Crowdfunding, Past Campaigns

Clyde Stubblefield – Drumming Legend Kidney – Crowdfunding Campaign

The 2009 documentary "Copyright Criminals" features Chattanooga native Clyde Stubblefield, best known as James Brown's "Funky Drummer." Photo by Contributed Photo /Times Free Press.

Clyde Stubblefield is a funk drumming legend whose sampled beats, from his creative recordings with James Brown, have been used for decades by rappers and hip-hop groups, giving shape to the sound of drum & bass and hip hop music.

Born in 1943, Clyde suffered kidney failure in July 2009 and started weekly dialysis treatment. Exactly one year later, an alliance of Clyde’s supporters from all music genres was formed to raise awareness of a new, safe, and simple means established for donating financial aid directly to Clyde.

At 67, Stubblefield had already overcome bladder cancer, was still fighting diabetes, and now needed to undergo kidney dialysis treatment for life. Despite his troubling medical health, Clyde has remained optimistic and even continues to perform his music.

The fundraising campaign – “Give The Drummer Some!”

The Coalition for Clyde Stubblefield started a donation campaign dubbed “Give The Drummer Some!” to provide Clyde with some financial relief through the process. Through the Chip In platform, all the funds collected were safely and securely funneled to Clyde directly via PayPal without any intermediaries.

The Coalition worked hard to reach as many people as they could by placing the Chip In Coalition was essentially an alliance of artists and other individuals in the music industry to support Clyde by raising awareness of the fundraising campaign. It was founded by drummers Johnny Rabb, David Stanoch, and Stanton Moore (member of Galactic band in New Orleans), who share a deep respect for Clyde’s musical innovations as reflected in their own style of playing and advocated in their teaching duties.

The drummers believe that the innovations and contributions of Stubblefield to shaping America’s cultural landscape cannot be quantified, and are often overlooked. His powerful funk with James Brown influenced many artists who could not resist using his grooves as the basis for creating their own music, yet his contributions went unrecognized and uncompensated. In forming The Coalition, the drummers hoped to rally artists across the industry to not only support Clyde during this process but also show him the reverence he deserves.

The Coalition – Crowdfunding Campaign

The Coalition founders were able to reach out and gain the support of esteemed artists and other personalities in the industry to spread the word, including Steve Jordan, Butch Vig, Andy Newmark, Richard Davis, Mike Clark, Jab’o Starks, Zigaboo Modeliste, Adam Deitch, and Hannah Ford, among others.

These heavy-hitters helped to get the people’s attention and give Clyde the opportunity to feel the affection of everyone whose life he has touched as they come together for his sake.