The Winstons

The Winstons
The Winstons
	The Winstons in 1969
Background information
Origin	Washington, D.C., United States
Genres	Funk, soul
Labels	Metromedia
Past members	Richard Lewis Spencer; Gregory C. Coleman; Phil Tolotta; Quincy Mattison; Ray Maritano; Sonny Peckrol;

The Winstons were an American funk and soul music group based in Washington, D.C. They are known for their 1969 recording featuring a song entitled "Color Him Father" on the A-side, and "Amen, Brother" on the B-side. Halfway into "Amen, Brother", there is a drum solo (performed by Gregory C. Coleman) which would cause the release to become the most widely sampled record in the history of electronic music.^[1] Sampled audio clips of the drum solo became known as the Amen break, which has been used in thousands of tracks in many musical genres, including breakcore, drum and bass, hip hop,^[2] jungle, big beat and industrial.^[3]

The "Color Him Father" record sold over one million copies, and received a gold record awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America on 24 July 1969. It also won a Grammy Award for the Best Rhythm and Blues Song (1969).^[4]

The Winstons struggled to secure gigs in the South with their multiracial composition and disbanded in 1970.^[1]

Members

The Winstons toured as a backup band for the Impressions.^[4]

^ ^a ^b "Six seconds that shaped 1,500 songs", by Ellen Otzen, BBC News Magazine, 29 March 2015
^ Nottingham, Kevin (16 March 2009). "Top 10 Most Sampled Songs in Hip Hop". Retrieved 28 September 2011.
^ "Video explains the world's most important 6-sec drum loop". YouTube. 21 February 2006. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 270. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.

Authority control databases
International	ISNI
Artists	MusicBrainz 2