Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved

Last updated
"Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved Pt. 1"
Single by James Brown
B-side "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved Pt. 2"
ReleasedDecember 1970 (1970-12)
RecordedNovember 3, 1970, King Studios, Cincinnati, OH
Genre Funk
Length
  • 3:32(Pt. 1)
  • 3:34(Pt. 2)
  • 7:09(full-length)
Label King
6347
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) James Brown
James Brown chartingsingles chronology
"Santa Claus Is Definitely Here to Stay Vocal"
(1970)
"Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved Pt. 1"
(1970)
"Spinning Wheel Pt. 1"
(1971)

"Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved" is a funk song recorded by James Brown. It was released as a two-part single in 1970 and charted #4 R&B and #34 Pop. [1] It features backing vocals by Bobby Byrd, who shared writing credit for the song with Brown and Ron Lenhoff. This was one of several songs by Brown with an upfront social message. [2] [3]

The unedited version appears on the 1996 compilation Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang. Live performances of the song appear on the albums Revolution of the Mind (1971) and Love Power Peace (1992; recorded 1971).

Performers included drummer Clyde Stubblefield and guitarist Catfish Collins. [4] [5]

Sample used

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funk</span> 1960s music genre

Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the mid-20th century. It deemphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a percussionist, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Funk typically consists of a complex percussive groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that create a "hypnotic" and "danceable" feel. It uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, and dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funky Drummer</span> 1970 single by James Brown

"Funky Drummer" is a single released by James Brown in 1970. Its drum break, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampled music recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melvin Parker</span> American musician (1944–2021)

Melvin Parker was an American drummer. He and his brother, saxophonist Maceo Parker, were key members of James Brown's band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clyde Stubblefield</span> American drummer

Clyde Austin Stubblefield was an American drummer best known for his work with James Brown, with whom he recorded and toured for six years (1965-70). His syncopated drum patterns on Brown's recordings are considered funk standards. Samples of his drum performances were heavily used in hip hop music beginning in the 1980s, although Stubblefield frequently received no credit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The J.B.'s</span> Band

The J.B.'s was the name of James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs, The James Brown Soul Train, Maceo and the Macks, A.A.B.B., Fred Wesley and the New JBs, The First Family, and The Last Word. In addition to backing Brown, the J.B.'s played behind Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, and other singers associated with the James Brown Revue, and performed and recorded as a self-contained group. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but failed to be inducted and can be considered for Musical Excellence in the future. They have been eligible since 1995.

<i>Sex Machine</i> (album) 1970 studio album and live album by James Brown

Sex Machine is a 1970 double album by James Brown. It showcases the playing of the original J.B.'s lineup featuring Bootsy and Catfish Collins, and includes an 11-minute rendition of the album's title song, different from the original recording of the title song which was released as a two-part single in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud</span> 1968 single by James Brown

"Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud" is a funk song performed by James Brown, and written with his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis in 1968. It was released as a two-part single which held the number-one spot on the R&B singles chart for six weeks, and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. Both parts of the single were later included on James Brown's 1968 album A Soulful Christmas and on his 1969 album sharing the title of the song. The song became an unofficial anthem of the Black Power movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papa's Got a Brand New Bag</span> 1965 single by James Brown

"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" is a song written and recorded by James Brown. Released as a two-part single in 1965, it was Brown's first song to reach the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten, peaking at number eight, and was a number-one R&B hit, topping the charts for eight weeks. It won Brown his first Grammy Award, for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jabo Starks</span> American drummer (1938–2018)

John Henry "Jabo" Starks, 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. King. A self-taught musician, he was known for his effective and clean drum patterns. He was one of the originators of funk drumming, and is one of the most sampled drummers.

"Soul Power" is a song by James Brown. Brown recorded it with the original J.B.'s and it was released as a three-part single in 1971. Like "Get Up Sex Machine" and other hits from this period it features backing vocals by Bobby Byrd. It charted #3 R&B and #29 Pop.

<i>In the Jungle Groove</i> 1986 compilation album by James Brown

In the Jungle Groove is a compilation album by American funk musician James Brown, released in August 1986 by Polydor Records.

Jimmy Nolen was an American guitarist, known for his distinctive "chicken scratch" lead guitar playing in James Brown's bands. In its survey of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," the English magazine Mojo ranks Nolen number twelve. Rolling Stone named Nolen the 12th greatest guitarist of all time in 2023.

"Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written with his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a No. 1 R&B hit, and reached number seven on the Pop Singles chart. The complete recording, more than seven minutes long, was included on an album of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine</span> 1970 single by James Brown

"Get Up Sex Machine" is a song recorded by James Brown with Bobby Byrd on backing vocals. Released as a two-part single in 1970, it was a no. 2 R&B hit and reached no. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unity (Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown song)</span> 1984 single by Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown

"Unity" is a song recorded by Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown as a duet in 1984. It was the first recording in which Brown collaborated with a performer associated with hip hop, a then-new idiom heavily influenced by Brown's own funk music. The record's title and its cover showing the two performers clasping hands express solidarity between the two styles. The song's music is similar in its structure to Brown's own funk songs of the late 1960s and 1970s, but uses the drum machine and keyboard-generated timbres of electro. The song's rapped lyrics are on the themes of "Peace, unity, love, and having fun". The single charted #87 R&B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Give It Up or Turnit a Loose</span> 1969 single by James Brown

"Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" is a funk song recorded by James Brown. Released as a single in 1969, the song was a #1 R&B hit and also made the top 20 pop singles chart. "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" appeared as an instrumental on the Ain't It Funky (1970) album, removing Brown's vocals and adding guitar overdubs, while the vocal version was released on It's a New Day – Let a Man Come In (1970).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Got the Feelin'</span> 1968 single by James Brown

"I Got the Feelin'" is a funk song by James Brown. Released as a single in 1968, it reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and #6 on the pop chart. It also appeared on a 1968 album of the same name.

Sounds Of Unity and Love (S.O.U.L.) was an American group founded in 1970 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Members were Lee Lovett (bass), Gus Hawkins (sax/flute), Paul Stubblefield (drums), and Walter Winston (guitar). Larry Hancock (vocals/organ) was added in 1971 and Bernard (Beloyd) Taylor (guitar) replaced Walter Winston in 1972.

"Brother Rapp" is a 1970 funk song written and performed by James Brown. It was first released as a two-part single on King Records (K6285) in early 1970, but was quickly withdrawn from sale. It was released again later that year in a mechanically sped-up version that charted #2 R&B and #32 Pop. It also appeared on the album Sex Machine with overdubbed crowd noise, and Brown later issued it in a faded version with different guitar work, in 1973 for the Slaughter's Big Rip-Off soundtrack album. A live version of "Brother Rapp" is included on the album Love Power Peace.

<i>Motherlode</i> (James Brown album) 1988 compilation album by James Brown

Motherlode is a 1988 James Brown compilation album. Created as a follow-up to the successful 1986 compilation In the Jungle Groove, it similarly focuses on Brown's funk recordings of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It includes live performances and remixes as well as studio recordings, most of them previously unissued. Writing in 2007, critic Robert Christgau called it "the finest of the classic [James Brown] comps". Highlights include a live "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud", the first album release of "I Got Ants in My Pants ", the latter-day UK chart hit "She's the One", and a nine-minute-long remix of "People Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul" from the Slaughter's Big Rip-Off soundtrack.

References

  1. White, Cliff (1991). "Discography". In Star Time (pp. 54–59) [CD booklet]. New York: PolyGram Records.
  2. David Toop (1984). The Rap Attack: African Jive to New York Hip Hop. Pluto Press. pp. 8–11. ISBN   9780861047772 . Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  3. Brian Ward (1998). Just My Soul Responding . University of California Press. pp.  388–390. ISBN   9780520212985 . Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  4. Jim Connelly (December 10, 2016). "Certain Songs #725: James Brown – Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved". medialoper.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  5. Ben Sisario (March 29, 2011). "Questlove on Clyde Stubblefield – footnotes". charmicarmicat.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2019.