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James Brown phenomenon with the release of and public visibility. From 1965 for their part, put their apprentice-
Live at the Apollo in 1963. Captur- to the end of the decade, he was ship to good use, helping define
“Soul Brother Number One,” “the ing a James Brown concert in all rarely off the R&B charts, often on ‘70s funk as members of the
Godfather of Soul,” “the Hardest its whirling-dervish energy and the pop listings, and all over the Parliament-Funkadelic axis.
Working Man in Show Business,” calculated spontaneity, the album concert circuit and national televi-
“Mr. Dynamite” -- those are mighty reached number two on the album sion, even meeting with Vice Presi- In the early ‘70s, many of the most
titles, but no one can question that charts, an unprecedented feat for a dent Hubert Humphrey and other important members of Brown’s
James Brown earned them more hardcore R&B LP. important politicians as a repre- late-’60s band returned to the
than any other performer. Other sentative of the black community. fold, to be billed as the J.B.’s (they
singers were more popular, others Live at the Apollo was recorded His music became even bolder and also made records on their own).
were equally skilled, but few other and released against the wishes funkier, as melody was dispensed Brown continued to score heavily
African-American musicians were of the King label. It was this kind with almost altogether in favor of on the R&B charts throughout the
so influential over the course of of artistic standoff that led Brown chunky rhythms and magnetic in- first half of the ‘70s, the music be-
popular music. And no other mu- to seek better opportunities else- terplay between his vocals, horns, coming more and more elemental
sician, pop or otherwise, put on a where. In 1964, he ignored his drums, and scratching electric gui- and beat-driven. At the same time,
more exciting, exhilarating stage King contract to record “Out of tar (heard to best advantage on hits he was retreating from the white
show: Brown’s performances were Sight” for Smash, igniting a lengthy like “Cold Sweat,” “I Got the Fee- audience he had cultivated dur-
marvels of athletic stamina and legal battle that prevented him lin’,” and “There Was a Time”). The ing the mid- to late ‘60s; records
split-second timing. from issuing vocal recordings for lyrics were not so much words as like “Make It Funky,” “Hot Pants,”
about a year. When he finally re- chanted, stream-of-consciousness “Get on the Good Foot,” and “The
Through the gospel-impassioned sumed recording for King in 1965, slogans, often aligning themselves Payback” were huge soul sellers,
fury of his vocals and the complex he had a new contract that granted with black pride as well as good but only modest pop ones. Critics
polyrhythms of his beats, Brown With the help of singer Bobby on the road to a truly original him far more artistic control over old-fashioned (or new-fashioned) charged, with some justification,
was a crucial midwife in not just Byrd’s family, Brown gained pa- sound. What made Brown succeed his releases. sex. Much of the credit for the that the Godfather was starting
one, but two revolutions in black role and started a gospel group where hundreds of others failed sound he devised belonged to (and to repeat and recycle himself too
American music. He was one of with Byrd, changing their focus to was his superhuman determina- Brown’s new era had truly begun, has now been belatedly attributed many times. It must be remem-
the figures most responsible for R&B as the rock revolution gained tion, working the chitlin circuit to however, with “Out of Sight,” which to) his top-notch supporting musi- bered, though, that these songs
turning R&B into soul and he was, steam. The Flames, as the Georgian death, sharpening his band, and topped the R&B charts and made cians such as saxophonists Maceo were made for the singles radio
most would agree, the figure most group was known in the mid-’50s, keeping an eye on new trends. He the pop Top 40. For some time, Parker, St. Clair Pinckney, and Pee jukebox market and not meant to
responsible for turning soul music signed to Federal/King and had was on the verge of being dropped Brown had been moving toward Wee Ellis; guitarist Jimmy Nolen; be played one after the other on CD
into the funk of the late ‘60s and a huge R&B hit right off the bat from King in late 1958 when his more elemental lyrics that threw backup singer and longtime loyal compilations (as they are today).
early ‘70s. After the mid-’70s, he with the wrenching, churchy perseverance finally paid off, as in as many chants and screams associate Bobby Byrd; and drum-
did little more than tread water ballad “Please, Please, Please.” “Try Me” became a number one as they did words, and more in- mer Clyde Stubblefield. By the mid-’70s, Brown was begin-
artistically; his financial and drug By that point, the Flames had be- R&B (and small pop) hit, and sev- tricate beats and horn charts that ning to burn out artistically. He
problems eventually got him a con- come James Brown & the Famous eral follow-ups established him as took some of their cues from the Brown was both a brilliant seemed shorn of new ideas, was
troversial prison sentence. Yet in a Flames; the charisma, energy, and a regular visitor to the R&B charts. ensemble work of jazz outfits. “Out bandleader and a stern taskmas- being out-gunned on the charts
sense, his music is now more influ- talent of Brown made him the of Sight” wasn’t called funk when ter, the latter leading his band by disco, and was running into
ential than ever, as his voice and natural star attraction. Brown’s style of R&B got harder as it came out, but it had most of the to walk out on him in late 1969. problems with the IRS and his
rhythms have been sampled on the ‘60s began; he added more com- essential ingredients. These were Amazingly, he turned the crisis financial empire. There were
innumerable hip-hop recordings, All of Brown’s singles over the next plex, Latin- and jazz-influenced amplified and perfected on 1965’s to his advantage by recruiting a sporadic hits, and he could always
and critics have belatedly hailed two years flopped, as he sought to rhythms on hits like “Good Good “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” a young Cincinnati outfit called the count on enthusiastic live audi-
his innovations as among the most establish his own style, recording Lovin’,” “I’ll Go Crazy,” “Think,” monster that finally broke Brown Pacemakers featuring guitarist ences, but by the ‘80s, he didn’t
important in all of rock or soul. material that was obviously de- and “Night Train,” alternating to the white audience, reaching the Catfish Collins and bassist Bootsy have a label. With the explosion
rivative of heroes like Roy Brown, these with torturous ballads that Top Ten. The even more adventur- Collins. Although they only stayed of rap, however, which frequently
Brown’s rags-to-riches-to-rags Hank Ballard, Little Richard, and featured some of the most frayed ous follow-up, “I Got You (I Feel with him for about a year, they sampled vintage J.B.’s records,
story has heroic and tragic dimen- Ray Charles. In retrospect, it can screaming to be heard outside Good),” did even better, making were crucial to Brown’s evolution Brown became hipper than ever.
sions of mythic resonance. Born be seen that Brown was in the of the church. Black audiences number three. into even harder funk, emphasiz- He collaborated with Afrika Bam-
into poverty in the South, he ran same position as dozens of other already knew that Brown had ing the rhythm and the bottom baataa on the critical smash single
afoul of the law by the late ‘40s R&B one-shot: talented singers in the most exciting live act around, These hits kicked off Brown’s peri- even more. The Collins brothers, “Unity” and reentered the Top Ten
on an armed robbery conviction. need of better songs, or not fully but he truly started to become a od of greatest commercial success in 1986 with “Living in America.”

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