky Drummer" is one of the most widelysampled pieces of music.[3] In 1986, the tracks "South Bronx", "Eric B. is President" and "It's a Demo" sampled Stubblefield's drum break, helping popularize sampling.[4] The drum break was sampled byhip hop acts includingPublic Enemy,N.W.A,LL Cool J,Run-DMC, theBeastie Boys, and the theme music toThe Powerpuff Girls onCartoon Network, as well as later pop musicians such asEd Sheeran andGeorge Michael, notably done inFreedom! '90.[5]
As Stubblefield did not receive a songwriter credit for "Funky Drummer", he received noroyalties for the sampling.[5] He toldThe New York Times in 2011: "It didn't bug me or disturb me, but I think it's disrespectful not to pay people for what they use."[6] Stubblefield capitalized on the name with his 1997 albumRevenge of the Funky Drummer.[7]
with the James Brown Orchestra
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] | 41 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[10] | 51 |
| USBillboard R&B[11] | 20 |
| USCash Box Top 100[12] | 37 |
