Sexy, Sexy, Sexy

Last updated

"Sexy, Sexy, Sexy" is a 1973 song written and recorded by James Brown, [1] for the film Slaughter's Big Rip-Off. The song appeared on the film's soundtrack, and was released as a single in 1973. The song, and wider album, emerged from an era which saw the rise of Blaxploitation films. Such films represented the struggle of African Americans against poverty and crime under a white-dominated society. While Sexy, Sexy, Sexy was received well by contemporary and modern audiences alike, it received negative reviews from critics. Brown used the same backing track and chord progression from his 1966 hit Money Won't Change You when composing the song, which prompted such a poor critical response. Despite Brown's Plagiarism of his earlier work, Sexy, Sexy, Sexy showcased the typical funk hallmarks of his more popular work. The song performed strongly on three separate Billboard charts as well as the Cashbox chart. It appeared in three separate releases under music label Polydor Records and reissued in 2020.

Contents

Background

James Brown in concert James Brown in performance (22 October 2003).jpg
James Brown in concert

In the early 1970s the United States saw the rise of ethnic Blaxploitation films focussed on the contemporary experience and oppression of African Americans. [2] The films pioneered the use of original funk and soul soundtrack albums composed specifically for the films by prolific African American artists of the era. By using famous black composers of the 1960s and 1970s, the films showcased the musical and cinematic capabilities of African American creators. [3] The soundtracks utilised defining conventions of soul, blues and funk music to encapsulate both the spirit as well as the struggle of African American communities against overbearing white authorities. Examples of such soundtracks and artists include Curtis Mayfield's Super Fly (soundtrack), Isaac Hayes in Shaft, and Earth, Wind & Fire for Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. [4] James Brown was approached to author the soundtracks for two blaxploitation films. The first being Black Caesar a 1973 remake of the 1931 film Little Caesar, revamped to represent the current African American experience. The film introduced Brown to his first experience in writing musical material in the form of a cinematic score. Brown wrote ten songs and performed on all tracks for the album, with assistance from Charles Bobbit and Fred Wesley.

Brown's second effort at score composure was in 1973 when he wrote the soundtrack for Slaughter's Big Rip-Off. The film was the sequel to the 1972 film, Slaughter. Both films focus on the titular character of Slaughter, a Vietnam veteran who struggles against the organised crime of Los Angeles. Hall of Fame footballer, Jim Brown, plays Slaughter in both films of the franchise. James Brown wrote and performed on all of the album's thirteen songs. It is from this album, Sexy, Sexy, Sexy was released as a single.

Critical reception

Upon its release, the album and song received poor critical response. The song's reception was contrary to the typically favourable reviews received by blaxploitation film soundtracks by other soul artists. Unlike Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, both Hayes' Shaft and Mayfield's Superfly were considered as breakthrough original film compositions. [5] [6] In a highly critical piece on Brown's work, AllMusic reviewer Jason Elias labelled the single as a "shocker". He rated the wider album two-and-a-half stars out of five, emphasising its mediocrity. Elias argued that Sexy, Sexy, Sexy proved Brown would never be recognised as a soundtrack innovator. He largely criticised the song for using the exact backing track, chord progression and vocal line of his earlier hit Money Won't Change You, which was released seven years prior in 1966. However, Elias does concede that the re-packaging of Brown's older hit single does work well in the context of the film. [7]

Likewise, in a lukewarm review of Brown's work, Robert Christgau rated the album as a C. He criticised the album as being a "medium sized rip-off of a movie score." Similar to Elias, Christgau believed that Brown's venture into cinematic authorship had been rather underwhelming. However, the review does highlight Sexy Sexy Sexy as a single worth hearing from the otherwise mediocre album. [8]

By contrast, the modern consensus on audience reviews presents a more favourable response to the song and wider album. Over eighty public reviews on the website AllMusic gave the song an average of four out of five stars. The reviews labelled the song as "vintage" James Brown, citing the upbeat energetic tone of the single as positive elements. [9]

Composition

Sexy, Sexy, Sexy is essentially an identical reconstruction of Brown's earlier 1966 hit single, Money Won't Change you. [10] Both songs have the exact same chord progression and backing track, however the latter song has a slightly quicker tempo, more aggressive vocals and new lyrics written for Slaughter's Big Rip-Off. Sexy, Sex, Sexy is not the only song James Brown reworked from his earlier catalogue. The soundtrack's "Happy for the Poor" is a Latin-styled version of his earlier 1971 Gimme Some More, written during his time in The J.B.'s. Likewise, the soundtrack also included his earlier composition of Brother Rapp. The song closely follows typical conventions of the funk and soul genres. A hallmark of funk music is a strong rhythmic section, which creates a dance, party-like vibe. [11] Brown follows this archetype by utilising an upbeat, erratic beat created by percussion and brass instruments. Likewise, by emphasising the downbeat Brown establishes a strong groove. The use of a groove was pioneered by Brown in the mid-1960s, and helped define the wider genre of funk in the proceeding decade. [12]

A second important convention of funk, utilised by the song, are powerful, intensive and provocative vocals. [13] Sexy Sexy Sexy is largely centred on Brown's trademark charismatic vocals. Common in funk songs is the use of primal vocal noises such as yelling, shouting or screaming. Brown's song begins with a single, sustained full body note created by a controlled scream. Proceeding the scream, the song breaks into the driving repetitive vocal lines. Throughout the song, Brown continually grunts and moans, imitating sexual noises and sounds. While the song has no definable chorus it involves many instances where Brown repeatedly sings "sexy" to establish a common theme and hook.

The songs also incorporates brass, woodwind instruments and a Hammond organ to help create the song's melody.

Lyrics

While, in terms of instrumentation and rhythm, Sexy, Sexy, Sexy is almost entirely identical to Brown's earlier hit Money Won't Change You, the lyrics were rewritten to fit the context of the film. As with the instrumentation, the lyrics reflect the conventions of Funk music, which Brown himself pioneered. [14] The song was written to emphasise the sexual characterisation of the film's key female figure, Marcia, Slaughter's girlfriend. Brown wrote the lyrics to sexualise Marcia, in accordance with the film's portrayal of female characters as hyper-sexual beings. While the song has no chorus, it constantly repeats the word "sexy" when describing the feminine subject matter. Likewise, Brown continues to cast Marcia in a sexual light by stating that Slaughter does "not turn off the lights to watch her dress." Hence, the song's lyrics reflect the hypersexualised nature of James Brown's wider catalogue and funk songs of the era.

Another key feature of the song's lyrics is the use of bestial imagery to metaphorically describe the sex drive of both the male and female characters. Again, the use of animal imagery to represent the sexual nature of the subject matter is a typical aspect of the funk genre. [15] Brown refers to the female mouth as "chicken lips". Likewise, he contrasts the full-bodied figure of Marcia's frame to a "bone". Likewise, he compares a dog burying a bone, "because he doesn't want it", to a male sexual partner preferring women with "giant hips". Both descriptions serve to hyperbolically describe both the sexual preferences of the main characters, and their attractive features.

Finally, the song uses terms and vernacular familiar to the African American experience. Again, the use of black colloquialisms is a typical hallmark of 1960s funk music. Brown refers to the female subject as "sister", a common term of familiarity amongst black women.

Chart performance

Sexy, Sexy, Sexy peaked at No. 6 on Billboard's R&B chart for multiple weeks. [16] The song also performed strongly on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart., peaking at number 50 and staying on the charts for a total of 8 weeks. [17] It also peaked at No. 6 on the Soul Singles Chart. The song also performed on the Cashbox chart. On this chart, Sexy, Sexy, Sexy peaked at number 46 and maintained its position on the charts for a total of 7 weeks. [18] The only other song on the album soundtrack to perform well on the mainstream charts was Brown's previously released single Brother Rapp. The song reached number 2 on Billboard's R&B chart and number 32 on the same magazine's Pop Charts.

Releases

Sexy, Sexy, Sexy was released as both part of the soundtrack for Slaughter's Big Rip-Off and also as a single in 1973. Both forms were distributed under the German-British record label Polydor Records, who had signed James Brown during the early stages of his career. The soundtrack was released on a 12 inch vinyl manufactured for a full-length album. The original album cover followed a poster like design. It depicted James Brown in gangster attire, wearing a trench coat, fedora hat and carrying a machine-gun. Furthermore, images from the film were included in the bottom right quarter of the cover. These included artwork of Jim Brown, Marcia and other film related imagery. Finally, at the top of the vinyl sleeve appears red text labelling James Brown the Godfather of Soul, a popular nickname he was well known by. [19] The single was released as a 7 inch vinyl. The artwork for the single differed to that of the wider album cover. While Brown was again depicted wearing the gangster attire, the film imagery was omitted. Furthermore, here Brown's gun is firing and Sexy, Sexy, Sexy is described as Slaughter's theme. [20] The single was also released under Polydor with two separate covers in Belgium and France. The France version included a close up of Brown with green text. While the Belgium single was released in the Discotheque Special Series and depicted bright fluorescent pink text. Both were released on 7 inch 45 RPM vinyl. [21] On 24 July 2020, the soundtrack was remastered and released under Republic Records, a label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). The reissue is available at in the United Kingdom at a price of 10 pounds, or 13.50 US dollars.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Brown</span> 1982 single by the Stranglers

"Golden Brown" is a song by English rock band the Stranglers, released as a 7-inch single on EMI's Liberty label in 1982. Noted for its distinctive harpsichord instrumentation, it was the second single released from the band's sixth studio album La Folie (1981). The single peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's highest-charting single in the country. It has also been recorded by many other artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren G</span> American rapper, record producer, and DJ (born 1970)

Warren Griffin III is an American rapper, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s. A pioneer of G-funk, he attained mainstream success with his 1994 single "Regulate". He is credited with discovering Snoop Dogg, having introduced the then-unknown rapper to record producer Dr. Dre.

<i>Super Fly</i> (soundtrack) 1972 soundtrack album by Curtis Mayfield

Super Fly is the third studio album by American soul musician Curtis Mayfield, released on July 11, 1972, by Curtom Records. It was released as the soundtrack for the Blaxploitation film of the same name. Widely considered a classic of 1970s soul and funk music, Super Fly was a nearly immediate hit. Its sales were bolstered by two million-selling singles, "Freddie's Dead" and the title track. Super Fly is one of the few soundtracks to out-gross the film it accompanied.

<i>Pandemonium</i> (The Time album) 1990 studio album by The Time

Pandemonium is the fourth studio album by American band The Time released in 1990. Much like the three previous albums, the album consists of music in the funk rock genre, although this album breaks the Time's six-song album tradition. The album is a tie-in with the film Graffiti Bridge, and several songs from the album appear in the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexy MF</span> 1992 single by Prince

"Sexy MF" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, released as a single from their 1992 album Love Symbol. The music and most of the lyrics were composed by Prince, while Levi Seacer Jr. came up with the chorus and the song's title. Tony M. also delivers a rap, which he wrote. The song and its refrain "You sexy motherfucker" caused some controversy, and edited versions were produced for radio, the music video and the US version of the album. The song was recorded in Paisley Park's Studio A in December 1991.

<i>The Payback</i> 1973 studio album by James Brown

The Payback is the 37th studio album by American musician James Brown. The album was released in December 1973, by Polydor Records. It was originally scheduled to become the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film Hell Up in Harlem, but was rejected by the film's producers, who dismissed it as "the same old James Brown stuff." A widely repeated story—including by Brown himself—that director Larry Cohen rejected the music as "not funky enough" is denied by Cohen. On the DVD commentary track for Black Caesar, Cohen states that executives at American International Pictures were already unhappy with Brown for delivering songs much longer than expected on Black Caesar and Slaughter's Big Rip-Off and opted for a deal with Motown Records instead. Cohen said the absence of Brown's music from Harlem still "breaks [his] heart."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cities in Dust</span> 1985 single by Siouxsie and the Banshees

"Cities in Dust" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees from their album Tinderbox (1986). It was released on 18 October 1985 as the album's lead single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)</span> 2002 single by Erykah Badu featuring Common

"Love of My Life " is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu for the Brown Sugar soundtrack (2002). It features American rapper Common, who co-wrote the song alongside Badu, Madukwu Chinwah, Robert Ozuma, James Poyser, Rashad Smith, Glen Standridge and the song's sole producer Raphael Saadiq. The song follows the film and its soundtrack's common lyrical theme of personifying hip hop. It was released as the lead single from Brown Sugar on August 5, 2002, by MCA Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Please Send Me Someone to Love</span>

"Please Send Me Someone to Love" is a blues ballad, written and recorded by American blues and soul singer Percy Mayfield in 1950, for Art Rupe's Specialty Records. It was on the Billboard's R&B chart for 27 weeks and reached the number-one position for two weeks; it was Mayfield's most successful song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Payback (song)</span> 1974 single by James Brown

"The Payback" is a funk song by James Brown, the title track from his 1973 album of the same name. The song's lyrics, originally written by trombonist and bandleader Fred Wesley but heavily revised by Brown himself soon before it was recorded, concern the revenge he plans to take against a man who betrayed him. The song is notable for its sparse, open arrangement and its use of wah-wah guitar – a relative rarity in Brown's previous funk recordings. Released as a two-part single in February 1974, it was the first in an unbroken succession of three singles by Brown to reach #1 on the R&B charts that year – the last chart-toppers of his career. It also peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was his second, and final, single to be certified gold by the RIAA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">More Bounce to the Ounce</span> 1980 single by Zapp

"More Bounce to the Ounce" is the debut single by American funk band Zapp. It is the opening track on their eponymous debut album and serves as the album's first single. The song was,produced by Boosy Collins,. arranged, composed and produced by Roger Troutman; and it peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blaxploitation</span> Film genre

In cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the US in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined political momentum of the Black civil rights movement, the black power movement, and the Black Panther Party, sociological circumstances that facilitated Black artists reclaiming their power of the Representation of the Black ethnic identity in the arts. The term blaxploitation is a portmanteau of the words Black and exploitation, and was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, president of the Beverly Hills–Hollywood branch of the NAACP. Griffin said that the blaxploitation genre was "proliferating offenses" to and against the Black community, by perpetuating racist stereotypes of inherent criminlality.

<i>Slaughter</i> (1972 film) 1972 film by Jack Starrett

Slaughter is a 1972 blaxploitation film directed by Jack Starrett and starring Jim Brown as a former Green Beret captain seeking revenge for a murder. Stella Stevens, Rip Torn, Don Gordon and Cameron Mitchell co-star. This film was followed by a sequel the following year, Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973).

<i>Slaughters Big Rip-Off</i> 1973 film by Gordon Douglas

Slaughter's Big Rip-Off is a 1973 blaxploitation film directed by Gordon Douglas and written by Charles Eric Johnson. The film stars Jim Brown, Ed McMahon, Don Stroud, Brock Peters, Gloria Hendry and Dick Anthony Williams. The film was released on August 31, 1973, by American International Pictures. It is the sequel to the 1972 film Slaughter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candy (Foxy Brown song)</span> 2001 single by Foxy Brown

"Candy" is a song by American rapper Foxy Brown featuring American singer Kelis, released by Def Jam on August 21, 2001, as the third single from her third studio album Broken Silence (2001). A dance-pop and R&B track, it was produced by the Neptunes duo Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, who co-wrote the song alongside Brown and Juan Manuel Cordova. Brown raps on the verses while Kelis, a frequent collaborator with the Neptunes, performs the hook. The song was recorded in Virginia Beach and mixed in New York City. "Candy" premiered at the Broken Silence listening party in June 2001, and although it did not receive an official music video, a portion of it was played in the video for the album track "Tables Will Turn".

<i>Coffy</i> (soundtrack) 1973 soundtrack album by Roy Ayers

Coffy is a soundtrack produced, composed, and arranged by Roy Ayers for the blaxploitation film Coffy. It was released in 1973 on Polydor Records and peaked at number 31 on the jazz albums chart.

"Gimme Some More" is a 1971 song written by James Brown and recorded by his band, The J.B.'s. Released as a single on People Records, "Gimme Some More" also appeared on the 1972 album Food for Thought.

"Money Won't Change You" is a song recorded by James Brown in 1966. It was released in edited form as a two-part single which charted No. 11 R&B and No. 53 Pop. Both parts of the single were included on Brown's 1967 album Sings Raw Soul.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnin' It Down</span> 2014 single by Jason Aldean

"Burnin' It Down" is a song written by Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins and Florida Georgia Line members Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley and recorded by American country music artist Jason Aldean. It was released in July 2014 as the first single from Aldean's 2014 album Old Boots, New Dirt. The song won the "Top Country Song" category at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, but polarized critics.

References

  1. ↑ "James Brown – Sexy, Sexy, Sexy (1973, Vinyl)". Discogs . 1973.
  2. ↑ Ebert, Roger. "Reviews Baadass!". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  3. ↑ Morant, Kesha (2011). "Language in Action: Funk Music as the Critical Voice of a Post - Civil Rights Movement Counterculture". Journal of Black Studies. 42 (1): 71. doi:10.1177/0021934709357026. S2CID   145512580 . Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  4. ↑ Lacy, Travis (2008). "Funk is its own reward" an analysis of selected lyrics in popular funk music of the 1970s (1 ed.). Atlanta: Clark Atlanta University. pp. 50–75.
  5. ↑ Birchmeier, Jason. "AllMusic Review by Jason Birchmeier". AllMusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  6. ↑ Smith, Mychal. "Review: Super Fly". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  7. ↑ Elias, Jason. "AllMusic Review by Jason Elias". AllMusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  8. ↑ Christgau, Robert (2018). He Got Us: James Brown: 1933–2006." Is It Still Good to Ya?: Fifty Years of Rock Criticism (1 ed.). Durham, London: Duke University Press. pp. 339–342.
  9. ↑ Elias, Jason. "AllMusic Review by Jason Elias". AllMusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  10. ↑ Elias, Jason. "AllMusic Review by Jason Elias". AllMusic. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  11. ↑ Friedland, Ed (March 2018). "James Brown & the Birth of Funk". Bass Player. 29 (3): 52–53.
  12. ↑ Lacy, Travis (2008). "Funk is its own reward" an analysis of selected lyrics in popular funk music of the 1970s (1 ed.). Atlanta: Clark Atlanta University. pp. 50–75.
  13. ↑ Lacy, Travis (2008). "Funk is its own reward" an analysis of selected lyrics in popular funk music of the 1970s (1 ed.). Atlanta: Clark Atlanta University. pp. 50–75.
  14. ↑ Valnes, Matthew (September 2017). "Janelle Monae and Afro-SOnic Feminist Funk". Journal of Popular Music Studies. 1 (29): 29.
  15. ↑ Valnes, Matthew (September 2017). "Janelle Monae and Afro-SOnic Feminist Funk". Journal of Popular Music Studies. 1 (29): 29.
  16. ↑ "Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (Original Soundtrack)". The Sound of Vinyl. Republic. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  17. ↑ "#RecordsAndCharts". racpro. Record and Charts Professional. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "#RecordsAndCharts". racpro. Record and Charts Professional. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  19. ↑ "Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (Original Soundtrack)". The Sound of Vinyl. Republic. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "James Brown- Sexy, Sexy, Sexy". Discogs. 1974. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  21. ↑ "James Brown- Sexy, Sexy, Sexy". Discogs. 1974. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.