James Brown

Lore & Background

James Brown was born in a small wooden shack in Barnwell, South Carolina, to a 16-year-old mother and 21-year-old father. His family lived in poverty and moved to Augusta, Georgia when he was four or five. He began singing in talent shows as a young child, first appearing at Augusta's Lenox Theater in 1944. At age 16, he was convicted of robbery and sent to a juvenile detention center in Toccoa, where he formed a gospel quartet and met singer Bobby Byrd, who was a fellow inmate or visitor. Brown was paroled on June 14, 1952, after promising the court he would 'sing for the Lord.'

Brown joined Bobby Byrd's group in 1954, which evolved into the Famous Flames. Their 1956 single 'Please, Please, Please' became the group's first R&B hit, selling more than a million copies. In October 1958, Brown released 'Try Me,' which hit number one on the R&B chart in early 1959. 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, he developed a new approach emphasizing stripped-down interlocking rhythms that influenced funk music, and by the early 1970s he had fully established the funk sound with records such as 'Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine' and 'The Payback.' He also released the socially conscious 1968 hit 'Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud.'

Reader's Guide

James Brown's significance lies in his role as the central progenitor of funk music and his influence on the development of several music genres over a career lasting more than 50 years. He was one of the first ten inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 23, 1986. His music has been heavily sampled by hip-hop musicians and other artists. Brown recorded and released 17 singles that reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts and holds the record for the most singles listed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that did not reach No. 1. He was posthumously inducted into the first class of the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013 as an artist and then in 2017 as a songwriter. In Joel Whitburn's analysis of the Billboard R&B charts from 1942 to 2010, Brown is ranked No. 1 in the Top 500 Artists. He is ranked seventh on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and at No. 44 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. His legacy includes influencing funk, soul, R&B, and hip-hop, and his dynamic live performances set a standard for showmanship.

Did You Know?

• Brown's first and middle names were mistakenly reversed on his birth certificate; his intended name was Joseph James Brown.
• He performed buck dances for change to entertain troops from Camp Gordon during World War II.
• Brown met Bobby Byrd at a juvenile detention center in Toccoa, Georgia, where Brown formed a gospel quartet and Byrd was a fellow inmate or visitor.
• Brown is often noted for his numerous charting singles, though the claim that he holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 entries that did not reach No. 1 is not widely established in reliable sources.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Manhood is what we profess, and what we try to get across." — James Brown "Pop Chronicles: Show 51 - The Soul Reformation: Phase three, soul music at the summit. (Part 7), recorded 1.7.1970." — James Brown "On personal identity (1982) — as quoted in "Funk's founding father," Rolling Stone Magazine, 2007-01-10." — James Brown "Hair is the first thing. And teeth the second. Hair and teeth. A man got those two things he's got it all." — James Brown