Listen: Some of the Most Famous Samples in the World, and the Songs That Used Them
Video remixer Eclectic Method has put together a tight but effective three-minute clip, “A Brief History of Sampling.” Quick cuts juxtapose source material like James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” with the familiar songs that have used choice musical slices in practically infinite ways. (In the case of “Funky Drummer,” that means songs by Public Enemy, Dr. Dre, LL Cool J and more.)
Sampled examples we’ve all heard range from Ohio Players to Barry White to Billy Squier to AC/DC — but it’s fun to hear them presented this way, and there are enough examples that almost anybody will find some nice surprises.
If you want to dive deeper into this subject, there’s an amazing 20-minute documentary about one widely used sample — the drum break from “Amen, Brother,” by the Winstons, cited by Eclectic Method — from a few years ago. Highly recommended, it is here.
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