Sample This

Michael Viner was an aide to Bobby Kennedy. His roommate, Rosey Grier, was a bodyguard for the aspiring President. They were there that night when Sirhan Sirhan fired fatal shots in Los Angeles. Grier wrestled the pistol away from the killer's hands while Viner watched stunned from the sidelines.

Grier wrestled the pistol away from Sirhan's hands, saving Kennedy's life, while Viner stood nearby in shock. The moment cemented a close bond between Viner and Grier and shaped Viner's path after the tragedy. The assassination influenced Viner to leave politics and pursue work at MGM.

Devastated by Kennedy's death, Viner left politics to work for Mike Curb at MGM. He would go on to hold various positions there, including producing the soundtrack for a B movie. The project starred his former roommate Rosey Grier, tying their memories to the studio's output.

Viner headed into the MGM recording studio in 1972 with the cream of LA studio musicians led by arranger/composer Perry Botkin Jr. They recorded several tracks by a group Viner named The Incredible Bongo Band. The sessions kicked off the album's musical direction.

The 1972 sessions produced tracks such as Bongo Rock and Bongolia by the Incredible Bongo Band. These percussion-led pieces formed the core of the soundtrack's appeal. The music drew on LA's top session players and Botkin Jr.'s arrangements.

In Spring 1973 Viner traveled to Can Base Studios in Vancouver to record additional tracks. Perry Botkin Jr. again led the sessions, this time with a different group of LA studio musicians. The musicians included Jim Gordon, King Errisson, Mike Deasy and Steve Douglas.

MGM released the album Bongo Rock by Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band. The release marked the culmination of a year of recording activity. Despite the effort, the album was a commercial failure in the US.

A follow-up album released in 1974 featured the band on the cover but failed to find commercial success. The setbacks underscored the album's limited mainstream impact. The project continued to influence a small but devoted audience.

In the summer of 1973 a Jamaican-born DJ in the Bronx discovered the Incredible Bongo Band album languishing in a record store. He was struck by the long percussion breaks and decided to experiment with them. He began extending the breaks by playing them back-to-back from two copies of the same record.

The tracks Bongo Rock and Apache, among others, are widely acknowledged as foundational to hip hop music. The breakthrough happened when breaks were isolated and reused in new contexts. The Incredible Bongo Band's music became a touchstone for a burgeoning culture.

The Incredible Bongo Band's music has been sampled by many contemporary artists across decades, including Moby, Grandmaster Flash, Will Smith, Missy Elliott, Nas, Sugarhill Gang, LL Cool J, Kanye West and Jay-Z. These samples kept the legacy of the tracks alive in new genres. The practice helped bridge early breaks to modern hip hop and pop.

Sample This chronicles the incredible story behind the creation of one of the most influential albums in popular music. It features new interviews with Questlove, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, Rosey Grier, Grand Wizzard Theodore, Freda Payne, Jerry Butler, Mike Curb, King Errisson, Afrika Bambaataa, Jerry Scheff, Mike Deasy, Perry Botkin Jr., Mike Melvoin and many more.

The film is narrated by Gene Simmons, directed by Dan Forrer and produced by Bob Burris. The documentary ties together the people, music and moments that shaped the Incredible Bongo Band's legacy.