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James Brown - Cold Sweat

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James Brown's Cold Sweat, released in 1967, is often cited as the original funk tune. Whether or not you believe this, you can't deny that this tune is seriously funky! The groove that Clyde Stubblefield layed down on this track, characterised by the displaced backbeat at the end of bar one, is still regularly imitated today. In fact, what prompted me to post this groove is hearing drummer Billy Martin play a great variation of it on John Scofield's tune Chank.
 

Steely Dan - Babylon Sisters

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Introducing the 'Purdie Shuffle'. Studio great Bernard Purdie pioneered this half-time shuffle feel that would later be adopted by John Bonham and Jeff Porcaro. Purdie has kept the bass drum pattern simple and incorporated an open hihat into the shuffle pattern.

Check out Bonham and Porcaro's take on the half-time shuffle here.

Check out the hysterical Bernard Purdie demonstrating and (not really?) explaining his approach to his unique shuffle below.

Boz Scaggs - Lowdown

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Here's another classic Jeff Porcaro groove from Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees record. The heart of this one is the tasty, subtle ghost notes after the backbeats on the snare. This track has an overdubbed 16th note hihat pattern and is pretty quick at around quarters = 115 bpm.

For more Porcaro genius check out Boz Scaggs' Lido Shuffle and Toto's Rosanna.

Boz Scaggs - Lido Shuffle

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Here's another famous groove from the late, great Jeff Porcaro. This one is played at about quarter note = 140 on the record so it is a real workout for your left hand. Porcaro's ghost note work was always something I admired about his unique style and this is yet another example of it. Aside from his work with Toto, Porcaro was a prolific session drummer. This tune comes from Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees record.

For other example of playing 'inside' a shuffle groove with ghost notes on the snare, check out Buddy Guy's Damn Right I've Got The Blues or John Bonham's half time shuffle on Led Zeppelin's Fool In The Rain.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Manic Depression

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Here's a groove from a classic Hendrix tune, Manic Despression. The late Mitch Mitchell plays this great, galloping 3/4 swing groove. Enjoy!

The Roots - The Seed

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Here's another groove from one of my favourites, Questlove. This groove is deceptively simple but sounds great with and without the band. Take note of the two accented upbeat hihats, these two simple embelishments hold this groove together and give it it's infectious lope. Questlove is the king of laying down a pocket groove with machine like precision and repetition, while at the same time carefully choosing moments to add slight variations and fills to keep a tune moving forward.