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James Brown

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James Brown

Biography

James Joseph Brown (3 May 1933, Barnwell, S.C. – 25 December 2006, Atlanta, Ga.) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader.

Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia. He joined a rhythm and blues vocal group, the Gospel Starlighters (which later evolved into the Famous Flames) founded by Bobby Byrd, in which he was the lead singer. First coming to national public attention in the late 1950s as a member of the singing group The Famous Flames with the hit ballads Please, Please, Please and Try Me, Brown built a reputation as a tireless live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with the live album Live at the Apollo and hit singles such as Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, I Got You (I Feel Good) and It's a Man's Man's Man's World.

During the late 1960s, Brown moved from a continuum of blues and gospel-based forms and styles to a profoundly "Africanized" approach to music-making, emphasizing stripped-down and interlocking rhythms, that influenced the development of funk music. By the early 1970s, Brown had fully established the funk sound after the formation of the J.B.s with records such as Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine and The Payback. He also became noted for songs of social commentary, including the 1968 hit Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud. Brown continued to perform and record until his death from pneumonia in 2006.

Brown recorded 17 singles that reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts. He also holds the record for the most singles listed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart which did not reach No. 1. Brown was inducted into 1st class of the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013 as an artist and then in 2017 as a songwriter. He also received honors from many other institutions, including inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame.

A progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music and dance, he is often referred to by the honorific nicknames "Godfather of Soul" and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted over 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres.


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