Sampling—the practice of surgically excising a short passage from one song and then using it to build a brand-new song—has been with us since the late 1970s. So here’s a question: what song has been sampled by more people and used in more songs than any other?
According to the excellent database WhoSampled, the answer is a tiny snippet at the end of a 1982 track by Fab 5 Freddy called “Change the Beat,” which is actually credited to “Beside” (as in B-E-S-I-D-E; geddit?). Here’s the sample.
That seven seconds has been used in no fewer than 1,786 other songs. And has Fab 5 Freddy received any royalties for that? Nope. But at least he has bragging rights, huh?
More on sampling next time.
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