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Gregory Coleman
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Gregory Coleman · Gregory C. Coleman was an American drummer who played with The Winstons, a funk and soul group from Washington, D.C. He died on 5 February 2006 at the age of 61. Coleman played drums and sang backing vocals. His name is linked to a single recording: Amen, Brother, the B-side of the 1969 single with Color Him Father on the A-side.
Music and breakthrough
Halfway through Amen, Brother there is a drum solo, played by Coleman. That solo became the breakbeat known as the Amen break, and made the single the most sampled record in history. The A-side, Color Him Father, was a success: the record sold more than a million copies, was certified gold on 24 July 1969 and won a Grammy for Best R&B Song of 1970. The song reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.
Influence
The group, whose members came from different backgrounds, had trouble getting gigs in the South and broke up in 1970. Coleman's short solo had a long life. Hip hop producers and, later, drum and bass producers cut the bars out of the song and used them again and again. In this way a few seconds of drumming determined the rhythms of an entire genre.
Listening
Mentioned in other articles
- Breakbeat sampling (Amen break) Technology
In 1969, on Amen, Brother by The Winstons, the drummer Gregory Coleman played a drum solo of a few seconds.