The Evolution of the Amen Break: From Obscurity to the Most Sampled Drum Break in Music History

• The ‘Amen break’ holds the distinction of being the most sampled drum break in the history of music, making appearances in over 6,000 songs.
• This 20-second break was originally part of a song called “Amen, Brother” by the Winstons, a multiracial soul band.
• Despite the Amen break’s immense popularity and influence across various music genres, the members of the Winstons never received any royalties for their creation.

The Amen break surpassed all expectations to become the most extensively sampled break in the history of music, even surprising its creators. This four-bar drum break features a series of rhythmic beats followed by a skip and an early crash cymbal, originally included to extend the length of the song it was part of.

In 1969, the Winstons, a multiracial soul band that performed throughout the southern United States, recorded the single “Color Him Father.” As the B-side, they recorded “Amen, Brother,” an instrumental track loosely based on an old gospel song.

The song came together in just 20 minutes, according to Richard Lewis Spencer, the band’s frontman. The Winstons’ drummer, Gregory “G.C.” Coleman, initially didn’t care for it, but he picked up his drumsticks and created the six-second drum break that would later become iconic, as shared by Spencer with the Financial Times.

“Color Him Father,” the A-side of the record, became a top 10 R&B hit in the US in 1969 and won a Grammy the following year. However, “Amen, Brother” and its drum break went relatively unnoticed for over 15 years. The Winstons faced challenges securing gigs in the South and ultimately disbanded in 1970.

It wasn’t until the Amen break appeared in the early hip hop compilation album “Ultimate Breaks and Beats” in 1986 that it gained a new life and exerted its influence on a new generation of musicians across various genres.

The Impact of Sampling the Amen break

The resurgence of the drum break, now known as the Amen break, closely correlates with the rise of hip hop in the 1970s and 80s.

Sampling became a popular practice in the late 1970s, as DJs utilized turntables to mix records, isolate specific sections, and loop breaks to create backdrops for rap lyrics. This technique served as a way for artists to pay homage to other songs and musicians.

“When the Amen break is used, it rarely sounds the same twice. It’s manipulated in various ways, like being sped up, slowed down, pitched up and down, chopped up, and rearranged,” explained Stephen Collins, professor and chair of Macquarie University’s department of media, communications, creative arts, language, and literature, in an interview with Insider.

The Amen break provided the foundation for many early hip hop releases and showcased how a single drum break could be creatively manipulated and reused, according to Collins.

One of the earliest instances of the Amen break’s use can be heard in female rap duo Salt-N-Pepa’s 1986 single “I Desire.” They rapped, “The beat is bad / The beat is pro / We’re gonna bounce this beat all over the place.”

The Amen break reached the mainstream through NWA’s legendary 1988 track “Straight Outta Compton.” In the 1990s, it became a fundamental element of British dance music, particularly within the drum and bass and jungle genres.

Over the years, countless artists, including David Bowie, Oasis, and Amy Winehouse, have incorporated the Amen break into their songs.

A Complex Legacy

The accolade of being the most sampled track in history belongs to the Amen break, appearing in more than 6,000 songs, as documented by WhoSampled, a website that catalogs samples based on user contributions.

Despite its immense popularity, the members of the Winstons never received any royalties for the break’s use, as highlighted by Spencer, the leader of the band. After the Winstons disbanded, Spencer was working in the Washington DC transit system in 1996 when he received a call from a record label requesting a copy of the master recording, as reported by the Financial Times.

“I felt violated and disturbed. It was as if someone had crossed a line they shouldn’t have crossed,” Spencer expressed to the FT.

In later years, Spencer made peace with the widespread use of the break, stating, “It’s not the worst thing that can happen to you. I’m a Black man in America, and the fact that someone wants to use something I created is flattering,” as he shared in an interview with the BBC in 2015.

The drummer behind the Amen break, Gregory “G.C.” Coleman, tragically passed away in 2006, living unhoused and destitute. Spencer revealed to the BBC his belief that Coleman was unaware of the impact he had made on music.