Les McCann, jazz pioneer sampled by Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, has died

Jazz pioneer Les McCann, who was sampled by Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, has died aged 88.

He passed away last Friday (December 29) at a hospital in LA and although his cause of death has not been disclosed, his manager Alan Abrahams told NBC News McCann developed pneumonia a week ago.

McCann, who is best remembered for 1967 protest song ‘Compared To What’, alongside saxophonist Eddie Harris, was also famous for being sampled by over 300 artists including Warren G., Slick Rick, Cypress Hill, and Nas.

Some of his most famous samples include Notorious B.I.G.’s ’10 Crack Commandments’, which uses McCann’s composition ‘Vallarta’, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s ‘Next Episode’, which cribs from ‘Go On And Cry’, and A Tribe Called Quest’s ‘After Hours’, which sampled ‘North Carolina’.

He released more than 50 albums throughout his musical career, which started when the musician won a talent contest and performed on The Ed Sullivan Show before he released two albums, Les McCann ‘Plays The Truth’ and ‘The Shout’, in 1960.

The musician later signed to Atlantic in 1968 and released a cover of Gene McDaniels’ ‘Compared To What’ in 1969, marking one of the biggest releases of his career.

In January 1995, McCann suffered a stroke while playing onstage in Germany, Abrahams said. The stroke paralysed the right side of his body, but he soldiered on, his manager added.

The singer had lived for the last four years at a skilled nursing facility in LA, according to The New York Times.

Abrahams said on Sunday night (December 31) that he had been speaking with Joan Baez about organising a celebration of McCann’s life in the coming weeks, possibly to take place at LA’s City College.