Clyde Stubblefield, the funk drummer whose work with James Brown made him one of the most sampled musicians in history, died Saturday morning in Madison, Wisc. He was 73.
He joined James Brown’s backing band in 1965, and performed on songs such as “Cold Sweat,” “Say It Loud — I’m Black And I’m Proud” and “Mother Popcorn.”
Stubblefield had an even bigger impact on hip-hop. The pattern he played on 1970’s “Funky Drummer” has been sampled on hundreds of songs – perhaps most famously Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” from Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” soundtrack.
Stubblefield made news last year when he revealed that Prince donated $90,000 to help him pay his hospital bills, after the drummer developed bladder cancer in the early 2000s.
