Released in 1970, “Funky Drummer” is still heard today in various forms, as it’s one of the most sampled songs in history. As of January 2020, more than 1,500 songs are credited with sampling this song in one way or another, most often borrowing Clyde Stubblefield’s iconic drum solo.

Clyde said the following about the creation of his famous drum break:

We were sitting up in the studio, getting ready for a session, and I guess when I got set up I just started playing a pattern. Started playing something. The bassline came in and the guitar came in and we just had a rhythm going, and if Brown liked it, I just said, ‘Well, I’ll put something with it.‘ […] All the drum patterns I played with Brown was my own; he never told me how to play or what to play,

Since it’s a James Brown track, the actual “Funky Drummer,” Clyde Stubblefield, wasn’t as highly recognized for his work on the track, and since he wasn’t credited as a songwriter, Clyde didn’t receive royalties from all the samples that used his drum pattern. He passed away on February 18, 2017.