Herman Kelly & Life

Herman Kelly & Life were led by the titular percussionist and during their brief career (which took place in 1978) they released the single "Dance to the Drummer's Beat," which became a hip-hop sample staple. They also released an album, Percussion Explosion!, that took multiple forms of dance music (disco, funk, soul, Latin music) and wrapped them up in one dancefloor-filling bundle. Kelly started off as a session drummer in Detroit before heading to Miami to go to college. Once there, he began playing with local musicians and soaking up the city's Latin influences. He form...