The Most Sampled Drum Breaks in Music History
Music by the Numbers · Meshplugins.com
A six-second drum solo from 1969 became the most sampled recording ever made — the Amen Break.
The most sampled recording in history
THE AMEN BREAK
A ~6-second drum solo used in 5,000+ tracks — the DNA of hip-hop, jungle and drum & bass
A handful of drum breaks have been sampled thousands of times each, quietly powering entire genres. Here are the giants.
Related: tempo by genre, hip-hop key & tempo and how to mix vocals like a pro.
Most sampled drum breaks (approx. tracks sampled)
The Amen Break — from The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother' — has been chopped, sped up and rearranged into thousands of tracks by everyone from N.W.A to The Prodigy. It essentially invented jungle and drum & bass.
Why the same breaks keep coming back
A great break has swing, grit and a little imperfection that a programmed beat can't fake. Once one producer flips a break into a hit, everyone reaches for it — and the sample takes on a life of its own across decades and genres.
FAQ
What is the most sampled song of all time?
The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother' — its ~6-second drum solo, the 'Amen Break', has been sampled in an estimated 5,000+ tracks.
What is the second most sampled drum break?
James Brown's 'Funky Drummer', played by Clyde Stubblefield, sampled roughly 1,400 times by artists from Public Enemy to the Beastie Boys.
Sources & method
Love the data? Steal the sound.
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— IvanFromRnD
Figures are compiled from the public studies and datasets cited above and may vary by dataset, sample and definition. Educational reference. Contains affiliate links.
Who's behind this
Ivan Meshcheriakov · IvanFromRnD
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