Jerome Eugene "Bigfoot" Brailey (born August 20, 1950) is an American

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

, best known for his work with

P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...

, which included the bands

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

, and numerous related projects. Brailey is a member of the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...

Career

Jerome Brailey started performing around 1968 with the R&B group

The Unifics The Unifics were an American soul group from Washington, D.C. History In 1966 a group of students at Washington D.C.'s Howard University formed the group Al & the Vikings. Consisting of singer/songwriter Al Johnson, Robert Hayes, George Ro ...

, The

Five Stairsteps The Five Stairsteps, known as "The First Family of Soul" and later "The Invisible Man's Band", were an American Chicago soul group made up of five of Betty and Clarence Burke Sr.'s six children: Alohe Jean, Clarence Jr., James, Dennis, and K ...

, then

The Chambers Brothers The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1968 psychedelic soul hit " Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions ...

. George Clinton saw Jerome performing with

and invited him to join the Funk Mob after witnessing his style and finesse on drums. He joined the

collective in 1975 during the time he co-wrote one of Parliament's biggest hits, “ Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" with Clinton and

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s before joining the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Collins established himse ...

while also playing on many of Parliament-Funkadelic's most popular recordings. Brailey left the

organization in 1978 due to bad management by producer George Clinton and began working closely with

Glenn Goins Glenn Lamonte Goins (January 2, 1954 – July 29, 1978), also known as Glen Goins, was a singer and guitarist for Parliament-Funkadelic in the mid-1970s. Goins is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, posthumously inducted in 1997 with fif ...

, who had also left

and started productions on the funk group Quazar which featured Glenn's brother Kevin Goins on vocals. Brailey and Goins conceived a band called Mutiny as they were finalizing the Quazar album for

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

; however,

died in 1978 at the age of 24, leaving Brailey to complete the album. He then established Mutiny and signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. “ Mutiny on the Mamaship” (

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

) the debut album, follow by “ Funk Plus The One” (

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

) both produced by Jerome Brailey while working alongside guitarist Donald “Lenny” Holmes and bassist Raymone Carter were the makings of collectable recordings. The albums were not far removed from the classic

style, with emphasis placed on dual lead guitar works. They were seen as successful in musical terms, though some critics complained about the lack of originality but the quality of those recordings were recognized by many. Other noted collections of recordings, “A Night Out With The Boys” (

Tuff City Records Tuff City Records is a New York–based record label founded by journalist Aaron Fuchs in 1981.Verna, Paul (1994)Tuff City Records Moves Forward and Looks Back" ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'', July 16, 1994, retrieved 2010-08-29 Initially con ...

), Aftershock 2005 (

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

) and Funk Road (Catbone Music Label) are also under the Mutiny's umbrella receiving positive vibes and energy. Jerome is also noted for his drum style on hit recordings such as

“Court of Love” and The

“ Ooh Child”. His drum arrangements on the single " Do That Stuff", from the Parliament album

The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein ''The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein'' is the fifth album by funk band Parliament (band), Parliament, released on July 20, 1976. The album is notable for featuring horn arrangements by ex-James Brown band member Fred Wesley. The album charted at No. 3 ...

, in recent have been sampled by

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

on "The Heart Pt.3 (Will You Let it Die ?),

Childish Gambino Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his musical stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. While he studied at New York University and after working in Derrick ...

on “ Boogieman" a single taken from his third studio album, " Awaken, My Love" and by

Westside Boogie Anthony Tremaine Dixson (born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Westside Boogie (stylised in all capitals; formerly known as Boogie), is an American rapper. His debut mixtape, ''Thirst 48'', was released on June 24, 2014, followed by his ...

- Outside (ft.

Joey Bada$$ Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper and actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York City, he formed the regional hip-hop group Pro Era in 2011, with whom he ...

) for a continuation of drum rudiments lifted from that

recording. Sequence, was an American female hip–hop/vocal trio from Columbia,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, consisted of members Cheryl Cook, Gwendolyn Chisolm, and Angie Brown Stone released the song “Funky Sound” (Tear The Roof Off) on Sugar Hill Records in 1979. Gerardo “Mo Ritmo” released the single “We Want The Funk” on

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

in 1991 while M.C. Hammer released the single “Turn This Mutha Out", from the "

Let's Get It Started "Let's Get It Started" is a song by American group the Black Eyed Peas. It is a clean version of "Let's Get Retarded" from their third studio album, ''Elephunk'' (2003). The album version was originally only reworked for its use in promotion fo ...

" album on Capital Records in 1988. Also

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

on the “

Doggystyle ''Doggystyle'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. It was released on November 23, 1993, by Death Row and Interscope Records. The album was recorded and produced following Snoop Doggy Dogg's appearances on Dr. Dre's ...

” album released his most successful single to date, " Who Am I (What's My Name)?" produced by

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. D ...

and

in 1993. All or part of the interpolation of these recordings are credited to the original song by

, “ Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)". The

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

list of “The 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time” chose Jerome “Bigfoot” Brailey as #68 for his steady kick drum, shifty hi-hat action and intricately unpredictable snare patterns. He also appeared as a session drummer with a diverse group of artists including

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...

James Blood Ulmer James "Blood" Ulmer (born February 8, 1940) is an American jazz, free funk and blues music, blues guitarist and singer. Ulmer plays a Gibson Byrdland guitar. His guitar sound has been described as "jagged" and "stinging". His singing has been ...

, Dave Stewart, and

Lucky Peterson Judge Kenneth "Lucky" Peterson (December 13, 1964 – May 17, 2020) was an American musician who played contemporary Blues music, blues, fusing soul music, soul, Rhythm and blues, R&B, gospel music, gospel and rock and roll. He was a vocalist, g ...

during his career. The Mothership, the iconic stage prop made famous by legendary funk collective

, has been acquired by the Smithsonian's

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), colloquially known as the Blacksonian, is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in 2003 an ...

in Washington, DC where it will help anchor a permanent music exhibition at the museum in 2016. Each year the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

Hall Of Fame celebrates a class of outstanding recordings at least 25 years old that exhibits qualitative or historical significance and in its 2018 class “Flash Light” by Parliament was add to the Hall list of classic recordings. Smith and Hay's release two CD's, Jazz & Jazz (Deluxe) during a series of recordings in 2017 which featured Jerome Bigfoot on many of the songs. Jazz (Deluxe) charted and became the number one ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Jazz album in the country in January 2018. With a signature for foot and snare connections during the impact years with

, The

Recording Academy National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely known for its Gramm ...

awarded and announced in December 2018 that the

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is a special Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achiev ...

will be presented to

members on May 11, 2019 in Los Angeles, CA. for their creative contributions in music. The

just recently listed the 50 greatest drummers in the Hall naming Jerome Bigfoot #48, revealing his drum style kept

rooted in the old-school,

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

-style funk on tracks like "Handcuffs", "Do That Stuff" and the Funk anthem " Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)".Troy L. Smith
50 Greatest Drummers In The Hall of Fame
January 11, 2020.

Selected discography

Parliament / Funkadelic (1975–1979)

*Parliament: ''

Mothership Connection ''Mothership Connection'' is the fourth album by American funk band Parliament, released on December 15, 1975, on Casablanca Records. This concept album is often rated among the best Parliament-Funkadelic releases, and was the first to feature ho ...

'' (1975) *Funkadelic: '' Tales of Kidd Funkadelic'' (1976) *Funkadelic: '' Hardcore Jollies'' (1976) *Parliament: ''

'' (1976) *Fuzzy Haskins: '' A Whole Nother Thang'' (1976) *Parliament: '' Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome'' (1977) *Bootsy's Rubber Band: '' Ahh... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!'' (1977) *Eddie Hazel: ''Games, Dames and Guitar Thangs'' (1977) *Parliament: '' Live: P-Funk Earth Tour'' (1977) *Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns featuring Maceo Parker: '' A Blow for Me, a Toot to You'' (1977) *Bootsy's Rubber Band: '' Bootsy? Player of the Year'' (1978) *Funkadelic: ''

One Nation Under a Groove ''One Nation Under a Groove'' is the tenth studio album by American funk rock band Funkadelic, released on September 22, 1978, on Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions took place at United Sound Studio in Detroit, with one song recorded live ...

'' (1978) *The Brides of Funkenstein: '' Funk or Walk'' (1978) *Fuzzy Haskins: '' Radio Active'' (1978) *Parlet: '' Pleasure Principle'' (1978) *Funkadelic: '' Uncle Jam Wants You'' (1979) *Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns: '' Say Blow by Blow Backwards'' (1979) *Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns: '' The Final Blow'' (recorded 1976–1979) (1994) *Eddie Hazel: ''Rest in P'' (recorded 1975–1977) (1994)

Mutiny

*'' Mutiny on the Mamaship'' (1979) *'' Funk Plus the One'' (1980) *''A Night Out with the Boys'' (1983) *'' Aftershock 2005'' (1996) *''How's Your Loose Booty?'' (compilation) (2000) *''Funk Rd.'' (2013) *''Mutiny'' (2-CD Deluxe Edition) (2015) *''Black Hat Daddy & The Silver Comb Gang'' (recorded 1981 / released 2023)

Quazar

*'' Quazar'' (1978)

Chambers Brothers

*"Right Move" (Avco Records 1975)

Five Stairsteps

*Five Stairsteps & Cubie Featuring Clarence Jr. – "The Shadow Of Your Love / Bad News" (Buddah Records 1968) *The Five Stairsteps "

O-o-h Child "O-o-h Child" is a 1970 single, written by Stan Vincent, recorded by Chicago soul family group the Five Stairsteps and released on the Buddah label. The Five Stairsteps previously had limited success recording in Chicago with Curtis Mayfiel ...

" (Buddha Records 1970),

Bernard Purdie Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul, funk and jazz musician. He is known for his precise time-keeping and his signature use of Tuplet, triplets against a half-time backbeat: the P ...

or Jerome Brailey.

The Unifics

*''Sittin In At The Court Of Love'' (Kapp Records 1968)

Parliament / Funkadelic Compilations

*Funkadelic: ''Music for Your Mother'' (Import / March 1993) *Parliament: ''Tear The Roof Off:'' 1974-1980 (1993) *Parliament: ''Greatest Hits 1972-1993'' (1994) *Bootsy Back in the Day: ''The Best of Bootsy'' (1994) *The Best of Parliament: ''Give Up the Funk'' (1995) *Mothership Connection: ''Newberg Session'' (1995) *Parliament / Funkadelic (Live): ''1976-1993'' (1996) *Funkadelic: ''Ultimate'' (1999) *Parliament: ''The 20th Century Masters / Millennium Collection:'' (2000) *Bootsy Collins: ''Glory B da' Funk's on Me'' (2001) *Parliament: ''Funked Up: The Very Best of...'' (2002) *George Clinton / Parliament Funkadelic: ''Mothership Connection'' (DVD / 2002) *Funkadelic / Motor City Madness: ''The Ultimate Funkadelic Westbound Compilation'' (2004) *Funkadelic: ''Under a Groove'' (Import / Box Set: March 2004) *Funkadelic: ''Whole Funk & Nothing But the Funk / Definitive'' (2005) *Parliament: Gold: ''Original Recordings Remastered'' 1974-1980 (2005) *Funkadelic: ''Funk Gets Stronger'' (Import, Reissued, Remastered / April 2006) *Parliament / ''The Casablanca Years'' 1974-1980 (2007) *Parliament / Funkadelic: ''The Mothership Connection Live'' 1976 (2008) *Standing on the Verge: ''The Best of Funkadelic'' (2009) *Parliament: ''ICON'' (2011) *Funkadelic: ''Cosmic Funkers'' (2011) *Funkadelic: ''Reworked By Detroiters'' (Import / December 2017) *Parliament / Funkadelic: (Live) ''Madison Square Garden'' 1977 (Import / December 2017)

New York / Collision Music Years

*Billy Bass Nelson: ''Out of the Dark'' (O.G. Funk) (1993) *Liu Sola: ''Blues in the East'' (1994) *Buckethead: ''Giant Robot'' (1994) *Tawl Ross: ''a.k.a. Detrimental Vasoline'' (1995) *Dave Stewart: ''Greetings from the Gutter'' (1995) *Jah Wobble: ''Heaven and Earth'' (1995) *Peter's Rock Mass Choir: ''Message from the Rock'' (1995) *Funkcronomicon: ''Axiom Funk'' (1995) *Various Artists: Altered Beats: ''Assassin Knowledges'' (1996) *Material: ''Intonarumori'' (1998) *James Blood Ulmer: ''Blue Blood'' (2001) *Lucky Peterson: ''Black Midnight Sun'' (2003)

Hip-Hop genre / Jazz Deluxe / Digital Music Mix

*A Different Kind Of Christmas: ''Various Artists'' (2012) *Jonathan Hay, Mike Smith, King Tech, Jerome Bigfoot & Various Artists - ''When Music Worlds Collide'' (2015) * Jonathan Hay & Mike Smith: ''(Deluxe) When Music World Collide (2016)'' *Smith and Hay: ''Jazz'' (September 2017) *Smith and Hay: ''Jazz (Deluxe)'' (Jan. 2018

Contributions / Sampled Chronology

*Osiris: ''O-Zone'' (1979) *The Sequence: ''(Funky Sound) Tear the Roof Off'' (1981) *M.C. Hammer: ''Turn This Mutha Out'' (Let’s Get It Started) (1988) *Gerardo: ''We Want The Funk'' (1991) *Snoop Dogg: ''What's My Name?'' (Doggystyle) (Interpolations from "Give Up The Funk) (1993) *Snoop Dogg: ''Undercova Funk (Give Up the Funk)'' (Undercover Brother) (2002) *Dawn Sheppard: ''The Dawn Of A New Day'' (2003) *Mello Bondz: ''Billion Dollar Babies'' (2007) *BIGFOOT & Bondz: ''The Lovinator Experiment (Intro)'' (2010) *Glee: ''The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers'' (Soundtrack Album) (2010) *Moneyball (soundtrack): ''Give Up The Funk'' (2011) *Lyrica Garrett: ''Summer Time Love (Ready)'' (2019)

References

External links

*The Chambers Brothers / Right Move (Discogs

*Jerome Bigfoot Brailey / Drum Solo Artist (Drum Solo Artist.com

*The Five Stairsteps / The Show of Your Lov

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brailey, Jerome 1950 births Living people Musicians from Richmond, Virginia African-American drummers American funk drummers American male drummers P-Funk members 20th-century American drummers Drummers from Virginia