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James Brown

James Brown is famous for his dynamic stage performance and unique style of singing. He transformed R&B and Gospel into Soul and Funk, and has been called "The Godfather of Soul".

James Joseph Brown, Junior was born in 1933 in Barnwell, South Carolina. With an unstable home life, Brown became adapt at living on the streets. He was inspired to become a performer by watching Louis Jordan's "Caldonia", and learned to play a variety of instruments including the harmonica, guitar and piano. His first public performances were in a reform school, at age 16, with a gospel quarter using improvised instruments. James Brown briefly tried boxing and baseball before turning to music as his career.

In 1955 he joined Bobby Byrd's vocal group "The Avons", later renamed "The Flames". The group's first recording "Please, Please, Please" released in 1956 sold over a million copies. In 1958 their single "Try Me" became the first of 17 #1 hits in James Brown's career, billed as "James Brown and The Famous Flames". James Brown was heavily influenced by Little Richard, and when Little Richard left the pop scene several of his players joined James Brown.

Through the 1960s Brown issued many hits under different labels, including "Night Train", "Prisoner of Love", "Out of Sight", "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Cold Sweat", perhaps the first Funk song. Many of the band members in these years had a background in Jazz. As a bandleader, Brown had an unusual ability to blend basic, driving R&B rythms with more complex and precise jazz riffs.

During the late 1960's James Brown invested in radio stations and record labels, and often performed with artists in other bands. In the 1970s Brown continued to perform and record with a changing group of muscians, producing still more original works such as "The Payback", "Papa Don't Take No Mess" and "Get Up Offa That Thing".

Brown continued to perform and record in changing styles throughout the 1980's and 1990's, although his star power had faded by that time. With a large, talented and well-rehearsed band, a James Brown show was always a major event. He died in 2006. James Brown was one of the most talented, original and prolific performers in the history of R&B and Soul.

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