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Clyde Stubblefield | |
|---|---|
 Stubblefield performing in 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Clyde Austin Stubblefield |
| Born | April 18, 1943 Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | February 18, 2017 (aged 73) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | c. 1960–2017 |
Clyde Austin Stubblefield (April 18, 1943 – February 18, 2017) was an American drummer best known for his work with James Brown, with whom he recorded and toured for six years (1965-70). His syncopated drum patterns on Brown's recordings are considered funk standards. Samples of his drum performances (particularly his break in the 1970 track "Funky Drummer") were heavily used in hip hop music beginning in the 1980s, although Stubblefield frequently received no credit.
A self-taught musician, Stubblefield was influenced by the sound of industrial rhythms he heard in factories and trains. He began playing with local groups in his native Tennessee and later moved to Georgia, where he played with musicians such as Eddie Kirkland and Otis Redding in the early 1960s before joining Brown's band. He later settled in Madison, Wisconsin, where he was a staple of the local music scene. He has been named among the great drummers of all time by various publications. In 2017, he accepted an honorary degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.