Stubblefield had a life beyond James Brown, first working with Otis Redding, and later with Randy Sabien. Madison and Wisconsin are not exactly the greatest incubators of jazz or the blues - but they have a thing, (and they produced Les Paul). In the area of Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, Stubblefield and Sabien were a part of a bunch of musicians who regularly played the clubs - in jazz and folk, which included Jim Post, Corky Siegel and John Prine. In Madison, Stubblefield played along with Sabien's jazz musicians, sometimes in the UW Student Union 2, filling the place with music, casually, and without fanfare. They also appeared on Prairie Home Companion and Madison's "Whad'Ya'Know?"
"For over twenty years [Clyde] played Monday nights with his band, The Clyde Stubblefield Band, in downtown Madison." - wiki
So, he died today, in Madison. Legendary Prince helped pay his medical bills, prior to Prince's death. Stubblefield, one of the greatest musicians in American musical history, had no medical insurance. That is unforgivable. But, I guess he just kept on living for his music, in the same way I keep living for this LJ. The day the Funky Drummer died.
