The Most Sampled Songs of All Time

Sampling has been a part of the music-sphere since the eighties, where snippets of forgotten gems or stone-cold classics are spliced into new tracks. Whether it’s a snatched bit of the vocals, melody, bass line or drum beat, sampling has boosted the feel of some pretty big hits. Some purists see it as stealing, but our Guestblogger Marlies sees it as a smart and creative way of recycling fragments of music and even introducing old smashers to a new audience. Here, she presents the top 10 most sampled songs of all time and lines up her own sample-heavy favourites.

The Top 10 Most Sampled Songs of All Time

You can easily find the top 10 most-sampled songs on a lot of sites but just so we have a reference (and simply because, like sampling, it bears repeating) I’ve added the list below:

1. The Winstons – Amen Brother
2. Beside – Change The Beat (Female Version)
3. Lynn Collins – Think (About It)
4. James Brown – Funky Drummer
5. Doug E. Fresh – La Di Da Di
6. James Brown – Funky President (People It’s Bad)
7. Public Enemy – Bring The Noise
8. Melvin Bliss – Synthetic Substitution
9. The Honey Drippers – Impeach The President
10. Run-DMC – Here We Go (Live at the Funhouse)

My Personal Sample-Based Top 10

So there we have, the most sampled songs of all time. But here, I also want to talk about ten of my personal favourite tracks, all of which feature recycled fragments of other songs.

1. Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve

Released in 1997, Bitter Sweet Symphony was The Verve’s biggest hit. The whole song is based on a sample from The Last Time, played by The Andrew Oldham Orchestra and was a cover of the song of the same name that was first released by The Rolling Stones in 1965. There was a lot of fuss when this sample was used. Initial consent was given by Decca Records, but when the song became such a big hit, the band was sued by Allen Klein who owns the rights to the original Stones version of The Last Time. To avoid any further bother, The Verve gave in and donated the rights to the song to Allen Klein’s company, ABKCO Music. The whole fiasco was essentially a… bittersweet symphony.

2. The Bounce – Jay Z ft Kanye West

When he released The Bounce in 2002, Jay Z proved that samples can come from anywhere, all over the world. Throughout the whole track, a snippet of the Indian song Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai by Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun runs on a loop. Listen to both tracks below.

3. Crazy in Love van Beyoncé

The sample that forms the base of Crazy in Love was taken from Are You My Woman (Tell Me So) which was released by The Chi-Lites in 1970. As you can hear in the clips below, Beyoncé didn’t mess with the original track that much, only pushing up the tempo, giving it that fierce vibe. Listen and compare.

4. Deeper Shade of Soul van Urban Dance Squad

The Dutch band Urban Dance Squad scored a global hit with Deeper Shade of Soul in 1989 which split up and stuttered the song of the same name that was released by Ray Baretto in 1968.

5. Hotline Bling van Drake

Here, Drake uses irresistible fragments of Why Can’t We Live Together, which was first released by Timmy Thomas in 1972. Unlike a lot of sampled artists, Thomas didn’t immediately reach for the phone to file a lawsuit, but was delighted that his work was used and re-introduced to a wider audience.

6. In This Life van Madonna

A lot of classical music has also found its way into sample culture. On In This Life from Madonna’s 1992 album Erotica, you can hear part of George Gershwin’s Prelude for Piano Nr.2, which was first composed in 1926. Hear both versions below.

7. Me Myself And I van De La Soul

In this absolute classic, De La Soul sampled Funkadelic’s 1979 smash hit (Not Just) Knee Deep and isn’t the only rap outfit to draw from its sonic wealth. Tracks like Nitro by LL Cool J, Funky Cold Medina by Tone Loc, Who Am I? By Snoop Dogg and Dre Day by Dr. Dre feature cuts from Knee Deep.

8. No Diggity van Blackstreet feat. Dr. Dre and Queen Pen

In this track, you can hear the voice of Bill Withers, taken from his ode to all the nans in the world: Grandma’s Hands. Uhh-mmmm…

9. Sometimes van Moby

Moby is known for some heavy sampling. His album Play, which came out in 1999 took fragments from old American blues and gospel, introducing the millennial age to the essential roots of modern music. On Sometimes, he sampled the song of the same name that was first recorded by Bessie Jones in 1960. Hear both versions below.

10. Fight the Power – Public Enemy

And now we come to Fight the Power, which was first released by Public Enemy in 1990 and featured a fragment from one of the sample greats: James Brown’s Funky Drummer. But not only that, it also chopped in bits of Different Strokes by Syl Johnson, Fight the Power by The Isley Brothers, Sing a Simple Song by Sly & the Family Stone, I Don’t Know What This World Is Coming To by The Soul Children featuring Jesse Jackson, Hot Pants Road by The J.B.’s, I Shot the Sheriff by Bob Marley and The Wailers, Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get by The Dramatics, Land of 1000 Dances by Wilson Pickett, Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force and cuts from no less than 13 other songs, making it what might be the most sample-heavy protest song of all time.

Know any other tracks that feature some samples from deep cuts? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to leave a YouTube link.