20 Of The Most Sampled Songs Of All Time

The funky bonafides of R&B outfit Commodores, which was led for much of its existence by the great Lionel Richie, cannot be questioned — they recorded “Brick House,” for crying out loud, which would have made them legends had they literally never recorded anything else. But on their 1974 debut LP “Machine Gun,” the band fired off (pun definitely intended) a drum salvo, with an odd, chant-like vocal hit on the downbeat, that would go on to immortality by serving as the basis of many a funky rap track, and more than a few pop tunes as well.

The song in question: “The Assembly Line,” a fairly standard slice of funked-out jamming that, near its end, takes a hard left turn right into one of the most distinctive break beats of all time. Its ringing ride cymbal, thumping snare, and that weird vocal — which sounds a bit like a bunch of quarterbacks all preparing to hike a football — can be heard on classic tunes like Ice Cube’s “The Bomb,” Eric B. and Rakim’s “Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em,” and 3rd Bass’ “Wordz of Wisdom, Pt. 2,” not to mention more recent tunes like “Break the Rules” by Charli XCX and “Michelle” by Plan B. Commodores would go on to Grammy-winning, chart-busting success simply by being an awesome band, but their contribution to rap and pop, by virtue of that one singularly unique snatch of beat, cannot be overstated.