The Winstons

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Winstons were an American funk and soul group from Washington, D.C. The band consisted of Richard Lewis Spencer on tenor saxophone and lead, Ray Maritano on alto saxophone, Quincy Mattison on guitar, Phil Tolotta on organ, Sonny Pekerol on bass guitar and the drummer Gregory C. Coleman. They were a mixed group, and that was precisely why it was hard to get gigs in the South. In 1970 the group stopped. They also played as the backing band of The Impressions.

Music and breakthrough

In 1969 their best-known record appeared. On the A-side was Color Him Father, a soul song that reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, sold more than a million copies and went gold. It won a Grammy for best R&B song in 1970. On the B-side was Amen, Brother, an instrumental. Halfway through, Coleman plays a drum solo of a few bars, which later became known as the Amen break. Love of the Common People also reached the Hot 100 in 1969.

Influence

That short drum solo became the most sampled recording in the history of electronic music. Musicians used it in thousands of songs in genres such as breakcore, drum and bass, hip hop, jungle, big beat and industrial. In this way the B-side of a small soul group has had a great influence on the dance music of later decades.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1969Color Him Father
• 1970Tribute to the Rolling Stones

Mentioned in other articles

• Breakbeat sampling (Amen break) TechnologyIn 1969, on Amen, Brother by The Winstons, the drummer Gregory Coleman played a drum solo of a few seconds.

See also

• Breakbeat sampling (Amen break)