James Joseph Brown was an American musician. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is referred to by various honorific nicknames, some of which include "the Hardest Working Man in Show Business", "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres. Brown was one of the first 10 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction in New York on January 23, 1986.
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.
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" is a song by American singer James Brown. First recorded for the album Out of Sight and then released in an alternate take as a single in 1965, it was his highest-charting song and is arguably his best-known recording.
Bobby Howard Byrd was an American rhythm and blues, soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, bandleader and talent dedicated, who played an integral and important part in the development of soul and funk music in association with James Brown.
This is a discography chronicling the musical career of James Brown. Brown joined Bobby Byrd's vocal group The Flames in 1953, first as a drummer, and then as leading front man. Later becoming The Famous Flames, they signed with Federal Records in 1956 and recorded their first hit single, "Please, Please, Please", which sold over a million copies.
"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.
Forever Everlasting is the debut solo studio album by American recording artist Everlast. It was released on March 27, 1990 via Warner Bros. Records. The eleven track full-length album features a remix song of his 1988 single "Syndication", and singles "Never Missin' a Beat", "The Rhythm" and "I Got the Knack". Single "The Rhythm" featured guest appearances from his Rhyme Syndicate bandmates Donald D and Ice-T, as well as an early appearance from the Brand New Heavies singer N'Dea Davenport who is credited as "Diva", and "I Got the Knack" featured scratches provided by DJ Lethal, whom he would later join to form House of Pain.
"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.
The Famous Flames were an American Rhythm and blues, Soul vocal group founded in Toccoa, Georgia, in 1953 by Bobby Byrd. James Brown first began his career as a member of the Famous Flames, emerging as the lead singer by the time of their first appearance in a professional recording, "Please, Please, Please", in 1956.
"Make It Funky" is a jam session recorded by James Brown with The J.B.'s. It was released as a two-part single in 1971, which reached No. 1 on the U.S. R&B chart and No. 22 on the U.S. Pop chart.
Classic is the second compilation and sixth album overall by hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, one of the titles of the European version of Universal Music Group’s Millennium Masters series. Despite being an Eric B. & Rakim album, the back cover featured Eric B. with Chuck D. because of an editing error.
Love, Power, Peace: Live at the Olympia, Paris, 1971 is a live album by James Brown. It is the only recording that documents one of his live performances with the original J.B.'s lineup featuring Bootsy and Catfish Collins. Love, Power, Peace was originally intended for a 1972 release as a vinyl triple album, but was cancelled after the key members of the original J.B.'s left Brown to join Parliament-Funkadelic. The album was finally released for the first time in 1992, edited down for a single compact disc; the full show, using Brown's original mixdown was later released in July 2014 on Sundazed Records.
Pure Dynamite! Live At The Royal is a 1964 live album by James Brown and The Famous Flames. Originally issued on King Records, it was the live follow-up to Brown's 1963 Live at the Apollo LP, and like that album, reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Pop album charts, peaking at #10. It was recorded live at the Royal Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland, a popular venue for R&B artists of the day. The album takes its title from Brown's most famous nickname at the time, "Mr. Dynamite".
Solid Gold: 30 Golden Hits, also called 30 Golden Hits/21 Golden Years, is a greatest hits compilation album by James Brown. The double album set was initially released in 1977 on Polydor, and was re-released by the label in 1986. The album's liner notes listed the release dates and U.S. chart positions for each song and included an essay by Cliff White. This is the first compilation album to include Get Up(I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine. According to Allmusic reviewer William Ruhlman, the collection was "state-of-the-art", an influential model "not only...for the many Brown compilations that would follow in later years, but also for the compilation boom in general". In 1981, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau described it as "an essential collection." Allmusic indicates that it supplies "the essence of James Brown", but also states "[i]t has since been superseded by the 1991 four-disc Star Time boxed set".
Foundations of Funk – A Brand New Bag: 1964–1969 is the second of several James Brown era overviews released by Polydor Records in the mid-1990s. Expanding on the 1984 LP compilation Ain’t That a Groove - The James Brown Story 1966–1969 it covers 1964 to 1969.
Robert J. Bennett, better known as Bobby Bennett, was an American singer, songwriter, choreographer, comedian, and musician, noted for being a member of the vocal group The Famous Flames from 1958 to 1968. During his time in the group, he served as a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, comedian, emcee and dancer in the James Brown Revue. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Famous Flames in 2012.
Say It Live and Loud: Live in Dallas 08.26.68 is a live album by James Brown released in 1998. Taped at Dallas Memorial Auditorium soon after "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud" had been released to the airwaves, it includes one of the only live recordings of the song, with the arena crowd shouting the call and response portions. Village Voice critic Robert Christgau deemed it the second best live recording from Brown's "crucial" 1967–71 period, behind 1970's Sex Machine. Following the 50th anniversary of the recording, the entire performance, including never before released live performances of "That's Life" and "The Popcorn", was released on vinyl by Republic Records on October 12, 2018.
"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. 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.
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.
Cold Sweat Plays J. B. is an album by trombonist Craig Harris' tribute band Cold Sweat performing compositions by James Brown which was recorded in 1988 and released on the JMT label.
