What is this song gimmick called?

Cafe Society
21

from UrbanDictionary.com I realize these definitions are mostly concerning hip-hop and electronica, but I really understand “the break” to cross all musical boundries. In pop music of course the break would still include the vocals.

  1. break
    break section of a record or song. The word “break” means the short section of a record that can be looped on a sampler to create a longer, seamless piece of music from this one section. The term derives from the “breakdown”, a part of the funk or disco records where most of all the other instruments drop away, leaving the drummer, or maybe the drummer and percussionist, or drum and bassist, to play their parts unaccompanied. This provides an instant rhythm section to create a new tune from!
    These breakdowns came from the 60’s and 70’s funk production and artists like James Brown, who invented the use of the third beat. Before James Brown all popular music has been using a straight 4/4 time beat. Using the beats in between is what made it funky.
    Hey man have you heard the break in Jimmy Castors Its Just Begun?

  2. Break
    Part of the song where the melody suddenly stops and the percussive section (usually drums) carries the next few lines of the track before the melody resumes.
    Man, that James Brown break was funky!

22

An “a capella section” may often contain vocal harmony, but it’s not at all required. I say “a capella” is a pretty good answer to the OP.

23

Hey, no offense ment. To me, ‘Blinded by the Light, by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’ translates as ‘Blinded by the Light, written by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.’

24

You beat me to it, GorillaMan. Specifically, the Beach Boys song “Sloop John B” was among the first popular songs to include an a capella break, according to the notes which accompany the Pet Sounds “Sessions” CD which was released about five years ago.