John Starks Obituary (1937 - 2018) - Mobile, AL - AL.com (Mobile)
View John Henry Jab'o Starks's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.
obits.al.comI can give you a quick update based on reliable public reports up to late 2024–2025, but I don’t have live access right now to pull the very latest headlines. Here’s what’s most consistently documented:
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John “Jabo” Starks was a pioneering funk drummer best known for his long association with James Brown, forming the core funk backbeat alongside Clyde Stubblefield. He contributed to Brown’s most influential late-1960s/early-1970s recordings, including notable tracks like Sex Machine and Super Bad. He’s widely regarded as one of the greatest funk drummers of all time.
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Starks passed away on May 1, 2018, at age 79, in Mobile, Alabama, after battling leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes while in hospice care. His death was widely reported by major outlets and memorialized by fellow musicians.
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In the years after James Brown, Starks worked with B.B. King and performed with Clyde Stubblefield again as part of the Funkmasters, continuing to influence funk and groove-oriented drumming. He remained active in performances and educational contexts, and his legacy is documented in interviews and retrospectives from Modern Drummer and related outlets.
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