TheAmen break is adrum break that has been widelysampled in popular music. It comes from the 1969 track "Amen, Brother" by the American soul groupthe Winstons, released as theB-side of the 1969 single "Color Him Father". The drum break lasts seven seconds and was performed by Gregory Coleman.
With the rise ofhip-hop in the 1980s, the Amen break was used in hits including "Straight Outta Compton" byN.W.A and "Keep It Going Now" byRob Base & DJ E-Z Rock. In the 1990s, it became a staple ofdrum and bass andjungle music. It has been used in thousands of tracks of various genres, making it one of the most sampled recordings in music history.
The Winstons received noroyalties for the sample. The bandleader,Richard Lewis Spencer, was not aware of its use until 1996, after thestatute of limitations forcopyright infringement had passed. He condemned its use asplagiarism, but later said it was flattering. He said it was unlikely that Coleman, who died homeless and destitute in 2006, realized the impact he had made on music.
The Winstons were asoul band from Washington, D.C., who played throughout the southern United States. They were led byRichard Lewis Spencer.[1] In early 1969, the Winstons recorded the single "Color Him Father" in Atlanta.[2] For theB-side, they recorded an instrumental based on the gospel song "Amen" and a guitar riffCurtis Mayfield had played for Spencer.[2][3] The result was "Amen, Brother",[3] which Spencer said they composed in about 20 minutes.[2] Though "Color Him Father" became a top-10 R&B hit and won aGrammy Award, "Amen, Brother" received little notice.[2] As a mixed-race group, the Winstons struggled to secure bookings and disbanded in 1970.[2]
At about 1 minute and 26 seconds into "Amen, Brother", the other musicians stop playing and the drummer, Gregory Coleman, performs a four-bardrum break that lasts for seven seconds. For two bars, Coleman plays the previous beat. In the third bar, he delays asnare hit. In the fourth bar, he leaves the first beat empty, then plays asyncopated pattern and an earlycrash cymbal.[3]
The drum break was added to lengthen the track, which had been too short with just the riff. Spencer said he directed the break, but Phil Tolotta, the only other surviving member of the Winstons in 2015, credited it solely to Coleman.[2]
In the 1980s, with the rise ofhip-hop, DJs beganusing turntables to loop drum breaks from records, which MCs wouldrap over.[3] In 1986, "Amen, Brother" was included onUltimate Breaks and Beats, a compilation of oldfunk and soul tracks with clean drum breaks intended for DJs.[3]Salt-N-Pepa's 1986 single "I Desire" has one of the earliest uses of the Amen break.[4]
In 1988,Mantronix released the influential track "King of the Beats", which edited and processed the Amen break to make it "central to the track rather than simply a rhythmic bedding".[3] A number of releases that year took the Amen break into the mainstream, including "Straight Outta Compton" byN.W.A and "Keep It Going Now" byRob Base & DJ E-Z Rock.[4] It was widely sampled in Britishdance music in the early 1990s, especially indrum and bass andjungle.[5][3] It has been used in multiple genres, including rock music by acts such asOasis, in commercials, and television themes such asFuturama.[3][6]
The Amen break has been in used in thousands of tracks, making it one of the most widely sampled tracks in history.[3] It became popular as it was easy to manipulate and offered a simple way to create jungle music.[3] The English drummerTom Skinner cited the appealing "crunch" of the recording quality.[3] Producers have manipulated it by altering its pitch or speed, or re-ordering its components to mimicghost notes or other effects.[3]
Thecopyright owner of "Amen, Brother", including the Amen break, was the Winstons bandleader,Richard Lewis Spencer.[3] Neither he nor Coleman receivedroyalties for the break.[3] Spencer was not aware of its use until an executive contacted him asking for themaster tape in 1996, when he was working for theWashington Metro.[3][7] The journalistSimon Reynolds likened the situation to "the man who goes to thesperm bank and unknowingly sires hundreds of children".[3] Spencer was unable to take legal action, as thestatute of limitations forcopyright infringement at the time was three years in the US,[1] until 2023's Supreme Court CaseWarner v. Nealy.
Spencer condemned the sampling asplagiarism and said he "felt ripped off and raped".[2] He said in 2011: "[Coleman's] heart and soul went into that drum break. Now these guys copy and paste it and make millions."[3] However, in 2015, he said: "It's not the worst thing that can happen to you. I'm a black man in America and the fact that someone wants to use something I created – that's flattering."[2]
Coleman died homeless and destitute in 2006.[2] Spencer said it was unlikely he was aware of the impact he had made on music.[2] In 2015, aGoFundMe campaign set up for Spencer by the British DJs Martyn Webster and Steve Theobald raised more than £18,000 ($26,000).[2] Spencer died in 2020.[8]
Even more common, especially in jungle/drum 'n' bass, is a break ... which fans and musicians commonly refer to as the 'Amen' break.
The tempo for the Amen, Brother breakbeat is approximately 136 BPM.