When The Winstons released their 1969 EP, the intent was to market their hit single “Color Him Father” to the masses. The single was a funk and soul classic and eventually went on to win the Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Song in 1969, however the B-Side on the record, “Amen Brother” ultimately launched The Winstons into modern music infamy.
Directly in the middle of “Amen Brother” is an uninterrupted drum solo – crisp and clean from start to finish. In 1969, before digital sampling tools became commonplace, a single source of audio like this was a treasure to producers looking for an adaptable sample or “break beat” to work with. Without having to splice or embed additional snippets of audio, producers could simply sample the break in full before slowing it down, speeding it up, or otherwise modifying it in whichever way they wished. The Amen Break was perfect.
If Kanye West is the modern master of sampling, The Winstons are the Godfathers of the form. Despite receiving Grammy awards and selling millions of records over their career, The Winstons will forever be defined by several seconds of music which provided the blueprint for generations to come. Tragically for The Winstons, this contribution comes with little financial compensation as the band never bothered to file copyright claims against those who used the break without their permission. While this was a costly choice for the members of the band, listeners across the world have benefitted from this benevolence ever since. From NWA (“Straight Outta Compton”) to Heavy D & The Boyz (“Let It Flow”) to Eric B & Rakim (“Casualties Of War”) the cornerstone of hip hop is everywhere if you listen hard enough for it.
While hip-hop producers are thought to have favoured the Amen Break due to its adaptability and snappy snare drum sound, the British electronic music scene took the break to new heights, chopping up each drum sound and switching each individual drum hit with one another. This process created various permutations of the break which could be arranged in a variety of ways, especially when played at the high speeds best fit for dance music. Jungle music was born.
The Amen break has spawned reiterations of itself across pop culture. From rap, to electronic music, to movie soundtracks heard around the globe, the Amen break’s growth has been memetic, and much of this is due to The Winstons’ timeless benevolence. Free from copyright claims, the Amen break became one of the most prolific pieces of music in modern history, etching itself into history with each new manifestation of itself. And while historians are free to argue over what drove the Amen break itself to become one of the most ubiquitous in all of music (the isolated loop, the crisp snare sounds, Gregory Sylvester’s energetic play) it is clear in hindsight that free and open use of the sample permanently launched the Amen break into the Mount Rushmore of sampled music.