James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and bandleader. The creator of funk music and a major figure of 20th century popular music and dance, he is often referred to as the "Godfather of Soul". In a career that spanned six decades, he influenced the development of several music genres. Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia. He joined an R&B vocal group, the Gospel Starlighters (which later evolved into the Flames), in which he was the lead singer. First coming to national public attention in the late 1950s as a member of the singing group The Famous Flames with the hit ballads "Please, Please, Please" and "Try Me", Brown built a reputation as a tireless live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with the live album Live at the Apollo and hit singles such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World". During the late 1960s he moved from a continuum of blues and gospel-based forms and styles to a profoundly "Africanized" approach to music-making that influenced the development of funk music. By the early 1970s, Brown had fully established the funk sound after the formation of the J.B.s with records such as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and "The Payback". He also became noted for songs of social commentary, including the 1968 hit "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud". Brown continued to perform and record until his death from congestive heart failure in 2006.
Brown recorded 16 singles that reached number one on the Billboard R&B charts. He also holds the record for the most singles listed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart which did not reach number one.Brown has received honors from many institutions, including inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In Joel Whitburn's analysis of the Billboard R&B charts from 1942 to 2010, James Brown is ranked as number one in The Top 500 Artists. He is ranked seventh on the music magazine Rolling Stone's list of its 100 greatest artists of all time. Rolling Stone has also cited Brown as the most sampled artist of all time.
Live at the Apollo (1963)
One of the many compilations issued in the wake of James Brown's passing in 2007 is this rather strange and necessary one produced by Alan Leeds and Harry Weinger. There's no irony in the title, and it's only a little misleading. Brown loved all kinds of music throughout his lifetime and made no secret of it. This set compiles 12 cuts, all of which Brown originally produced, that accent the jazzier -- and sometimes near all-out jazz (though everything on this baby has more than a little soul grit mixed in) -- side of the Godfather. The coolest thing about this set is that it contains numerous unreleased alternate mixes, extended versions, single edits, and literally unreleased versions and tunes that span from standards and soul-jazz cuts to '70s-era pop tunes. Ranging from 1964's reading of the Adderley Brothers' "Tengo Tango" (never before issued in any form) to a 1970s alternate mix of "For Once in My Life," this is perhaps among the most ambitious of Brown recordings to be released in quite some time. Released gems here include Brown on a killer B-3 take of Jimmy McGriff's "All About My Girl" in 1966 and his version of Joe Zawinul's "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)" from 1967. In between, there are hip mixes of standards like "Cottage for Sale" and "That's My Desire." The sequencing here is not stale either, since it's not chronological. In fact, since it bookends in the year 1970, with the 1960s material sandwiched between, it's rather wonderful aesthetically. Recommended.
Thom Jurek, Rovi
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