He's The Godfather of Soul. He's
Mr. Dynamite. He's Soul
Brother No. 1.
He is James Brown -- one of
the most influential figures in
the history of popular music,
and he feels good.
Perhaps no other African-American musician in
recent history has been quite so dynamic a figure as
Brown. His shows are renowned for his exciting and
exhilarating performances of athleticism and timing.
Over a 39-year period, Brown has amassed an
amazing total of 98 entries on Billboard's Top 40
R&B singles charts, a record unsurpassed by any
other artist. Seventeen of those songs reached No.
1, a feat topped only by Stevie Wonder and Louis
Jordan, and equaled only by Aretha Franklin.
Brown grew up as the only child of an impoverished
family. When he was five, he moved into his aunt's
brothel in Augusta, Ga. He earned his keep by
running errands for soldiers at nearby Camp Gordon,
dancing and singing for them to entice them into a
visit to his aunt's business.
By the 1940s, he had run afoul of the law on an
armed robbery conviction. But a family friend named
Bobby Byrd helped him get parole, and in 1952
Brown and Byrd started a music quartet called the
Gospel Starlighters. The quartet sang with a raw,
Southern style and eventually evolved into an R&B
group. They first chose the name the Avons and
ultimately settled on the Flames.
In November 1955, the Flames cut a demo titled
"Please, Please, Please." Record producer Ralph
Bass heard the demo and immediately recognized
Brown's talent. He was so impressed with the group
that he drove to Macon and signed the band to
Cincinnati-based King Records.
One week later, the Flames (now James Brown and
the Famous Flames) were recording in Ohio and
within two months released "Please, Please,
Please" on King's Federal label. By March of 1956,
the single reached No. 5 on Billboard's R&B list.
While Brown and the Flames continued to make
records for Federal, they didn't hit the national charts
again for three years. Finally, the Andy
Gibson-produced "Try Me," hit the jackpot in the
winter of 1958. The group hit No. 1 and Brown hired
a steady backup band, which eventually became the
hottest R&B unit in the land. Brown trained his
musicians to accent every scream, split, shake and
shimmy he maneuvered during his concerts, which
had become the visual trademark of the group's
stage act.
Brown continued to rack up hit singles through the
early 1960's but began to wonder what would happen
if he could capture his energy and excitement on an
album. But King Records wasn't convinced an album
would sell so Brown put up his own money to record
a performance at the Apollo Theater in October
1962. It took nearly a year, but Live At The Apollo
broke down barriers for R&B and went to No. 2 on
Billboard's album chart.
In 1964, Brown ignored his King contract and
recorded Out of Sight for Smash. This paved the
way for a drawn-out legal battle that made it
impossible for him to issue any new recordings for a
year. When he finally resumed recording for King in
1965, his new contract allowed him a wide array of
artistic control.
Out of Sight hit the pop Top 30 and topped the R&B
charts. He also scored his first Top 10 pop single,
"Papa's Got A Brand New Bag." Soon after I Got
You (I Feel Good), hit No. 3.
From this point, the hits rolled out one after another
at an unheard of rate. The Flames gradually
dispersed and the gospel and blues structure
mushroomed into rhythmically riveting sandpaper
vocals. The complex funk syncopations of his band
can still be heard in several popular music styles
around the world today including funk, rock,
Afro-pop, disco and rap. (In later years, much of the
credit for the sound he devised has been belatedly
attributed to saxophonists Maceo Parker, St. Clair
Pinckney and Pee Wee Ellis; guitarist Jimmy Nolen;
Bobby Byrd and Clyde Stubblefield.
In 1969, Brown's band walked out on him, citing his
boorishness as a bandleader in their reasoning.
Brown, however, was nothing if not resourceful and
recruited a young Cincinnati band, the Pacemakers,
to take the place of the Flames. The Pacemakers
were only around for about a year but they prompted
Brown to explore even harder funk and rhythm.
By the early 1970s, many members of his old band
returned as J.B.'s, and Brown continued to pound
down the R&B charts. Critics began complaining
that the Godfather was repeating and recycling his
music and Brown began to burn out artistically. He
produced sporadic hits and never lost his
enthusiastic audience base, but by the 1980s, he
lost his label.
Today Brown has gained a new generation of fans
who sample his voice and rhythms on rap and
hip-hop recordings. Meanwhile critics are finally
recognizing his music as some of the most
important in all of rock or soul.
Since the mid-1970s, Brown has had a number of
difficulties, including financial and drug problems that
landed him in prison. In 1988, Brown's wife brought
assault and battery charges against him. After a
year of bumbling through legal and personal
troubles, he led police on an interstate car chase
and, according to police, Brown allegedly threatened
people with a handgun. For this, he went back to
prison for another six years, but was paroled after
two.
Brown is a charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame and received a special lifetime achievement
Grammy Award in 1992. [from: Rolling Stone]
DISCOGRAPHY
I'm Back
Private I/Mercury, 1998
Back Again
Private I/Mercury, 1998
Hookedonbrown
Scotti Bros., 1996
Foundations In Funk: A Brand New Bag:
1964-1969
Polydor, 1996
Make It Funky --This Big Payback: 1971-1975
Polydor, 1996
James Brown's Funky Christmas
Polydor, 1995
Turn It Loose
Drive Archive, 1994
Can't Get Any Harder
Scotti Bros., 1993
Soul Pride: The Instrumentals (1960-69)
Polygram, 1993
It's Back
Hollywood/Deluxe, 1992
Love Power Peace
Polydor, 1992
The Greatest Hits Of the Fouth Decade
Scotti Bros., 1992
Universal James
Scotti Bros./RCA, 1992
20 All Time Greatest Hits!
Polydor, 1991
Love Over-Due
Scotti Bros., 1991
The complete discography is availible at
Funky-Stuff.com
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