Throughout the history of music, there have been a limited amount of moments that have defined and shaped the musical landscape as we know it today. 55 years ago, 6 seconds of sound were created that would shape not only modern music but also many sub genres, all connected through one sample; the ‘Amen Break’.
The ‘Amen Break’ started off as a 6 second drum solo created by drummer Gregory C. Coleman in The Winston’s 1969 track ‘Amen, Brother’. The 4-bar loop laid in stasis up until the hip-hop revolution in the 1980s when emerging loop sampler technology began to drive music production.
Fast forward to today and it’s the most sampled drumbeat ever, featured in thousands of tracks from hip hop to breakbeat, drum ’n’ bass, hardcore, jungle and more.
Fascinatingly, the ‘Amen Break’ was first resurrected from its musical hiatus in a 1986 compilation designed for producers called ‘Ultimate Breaks & Beats’. That same year saw the first recorded release of the sample in Salt-N-Pepa’s 1986 track ‘I Desire’, followed by N.W.A’s 1988 single ‘Straight Outta Compton’ .
Soon after the UK underground scene quickly adopted the sample, becoming a go-to for breakbeat and hardcore producers before infiltrating the D&B and jungle scene with the tempo increased to fit these faster paced genres. Some of the iconic names that have used the ‘Amen Break’ include Chase & Status, Shy FX, Carl Cox, LTJ Baker, DJ Zinc, The Prodigy and many more.
However, through all the joy it has brought to the musical world, The Winston’s did not receive any royalties for the sample and Gregory Coleman passed away in 2006, homeless. In 2015, a GoFundMe page was set up which raised £24,000 and was paid to The Winston’s frontman Richard L Spencer.
Imagine a world where that 6 second 4-bar loop didn’t exist, what it would mean to the generations of music that followed after and how something that seemed so small at the time, has shaped and defined what people love and commit their lives to.
Amen, to the ‘Amen Break’.
ratemyrave 