Clyde Stubblefield (April 18, 1943 – February 18, 2017) – Harold's Room (1974)

A rare instrumental funk gem by a short-lived Madison, Wisconsin band, co-written by and featuring James Brown's funky drummer Stubblefield on drums.

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The original “Funky Drummer” Clyde Stubblefield played drums on songs that became funk standards during his time in James Brown’s band, from 1965 to 1970. 

Classics he played on included “Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud,” “Cold Sweat,” “Give It Up or Turnit a Loose”, “Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved,” and the track he’s most remembered for, “Funky Drummer.”  But although Stubblefield created some of the most-sampled drum patterns of all time, he never received royalties from them, as he was seldom credited as a songwriter.

Stubblefield grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and was inspired to start playing music after seeing drummers in a parade.  He said his early sense of rhythm came from the sounds of factories and trains he grew up around.  In the early 60s, he moved to Macon, Georgia and joined Otis Redding’s early touring band.  In 1965, James Brown saw him at a gig in Macon, invited him to audition, and soon afterwards he joined Brown’s band. 

After leaving the J.B.’s in 1970, Stubblefield settled in Madison, Wisconsin.  There, he left his mark on the local music scene over the next several decades.

One of the earliest Madison bands he played in was a short-lived funk combo called Blume.  They only put out one single, the first and only release issued by the one-off label Mad City Records in 1974.  It was produced by Gerald Black at American Music, which may have been the studio where it was recorded.

The A-side was the very funky, inspirational message song “Do It Now,” which was co-written by Stubblefield and one-time J.B.’s saxophonist Robert Chopper McCollough.

Stubblefield also co-wrote “Harold’s Room,” the instrumental funk gem on the flip, along with keyboardist Harris Lemberg, who he met in 1972 when they both played in the house band at The Jazz Workshop in Madison.

Blume featured singer Charlie Brooks and Ken Helm on bass, who went on to perform with Stubblefield in another Madison-based band, the Highlights.  The band’s guitarist may have been T. Godfrey, who was the third co-songwriter on “Do It Now.” 

As of 2020, the only copy of their very rare 45 for sale on Discogs was listed at a cool 400 Euros. But by 2022 more had surfaced and were selling for $80 on average.

Happy Heavenly 80th Birthday to legend Clyde Stubblefield!

More info:

“Clyde Stubblefield, The Funky Drummer,” by Cherryl Aldave, Wax Poetics Anthology Vol. 1, 2009 (interview originally published 2003)

“Episode 191: Clyde Stubblefield,” by Leo Sidran, The Third Story podcast, April 19, 2021

#funk #soul #Blume #Madison #ClydeStubblefield