'Soul Brother Number One,' 'the Godfather of Soul,' 'the Hardest Working Man in Show Business,' 'Mr. Dynamite' -- those are mighty titles, but no one can question that earned them more than any other performer.
James Brown discography. James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer.
Other singers were more popular, others were equally skilled, but few other African-American musicians were so influential over the course of popular music. And no other musician, pop or otherwise, put on a more exciting, exhilarating stage show: 's performances were marvels of athletic stamina and split-second timing. Through the gospel-impassioned fury of his vocals and the complex polyrhythms of his beats, was a crucial midwife in not just one, but two revolutions in black American music. He was one of the figures most responsible for turning R&B into soul and he was, most would agree, the figure most responsible for turning soul music into the funk of the late '60s and early '70s. After the mid-'70s, he did little more than tread water artistically; his financial and drug problems eventually got him a controversial prison sentence. Yet in a sense, his music is now more influential than ever, as his voice and rhythms have been sampled on innumerable hip-hop recordings, and critics have belatedly hailed his innovations as among the most important in all of rock or soul. 's rags-to-riches-to-rags story has heroic and tragic dimensions of mythic resonance.
Born into poverty in the South, he ran afoul of the law by the late '40s on an armed robbery conviction. With the help of singer 's family, gained parole and started a gospel group with, changing their focus to R&B as the rock revolution gained steam., as the Georgian group was known in the mid-'50s, signed to Federal/King and had a huge R&B hit right off the bat with the wrenching, churchy ballad 'Please, Please, Please.' By that point, the Flames had become; the charisma, energy, and talent of made him the natural star attraction. All of 's singles over the next two years flopped, as he sought to establish his own style, recording material that was obviously derivative of heroes like,,,. In retrospect, it can be seen that was in the same position as dozens of other R&B one-shot: talented singers in need of better songs, or not fully on the road to a truly original sound. What made succeed where hundreds of others failed was his superhuman determination, working the chitlin circuit to death, sharpening his band, and keeping an eye on new trends. He was on the verge of being dropped from King in late 1958 when his perseverance finally paid off, as 'Try Me' became a number one R&B (and small pop) hit, and several follow-ups established him as a regular visitor to the R&B charts.
's style of R&B got harder as the '60s began; he added more complex, Latin- and jazz-influenced rhythms on hits like 'Good Good Lovin',' 'I'll Go Crazy,' 'Think,' and 'Night Train,' alternating these with torturous ballads that featured some of the most frayed screaming to be heard outside of the church. Black audiences already knew that had the most exciting live act around, but he truly started to become a phenomenon with the release of Live at the Apollo in 1963. Capturing a concert in all its whirling-dervish energy and calculated spontaneity, the album reached number two on the album charts, an unprecedented feat for a hardcore R&B LP. Live at the Apollo was recorded and released against the wishes of the King label. It was this kind of artistic standoff that led to seek better opportunities elsewhere. In 1964, he ignored his King contract to record 'Out of Sight' for Smash, igniting a lengthy legal battle that prevented him from issuing vocal recordings for about a year. When he finally resumed recording for King in 1965, he had a new contract that granted him far more artistic control over his releases.
's new era had truly begun, however, with 'Out of Sight,' which topped the R&B charts and made the pop Top 40. For some time, had been moving toward more elemental lyrics that threw in as many chants and screams as they did words, and more intricate beats and horn charts that took some of their cues from the ensemble work of jazz outfits. 'Out of Sight' wasn't called funk when it came out, but it had most of the essential ingredients. These were amplified and perfected on 1965's 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag,' a monster that finally broke to the white audience, reaching the Top Ten. The even more adventurous follow-up, 'I Got You (I Feel Good),' did even better, making number three.