Musicians Behind One of the Most Sampled Loops in History Have Finally Been Paid

The frontman of funk and soul group the Winstons has been given a cheque for £24,000 following a fundraising camping to ensure that the band were rewarded for creating one of the most sampled loops in musical history.

You might not have heard of the Winstons, but you’ll most definitely be familiar with a six-second drum solo from the band’s 1969 track “Amen Brother.”

Sampled hundreds of times, the groove forms the basis for a number of classic tracks including Oasis’ “D’You Know What I Mean?” and the Prodigy’s “Firestarter.” However, the Winstons had never seen a penny from its use until fans started a crowdfunding campaign to ensure that they received money for their influential work.

British DJs Martyn Webster and Steve Theobald originally started the campaign with the intention of raising £1000. By the time the campaign closed in March of this year, they had raised £24,000

Thanking those who donated, Winstons main man Richard Spencer stated:  “Thank you so much for this great contribution to my life. Thank you very, very much. A-men!”

The band were unaware of the song’s second life and US law states that any civil and criminal cases must be filed within 36 months of the song being sampled, meaning the band missed their brief window to benefit financially.

Having walked away from the music industry. Spencer was working in the transit industry when he first learned about the sampling. Gregory Coleman, the drummer who featured on the recording unfortunately died homeless.