James Brown Biography

Brown's stage moves would be copied by everyone from Mick Jagger to Michael Jackson (who has admitted that Brown's stage act was a massive influence on his performances.) Early hits such as debut Please Please Please in 1956 and Try Me were big hits on the US R&B chart although not nationally. Brown's crossover breakthrough album came with 1963's Live At The Apollo LP, financed by Brown's own money. The album reached No.2 on the US Billboard charts.

In 1965 Brown released the revolutionary funk single Papa's Got A Brand New Bag. It reached the US Top 10 and singlehandedly ushered in a whole new era of soul music. The single began a new era of artistic freedom for Brown with unconventionally brilliant songs like I Got You (I Feel Good), Cold Sweat and It's A Man's World, characterised by Brown's vocal, primordial intensity and tight funk rhythms.

By the late Sixties, Brown had attained the status of a musical and cultural revolutionary, owing to his message of black pride and self-sufficiency in songs like Say It Loud (I'm Black And I'm Proud). "Until that song we didn't know whether to call ourselves 'blacks', 'coloureds' or 'negroes'" said Public Enemy's Chuck D. Brown's iconic status reverberated throughout the black community, where he was regarded as a leader and a role model.

1970's Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine was a precursor to the disco boom. His backing band the JB's now featured the brilliant young saxophonist Maceo Parker in the lineup and throughout the 70's the lineup would constantly change. Trombonist Fred Wesley joined to form the backbone of the band while Bootsy Collins was also, briefly, a JB disciple, helping Brown to distill the emerging seventies funk vibe. 1972' single King Heroin, where JB raps out a warning about the dangers of the drug, is often cited as the first rap record.

In 1974 Brown consolidated his status as soul brother Number One by performing at a musical festival in Zaire as part of the rumble in the jungle between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman.

Despite 500,000 sales for his 1974 Payback album, Brown suffered from the rise of disco in the 70s although his iconic status remained unassailable. He continued to tour and still had an influence on musical styles. In 1980 Brown was back in the public consciousness with an unforgettable cameo as a manic preacher in the hit John Belushi comedy The Blues Brothers. This and his 1986 theme song to the Sylvester Stallone hit flick Rocky IV (Living In America) opened the gates to a whole new generation of fans.

And by now James Brown records were being sampled by a whole new generation of upcoming rap artists. (His records have been sampled more than any other artist). He achieved renewed street cred in 1984 by recording the single Unity with Afrika Bambaataa.

In 1986 Brown was among the first group of performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Unfortunately, his personal life took a nose-dive in 1988, as he was investigated on a series of charges that ranged from spousal abuse of his wife Adrianne and drug possession to problems with the IRS. He famously walked into an insurance seminar with a shotgun in an attempt to find out who had used his priate toilet. (As you do). Sadly, JB's inquiry led to an interstate, high speed police chase and a six year prison sentence. He was paroled in 1991.

But throughout the 90's Brown's status as the Godfather of Soul remained unassailable and in 2003 in the US he was the recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Centre Honours award. He even managed to survive a potentially career threatening duet with Will Young at the recent Olympic Flame concert on London's Mall in 2004. Survive that and you deserve to be called Mr. Dynamite...

In late 2006 Brown took part in the BBC's electric proms festival, giving an unbelieveably tight and energetic perfoamnce for a septegenarian.

James Brown died on Christmas morning 2006 at the ripe age of 73. He died of congestive heart failure at 6.45a.m. on Monday at Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, America, leaving behind a truly funky and fantastic musical legacy.

Discography