Best known as the drummer for James Brown during one of the godfather of soul's most creatively fertile periods (1965-1970), Clyde Stubblefield died February 18 in his longtime home of Madison, Wisconsin, due to kidney failure. He was 73.
Along with fellow drummer John "Jabo" Starks, Stubblefield laid the foundation for some of history's funkiest tracks, including "Sex Machine," "I Got the Feelin'," "Cold Sweat," "Give It Up or Turn It Loose," "Say It Loud - I'm Black & I'm Proud," and, of course, "The Funky Drummer," which has been sampled 1,366 times according to whosampled.com, but that total's surely much higher.
You could make a hall-of-fame mixtape with just a fraction of the classic hiphop songs featuring that break, including Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise," Dr. Dre's "Let Me Ride," N.W.A.'s "Fuck tha Police," Eric B. & Rakim's "Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em," Ultramagnetic MCs' "Give the Drummer Some," and Digable Planets' "Where I'm From." "The Funky Drummer"'s influence also infiltrated rock, as the Stone Roses' "Fools Gold" and My Bloody Valentine's "Soon", to name but two important examples, prove.
Stubblefield's trademark style was at once lithe and powerful; he made phenomenal use of the space between beats and his light touch on the snare—what he called "ghost notes"—was crucial in optimizing any given rhythm's funkiness. Roots drummer Questlove explained this phenomenon in more depth in a 2011 interview with New York Times journalist Ben Sisario.
The thing that defines him, that sets him apart from other drummers, are his grace notes, which are sort of like the condiments of what spices up the main focus. The main focus of music is always the 2 and the 4, especially with the snare drum. And what lets you build your personality is how you dance around that 2 and the 4. The technical level of dynamics of his left hand, his ability to flam a 32nd note very silently, but a 16th note very loud and commanding. It takes a very, very specific marksman, in their Navy SEAL precision, to execute it perfectly. In short, it is he who defined funk music, more than anything.
Besides his time with James Brown, Stubblefield released several solo albums that highlighted the eminent sample-worthiness of his stickwork. He also played on several albums by jazz keyboardist/vocalist Ben Sidran, including Sidran's classic 1973 jazz-fusion LP Puttin' in Time on Planet Earth.
Although he was one of the most sampled musicians ever, Stubblefield never received the financial compensation that many thought was his due. When he needed $90,000 to pay for bladder cancer treatment and other hospital bills, Stubblefield revealed last April that Prince—literally acknowledging the debt he and thousands of other artists owed Stubblefield—quietly handled the expenses.
Fellow James Brown band member, bassist Bootsy Collins, paid tribute to Stubblefield on Facebook.
