Break, Breaks, Break Beats, Broken Beats

A break is a rhythmic instrumental segment in the middle of a song. It basically consists of drum and bass.

"Every record has a break, especially early disco... it`s the part of a song after the chorus where the song changes at the interlude. The musical element is broken down for a few measures... that`s the most original part of the song. The reason most disco songs had so many breaks were for dj`s ... so they could mix out of the record while spinning at clubs." - Kutmaster Kurt

Disco had already produced the first records to be aimed specifically at DJs with extended 12" versions that included long percussion breaks for mixing purposes.

Tom Moulton: He used drum breaks, for example, as transitions within a song, to set up an emotional rush with the return of the rest of the music, or when key changes made a break necessary to create dramatic structure--not merely because drum breaks made it easier for a DJ to mix in or out of a record.

Paul Winley records was a small label; one of the first to compile popular break beats and issue them on a series of albums. Cuts like 'Cheeba Cheeba', 'Bra' and 'Scratchin' and the 'Funky Penguin' are still played to this day. Everyone who was into Hip Hop back then had at least one Paul Winley record. Super Disco Brakes are still available in NYC - they are bootlegs, put out thru Paul Winley Records; i think hes still in business but due to his bootleg status wants people to think he's not.

Kool Herc
By most accounts Herc was the first DJ to buy two copies of the same record for just a 15-second break (rhythmic instrumental segment) in the middle. By mixing back and forth between the two copies he was able to double, triple, or indefinitely extend the break.

The B-Boy -- or beat boy, break boy, Bronx boy -- loved the breaks of Kool Herc, and as a result soon created break dancing.

" ...I cut off all anticipation and played the beats. I'd find out where the break in the record was at and prolong it and people would love it. So I was giving them their own taste and beat percussion-wise ..."

Because these breaks were relatively short, he learned to extend them indefinitely by using an audio mixer and two identical records in which he continuously replaced the desired segment.

James Brown

There are obviously ethical considerations here --it's easy to understand James Brown's outrage as his uncredited beats and screams underpin much of today's black music