James Brown’s funk master John ‘Jab’o’ Starks

John ‘Jab’o’ Starks, one of the drummers who gave funk singer James Brown his driving beat, has died in his native Alabama at the age of 79.

Starks’ longtime manager, Kathie Williams, said he died in Mobile, days after entering hospice care for cancer and a bone marrow disorder.

The drummer played with Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland for years before joining Brown. He and fellow drummer Clyde Stubblefield provided the beats for Brown’s rhythm section during the singer’s heyday in the late 1960s and early ’70s.

Rolling Stone magazine has ranked the St arks Stubblefield combination among the greatest drummers of all time. Starks’ nickname ‘Jab’o’ was given to him by an older brother. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Naomi, and two children.

Starks and Stubblefield, who died last year, combined on some of Brown’s best-known recordings, and Starks performed on hits including Sex Machine and Super Bad. While Starks had a blues background and Stubblefield was known for funk, the two meshed.

“You have to understand this: We’re two different drummers,” Starks said in 2015. “Clyde plays the way that Clyde plays, which, nobody’s gonna play like Clyde. I play like I play. We can play the same tune, but different ways. You never played together on James’ shows, but when he wanted to hear something different from Clyde, he’d point to me.”

After gigs that included touring with blues legend BB King, Starks reunited with Stubblefield two decades ago. The two toured for years as the FunkMasters.

John ‘Jab’o’ Starks.