Tuesday, June 13, 2023

The Most Sampled Musical Track on This Day in History

 

This day in history: The "Amen break", a 6-second drum solo that would become "the most sampled musical track of all time", was recorded for the first time on this day in 1969. Drummer G. C. Coleman of The Winstons performed the 4-bar beat 86 seconds into the song "Amen, Brother", which then became the "B-side" of the 45 rpm vinyl recording of The Winstons' hit single "Color Him Father". For 15 years, "Amen, Brother" would be forgotten until the mid-1980s, when "sampling" came into use when DJs in hip hop music dance clubs used Coleman's six-second "snare-and-cymbal sequence" to make the transition between one song and the next. By 2015, the "Amen break" would be part of more than 1,500 songs and the number would approaching 3,000 within the first 50 years after it was recorded

The Winstons received no royalties for the sampling. The bandleader, Richard Lewis Spencer, said it was unlikely that Coleman, who died homeless and destitute in 2006, realized the impact he had made on music. Spencer condemned its use as plagiarism, but later said it was flattering.


No comments:

Post a Comment