Give The Drummer Some: Clyde Stubblefield (1943-2017)


                                                              


It's one thing to anchor a GROUP but its another to anchor a GENRE. When looking back at the legacy of the late Clyde Stubblefield, hip hop group Brand Nubian's lyrics described the low-key drummer best: "I don't wanna be the man/ I just wanna make jams/cuttin' sharp like Edward Scissorhands."
                                                            

Stubblefield was part of James Brown's unit of peerless musicians aiding the Godfather of Soul on his quest for a Brand New Funk. While Brown's other legendary drummer John "Jabo" Starks received  a co-writer's share on some of Brown's biggest hits (The Payback and Papa Don't Take No Mess), Stubblefield's uncredited turn on 1970's Funky Drummer would ensure a different kind of residual.

                                                               

 Records like Sex Machine and Give It Up and Turn It Loose were already resurrected radio staples in rotation during hip hop's early days. These funky compositions were curated from a deejay perspective that catered to the dance/party element. As hip hop gravitated to a more production oriented space, the James Brown catalog took on a whole new level of importance. When break beat and album compilations like the James Brown's Funky People series began to surface, sampling opened up new creative possibilities. Brown's entire catalog became ripe for the picking and helped retire bare-bones minimalism associated with groups like Mantronix (Fresh Is The Word) the way their booming drum machines replaced Sugar Hill Record's live band approach to rap music.
                                                                 
                                                                   



When Brown's compilation reissue In The Jungle Groove arrived in '86, the sound that would come to define Rap's Golden Era was set. Funky Drummer was the album's jewel. Stubblefield's short drum solo would become hip hop's signature break. It was so popular that the Public Enemy's Chuck D would amplify the song's impact in real time on Public Enemy's scorcher Fight The Power:  

                                         "1989/another summer/sound of the funky drummer."





While other drummers relied on power, theatrics and studio prowess, Stubblefield focused on keeping the groove steady. When George Michael (Freedom '90) and Madonna (Justify My Love) departed from their signature pop leanings and needed sonic makeovers,the drum sounds from Rock elites Neil Peart (Rush), Phil Collins (Genesis) Ringo (The Beatles) Peter Moon (The Who) and Bonzo (Led Zeppelin) were not even in the conversation. Stubblefield's beats were the ones they turned to for creative inspiration. It might have taken 2 fishes and 5 loaves to feed the masses but Clyde would do it with just eight bars.

Orange Krush's Trevor Gale's laced Run-DMC with big beat drum sounds. Stetsaonic and The Roots' Bobby Simmons and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson kept the beat for their dope emcees. These hip hop drummers can all trace their DNA back to Stubblefield. As Bobby (Blue) Bland made the jump from journeyman blues singer to superstar, he was at the drum kit.

When B-boys and Chicago Steppers needed to polish their fancy footwork, Stubblefield had them walking in rhythm. When hip hop, R&B and pop needed gritty and soulful injections, they looked no further than the Funky Drummer. 

 Sampling elevated Stubblefield to cult status but for better or worse, it represented a new direction in Black music---a destination where absence of musicianship was requirement for port of entry. In years to come, great timekeepers Philly Joe Jones, Tony Williams, Ralph MacDonald and Max Roach would make their earthly transition. Others like Bernard Purdie, Billy Cobham, Earl Young and Steve Ferrone are still here, making sure the drum chair is never empty. The Funky Drummer's physical heartbeat may have faded at the outro but his musical one remains in constant rotation on a eternal loop playing endlessly. Rest In Peace, Clyde. 

                                           

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