Drumming News :
In November of 1969, James Brown took his band into the studio in Cincinnati, Ohio and recorded a mostly improvised song based around a repetitive vamp. During the performance, Brown called off the band and had drummer Clyde Stubblefield continue playing the drumbeat as a solo. This drum break placed Stubblefield in the pantheon of musical history by ultimately becoming one of the most sampled beats of all time, and a foundation of hip-hop. So pleased was Brown with the break that he called the song “Funky Drummer.”
As one of the defining drummers of funk and the performer of one of the most sampled drum breaks in history, Clyde Stubblefield is among the most important drum set artists in history. Wissing’s Clyde Stubbfield: Sound of the Funky Drummer is the definitive biography of Stubblefield, his drumming, and the importance of the “Funky Drummer” break in music history. The book is broken into several sections which cover Clyde and his work in extensive detail. The first section is a biography, followed by interviews about Clyde’s life with people who knew, worked with, or were influenced by him, including Jody Hannon, Alan Leeds, Harry Weinger, David Garibaldi (Tower of Power), Dennis Chambers, Michael Bland (Prince), Ben Sidran, and others. This is followed by musical transcriptions and analysis of over 20 classic grooves and tracks, including “Cold Sweat,” “Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose,” “I Got The Feelin’,” “Soul Pride,” and many others. There is also other educational content based around Clyde’s style.
A full history of the recording of “Funky Drummer” in then included, which includes detailed analysis of the drumming itself, exercises and transcriptions, an exclusive interview with Questlove on the importance of the track, Clyde’s drum equipment, the setup of the recording studio at King Records and the recording gear used, and interviews with experts on the music and recording, including Randy McNutt, Richard Adlam, Ken Lewis, and others. Everything from the layout of the room, microphones, and all equipment in the recording chain is discussed in analyzing how the iconic “Funky Drummer” break was created.
The sampling of the “Funky Drummer” break and the issues surrounding it are discussed in detail, with input in featured interviews with Hank Shocklee (Public Enemy), Trevor Banks, Nick Sansano, and others. The use of the break in other tracks, copyright and ownership issues around it, and the effect it had on Clyde are covered in the most complete analysis of a drum break ever set down in print.
Drummers, musicians, music history buffs, James Brown fans, hip-hop aficionados, recording engineers, producers and anyone interested in some of the key recordings in music history will find this book one of the most compelling and complete analyses of any recording, and certainly the definitive work on the “Funky Drummer” himself, Clyde Stubblefield.
Clyde Stubblefield: Sound of the Funky Drummer
Dylan Wissing
Print or Digital Book | Exclusive Packages Available
364 pages | Full Color
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