John Henry "Jabo" Starks (/ˈdʒæboʊ/; October 26, 1937[a] – May 1, 2018),[1] sometimes spelled Jab'o, was an American funk and blues drummer best known for playing with James Brown as well as other notable musicians including Bobby Bland and B.B.

[5][9] He then performed at the Harlem Duke Social Club where he backed notable blues and R&B musicians including John Lee Hooker, Smiley Lewis, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Big Mama Thornton and Howlin' Wolf.

[11][10] He also recorded with other artists during this time such as Junior Parker and Joe Hinton, on songs "Driving Wheel" and "Funny".

The two "created the grooves on many of Brown's biggest hits, and laid the foundation for modern funk drumming in the process.

[10][15] He also backed artists produced or managed by Brown, most notably Lyn Collins and Bobby Byrd, as well as the independent works released by The J.B.'s.

[7][3][10] Starks’ drum patterns have been sampled by LL Cool J, Kendrick Lamar, The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, Black Eyed Peas, Kool Moe Dee, Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, Total and others.

[20] In 2007, the duo joined Bootsy Collins for the first tribute concert in memory of James Brown and performed on the soundtrack for the movie Superbad.

[11] From the mid-1990s onward, when not touring or recording, he performed five nights a week at the Picolo Restaurant and Red Bar in Grayton Beach, Florida, and on Sundays he played drums at his church in Mobile.

[6] According to National Public Radio, "the grooves the two drummers (Starks and Stubblefield) created have inspired generations of artists – not just in funk, but in hip-hop, where their steady but intricate patterns make natural material for sampling.

"[7] Bassist Bootsy Collins called Starks the steady rock that he built his bass grooves on while with James Brown.

"[6] According to drummer-journalist Ahmir Thompson, Starks was Brown's "most effective drummer" and called his eight-on-the-floor style "unique".

[3] Drummer-author Jim Payne wrote: Starks "could put the groove somewhere between 16th notes and 16th-note triplets and turn funk into an infectious, swinging half-time shuffle.

"[14][6] In a 2015 interview with Mobile Bay Magazine, Starks said, "When I'm playing music (...) there ain't nobody in the world higher than I am.