John “Jabo” Starks: The Steady Groove Behind James Brown’s Funk Revolution

Few drummers have had as profound an influence on funk and popular music while remaining as understated as John “Jabo” Starks. Known affectionately as Jabo or Jab’o, Starks was a master of groove whose crisp, disciplined drumming helped establish the rhythmic language of James Brown’s music during one of the most important periods in the development of funk.

Alongside fellow drummer Clyde Stubblefield, Starks formed one half of the extraordinary rhythmic foundation behind James Brown’s music in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His playing can be heard on classics including “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine,” “Super Bad,” “The Payback,” “I Got the Feelin’,” “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud,” and “Cold Sweat.”

But Starks‘ importance extends far beyond the James Brown catalogue. His grooves became a treasure trove for generations of hip-hop producers, DJs, and musicians. His precise beats were sampled repeatedly, helping carry the sound of early funk into hip-hop, R&B, and later popular music.

For drummers, Jabo Starks represents a valuable lesson: sometimes the most powerful playing comes from serving the groove rather than showing off.

 

Younger Years and Discovering the Drums

John Henry Starks was born on October 26, 1938, in Jackson, Alabama, and grew up in the Mobile area. His father worked in a sawmill, while his mother worked in food service for the public school system.

His attraction to the drums began during his childhood. One of the experiences that changed his life came when he watched a drummer marching in a Mobile Mardi Gras parade. Starks was fascinated by the drummer’s ability to control the energy of the entire marching band.

He later recalled following the parade for miles, watching and listening to the drummer, and deciding that he wanted to play just like him. His earliest drum kit was far from glamorous: a bass drum and snare drum were tied to a chair, with cymbals positioned on a dinner stand.

Starks was largely self-taught, but he also benefited from the guidance of experienced musicians. Cornelius “Tenoo” Coleman, a drummer who had worked with Fats Domino, became an important mentor.

His musical environment was equally important. Growing up in Alabama exposed Starks to blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, and the rhythmic traditions of Black church music. Starks himself acknowledged the influence of sanctified church rhythms on his playing.

These influences would become central to the distinctive feel he eventually brought to funk.

 

Influences and Early Career

Before becoming associated with James Brown, Starks developed his skills playing with some of the great blues and R&B performers of the era. After high school, he worked with artists including John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Big Mama Thornton, and Smiley Lewis.

In 1959, Starks joined the band of blues and R&B singer Bobby “Blue” Bland. His work with Bland gave him valuable experience on the road and in the recording studio. He played on songs including “Turn On Your Love Light,” “I Pity the Fool,” and “That’s the Way Love Is.”

This blues background was crucial to his later work. Unlike some funk drummers who approached the emerging style primarily from soul or jazz, Starks brought an unmistakable blues sensibility to the groove.

That foundation helped make his playing feel natural rather than mechanical.

 

James Brown and the Birth of Funk

The defining chapter of Jabo Starks‘ career began in 1965, when he joined James Brown‘s band. He arrived during a period when Brown was transforming rhythm and blues into something radically new.

Starks became one of the multiple drummers Brown employed, and only a few months later Clyde Stubblefield joined the band. For much of Starks‘ tenure, the two drummers played alongside one another or rotated within Brown‘s rhythm section.

Their contrasting approaches made the partnership particularly fascinating.

Stubblefield was renowned for explosive, highly syncopated funk playing, while Starks was generally more direct and disciplined. Drummer Frank “Kash” Waddy famously described Starks‘ strength as playing clean and straight ahead, contrasting him with Stubblefield’s more fiery approach.

Together, however, they helped establish one of the most influential rhythmic sounds in modern music.

Starks played on some of James Brown’s most important recordings, including:

• “Cold Sweat”
• “I Got the Feelin’”
• “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud”
• “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine”
• “Super Bad”
• “The Payback”

On “Sex Machine,” for example, Starks‘ swinging hi-hat work is a perfect demonstration of his approach. The groove feels relaxed yet extremely controlled, allowing the bass, guitar, horns, and vocals to interact without the drummer overwhelming them.

 

Jabo Starks‘ Drumming Style

Jabo Starks‘ playing was based on feel, consistency, discipline, and pocket.

He was not primarily interested in extended drum solos or technical displays. His mission was to make the music move.

His playing often emphasized strong, repetitive patterns, carefully controlled accents, and a deep relationship with the bass and other rhythm-section instruments. His grooves could sound deceptively simple, but the placement of each note gave them their distinctive character.

This was particularly important in James Brown‘s music. Brown demanded precision from his musicians and was known for penalizing mistakes. Starks developed a reputation for being extremely dependable, even recalling occasions when he caught Brown himself missing a musical cue.

Starks understood that the drummer’s responsibility was to maintain the heartbeat.

As he explained in interviews, he wasn’t trying to outplay anyone. He wanted to provide a solid foundation that allowed the bass, guitar, horns, and other musicians to express themselves freely.

That philosophy is one reason his playing remains so instructive for drummers.

Jabo Starks teaches us that restraint can be just as powerful as complexity.

 

Beyond James Brown

Starks remained associated with James Brown into the mid-1970s, after which he expanded his career through touring and recording with other major musicians.

Among the artists he worked with was B.B. King, appearing on albums including Lucille Talks Back and King Size.

He also maintained his connection with Clyde Stubblefield. Their friendship survived their years with James Brown, and the pair eventually performed together as the FunkMasters.

Their musical partnership became an important part of funk history, especially as musicians and producers began rediscovering their recordings through sampling.

 

A Drummer Who Influenced Hip-Hop

Perhaps one of the most remarkable aspects of Jabo Starks‘ legacy is how far his drumming traveled beyond the era in which he originally recorded it.

His rhythms became heavily sampled by hip-hop artists and producers. The Percussive Arts Society notes that Starks‘ drumbeats have appeared in the work of artists including LL Cool J, Kendrick Lamar, A Tribe Called Quest, the Roots, the Black Eyed Peas, and Kool Moe Dee.

One particularly influential example is the groove from Lyn Collins’ “Think (About It),” a James Brown composition featuring Starks on drums. That rhythmic pattern became hugely influential on later hip-hop and dance music. Questlove has specifically discussed Starks‘ contribution to the development of styles including new jack swing and later club-oriented rhythms.

In other words, Jabo Starks wasn’t simply part of funk history.

His drumming became part of the vocabulary of modern popular music.

 

Recognition and Legacy

Starks and Stubblefield eventually received wider recognition for their enormous contribution to music. In 2013, the two received the Yamaha Legacy Award. In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked them together at No. 6 on its list of the greatest drummers of all time, recognizing the enormous influence of their work with James Brown.

For drummers, however, Starks‘ greatest legacy may not be found in awards or rankings.

It is found in the countless musicians who learned from his grooves.

His playing demonstrates the importance of time, dynamics, repetition, restraint, and musical awareness. He showed that a drummer doesn’t always need to fill every space. Sometimes the most important thing is knowing exactly where to place the beat—and then refusing to let it move.

His influence can still be heard whenever a drummer locks into a deep funk pocket and lets the groove breathe.

 

The Death of Jabo Starks

John “Jabo” Starks died on May 1, 2018, at his home in Mobile, Alabama. He was 79 years old.

Starks had been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone-marrow disorder, in 2017. His condition later developed into acute leukemia, and he entered hospice care shortly before his death.

His passing marked the loss of one of the foundational drummers of funk.

Yet his music had already achieved something that few musicians experience: his playing had become embedded in the sound of generations that followed him.

 

Here are a few highlight videos of John “Jabo” Starks

 

James Brown – Super Bad – Live 1971

 

James Brown – Sex Machine – Live on Soul Train, 1973

 

Aaron Spears with Jabo Starks – Guitar Center Drum Off 2011

 

John “Jabo” Starks may not have been the loudest or most flamboyant drummer in music history, but his contribution was enormous.

From the blues and gospel traditions of Alabama to the revolutionary funk of James Brown, Starks developed a style built around feel, precision, discipline, and an unwavering sense of time. His work alongside Clyde Stubblefield helped create some of the most important grooves of the funk era, while his later influence through sampling carried those rhythms into hip-hop and contemporary music.

For aspiring drummers, Jabo Starks offers a timeless lesson: great drumming is not always about how many notes you can play—it is about how deeply you can make people feel the beat.

His heartbeat stopped in 2018, but the groove he created continues to move.

 

Want to discover more legendary drummers and the grooves that shaped music history? Explore our collection of drummer biographies, and keep listening, learning, and finding inspiration behind the kit!