The Apache Break: One of Drum and Bass & Hip-Hop's Seminal Sounds
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If you read the blog I wrote on the Hot Pants break, you’ll remember that its history was anything but straightforward. Similarly, the notorious Apache break has a rich and complex history even before it became widely sampled in drum and bass and hip-hop. Let’s dive right in!
“Apache” is a song originally written by UK songwriter, composer, and singer Jerry Lordan in 1960. He was inspired to write this instrumental track after viewing the 1954 American western film with the same name. This film, based on the 1936 Peter Wellman novel Broncho Apache, starred Burt Lancaster and Jean Peters, who both appeared in brownface. Lancaster portrayed Massai, the last Apache warrior, and Peters his love interest, Nalinle. After seeing this movie, Lordan wanted to write something energetic, and he definitely succeeded with this song.
The first recording of this track was done by British guitar icon Bert Weedon, but Lordan did not care for it. While touring with The Shadows, Lordan played “Apache” on his ukulele to the bassist of the band who loved it. The British instrumental rock group then decided to record their own version and it was released in July of 1960. It quickly rose to the top of the UK charts where it stayed for five weeks. This version has been sampled about 18 times, according to WhoSampled.com. The following year Danish jazz and pop guitarist Jorgen Ingmann recorded his own version which charted in the United States. “Apache” has been covered countless times, including by The Ventures and more notably by the iconic The Sugarhill Gang. None of these versions is sampled as much as the cover by the Incredible Bongo Band, which released in 1973.
Michael Viner, an American film and music producer, assembled a funk group in 1972 called the Incredible Bongo Band. The group added a bongo to the introduction of “Apache” as well as adding more percussion to their variation. Drummer Jim Gordon recorded the infamous drum break on this version, which was quite extended, leading to its use as one of the records Kool Herc first used in his merry-go-round technique which essentially was the groundwork for hip-hop. The Incredible Bongo Band’s cover of this now-quintessential song is easily the most sampled version: according to WhoSampled.com, “Apache” has been sampled in a whopping 785 songs in a multitude of genres ranging from hip-hop to pop to drum and bass and jungle. Some notable songs include Goldie and Diane Charlemagne’s “Inner City Life” (1994), Dillinija’s “Friday” (2004), and 2020’s “Poison” by Sully.
Hip-hop is unarguably the biggest user of this infamous breakbeat. Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa, The Sugarhill Gang, Kool Herc, and The Roots have all sampled “Apache”, and it doesn’t look like anyone is about to stop. An article on the song on Wikipedia states that this track has been widely referred to as “hip-hop’s national anthem”. It’s definitely also been a huge influence on jungle and drum and bass.
I hope you enjoyed learning about the history of this ubiquitous and influential drum break. The next installment DnB sample history will be in two weeks!
Huge up,
Tally G
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