Clyde Stubblefield Bench Dedication

On August 17, 2019, the Madison Blues Society Dedicated a Park Bench to Clyde Stubblefield at Britingham Park Shellter, Madison, Wisconsin.

Clyde Austin Stubblefield (April 18, 1943 – February 18, 2017) was an American drummer best known for his work with James Brown, with whom he recorded and toured for six years (1965-70). His syncopated drum patterns on Brown’s recordings, considered funk standards, were sampled and heavily used in hip hop music beginning in the 1980s, although Stubblefield frequently received no credit. Learn More…

Madison Became His Home

Clyde lived in Madison, Wisconsin, from 1971 onward.For over twenty years he played Monday nights with his band, The Clyde Stubblefield Band, in downtown Madison. The band featured his longtime friend and keyboard-organ player Steve “Doc” Skaggs, along with soul vocalists Charlie Brooks and Karri Daley, as well as a horn section and supporting band. Stubblefield retired from the Monday shows in 2011 due to health issues, leaving the band in the hands of his nephew Bret Stubblefield.^[17][18] At the bench dedication, Clyde’s wife of 25 years Jody Hannon shared that her husband loved Madison. He chose to settle down here because he loved the people, and the people loved him.

Stubblefield worked with a variety of musicians in the Madison area such as keyboardist Steve Skaggs, guitarists Luther Allison and Cris Plata, jazz violinist Randy Sabien, rock band Garbage, country trio Common Faces and jazz group NEO.^[19][20][9] He performed and recorded with members of The J.B.’s including Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker and “Jabo” Starks.^[20][21] The group released the album Bring the Funk on Down in 1999.^[22] From the early 1990s to 2015, he performed on the nationally syndicated public radio show Whad’Ya Know?^[4][23]

A self-taught musician, Stubblefield was influenced by the sound of industrial rhythms he heard in factories and trains. He began playing with local groups in his native Tennessee and later moved to Georgia, where he played with musicians such as Eddie Kirkland and Otis Redding in the early 1960s before joining the James Brown Band. He later settled in Madison, Wisconsin, where he was a staple of the local music scene. He has been named among the great drummers of all time by various publications. In 2017, he accepted an honorary degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Information courtesy of Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Stubblefield

Overlooking Monona Bay, Britingham Park
829 West Washington Avenue, Madison WI.