Jo Jo Gunne - High School Drool

June 15th, 2013 | By

Jo Jo Gunne was a rock group out of Los Angeles, CA. Two of the members were formerly of the group Spirit, which has been sampled more than a few times. The group didn’t have much commercial success and their album Jumpin’ the Gunne (pictured above) is often credited with putting the nail in the coffin. The cover is a gatefold and if you open up the album, the full picture is the band laying in a bed starring at a flying fat, naked woman. She’s looking down at a small pig on the floor, basically making a reference to the common phrase “when pigs can fly“.

Regardless of the weird cover, the track “High School Drool” has a really dope drum break in the intro. Check it out.

Rare Earth Discography Complete!

May 6th, 2013 | By

For those who follow me on Instagram, you know about my quest for all Rare Earth (the label, not the band) albums. Well the quest is finally over! (sort of…) I’ve 99% completed all of the US releases – no re-issues! I’m only missing The Generation Soundtrack which I’ve feverishly been looking for, but to no avail. It’s what record collectors refer to as a holy grail. I’ll find it one day, but in the mean time, I’m chalking this up as a complete discography.

For those unfamiliar with Rare Earth, get familiar! There are plenty of drum breaks and dope pysch samples to go around in the catalog. The catalog even features a pre-famous Meatloaf! Distributed through Motown, it was Berry Gordy’s answer to the Rock/Folk/Blue Eyed Soul also popular at the time. Outside of the actual group Rare Earth, it didn’t have much success and only lasted a few years.

Here are some notable tracks that you might recognize…

• Power of Zeus – Sorcerer of Isis
• Rare Earth – I Just Want to Celebrate
• Rustix – I Guess this is Goodbye

Roger Saunders Drum Break

April 23rd, 2013 | By

Been a while since I posted a drum break, so felt I was due! This one is a killer and lasts for a full 20 seconds. I don’t have much info on Roger Saunders other than what I found on the back of this album. Saunders hails from London and started playing guitar and piano at the age of 14. He was a member of the British rock group Freedom which was comprised of 2 dudes who were kicked out of Procol Harum. He left the group and decided to embark on an unsuccessful solo career. Regardless, he left us with a dope drum break! Check it out.

Ultimate Breaks & Beats - Chinese Chicken

March 24th, 2013 | By

Ultimate Breaks & Beats were basically the training tool for sampling and deejaying. Released over 20 years ago, they still have a heavy influence on music today. I’m not sure how the rare the singles and albums that were featured on UBB were in the 80′s, but they are increasingly hard to find these days.

The track “Chinese Chicken” was featured on volume 20 of UBB. Duke Williams was a New Jersey native and released some rock-infused soul/funk music. His album A Monkey in a Silk Suit is Still a Monkey was produced by Skip Drinkwater. You may recognize him for his extensive Jazz production credits including Norman Connors, Alphonse Mouzon, and Lee Ritenour.

For the bonus trivia, a pre-Bonjovi Richie Sambora played with Duke. Check out the classic break!

Terror Squad - Yeah Yeah Yeah

March 4th, 2013 | By

Mike Curb is an interesting dude. Aside from his work with Lalo Schifrin, Roy Orbison, the Osmond Family, Lou Rawls, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Solomon Burke; he also signed many prominent Soul acts while he was a record exec. Some of those groups include The Sylvers, War, and Johnny Bristol. In 1970, he infamously dropped several acts from MGM Records due to their pro-drug music. He later got into politics, country music, and even NASCAR!? His track “Burning Bridges“, co-written by Lalo Schifrin, was most recently sampled by Terror Squad for “Yeah Yeah Yeah“.

After the death of Pun, Terror Squad fell off horribly. They somehow scored a hit with “Lean Back” and were searching for their next big song. In the midst of that “Yeah Yeah Yeah” featuring Remy Ma dropped. Let’s face it, Remy would never fully replace Pun and without Cuban Link, TS didn’t really have much left to offer. Either way, they do their best trading verses over the intro to “Burning Bridges“. Years earlier, Big Daddy Kane used the same break for “Come On Down” featuring Q-Tip and Busta Rhymes. The track is credited as being produced by Kane himself!?

There is also a clean drum break at the very end of the track which is less punchy than the intro. Check it out.

Nas - No Ideas Original

February 24th, 2013 | By

Cecil Holmes has been sampled a few times before, but you might not know much about him. Most of the digging crowd knows him for his cover compilations of 1970′s soul hits. What I recently learned is that he was more of a label dude than a musician. He was actually the co-founder of Casablanca Records (Parliament, KISS, etc…). During his tenure, he created his own subsidiary Chocolate City Records (Cameo). The odd part is, none of his own music was released on either of the labels. The Alchemist used his cover of Barry White’s classic “I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby” for Nas‘ bonus cut “No Ideas Original“.

The original version of “No Ideas Original” appeared on the import version of Stillmatic. That version is synth-heavy and a total opposite of the one that would later be released on The Lost Tapes. I’m not sure who produced the original version as I can’t find any credits for it. Alchemist didn’t do much to the sample; he basically looped the beginning. The track also contains a drum break which was used by Large Professor for Cormega‘s “The Come Up“. Check it out.

Benninghoff’s Break

January 20th, 2013 | By

I really don’t have much info on Benninghoff’s Bad Rock Blues Band. The group released a few albums during the 70′s, all instrumental rock, based on classical compositions. This particular album uses portions of Beethoven’s work. There are actually 3 drum breaks scattered throughout this one, but the best is from “It’s Nota“. The overall sound of the track is very similar to Iron Butterfly‘s “Inna Gadda Da Vida“. The break kicks in at 1:48 – Check it out!

Bill Black’s Break

January 13th, 2013 | By

Bill Black was only in his 40′s when he died of a brain tumor, but he had a very lucrative career. A Memphis native, he got his start playing bass for the one and only Elvis Presley. Bill Black gave Hi Records their first big hit. You most likely recognize Hi Records as Rza’s favorite sample roster including Al Green, Willie Mitchell, and Syl Johnson.

While Bill Black had some less soulful output than his label-mates, Turn On Your Love Light contains lots of 60′s soul hits you might recognize. The track “Turn on Your Love Light” features a short drum break in the intro. There are also 2 small drum loops similar to the intro in the song. The drum kit sounds very similar to the classic break “Smokin’ Cheeba Cheeba” by Harlem Underground Band. Check it out.