JAMES BROWN

MAJOR MUSIC ARTISTS - USA


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James Brown

DESCRIPTION: James Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of funk music and is a major figure of 20th century popular music and dance.

ACTIVITY STATUS: Departed

ACTIVITY PERIOD: 1956 – 2006

MUSIC GENRE: Funk, Soul, R&B , Rock N Roll

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA (AMERICA)

RECORD COMPANIES / LABELS (Current & Past): Federal, King, Try Me, Smash, People, Polydor, Scotti Bros.

WIKIPEDIA PAGE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown


ABOUT HIM:

JAMES BROWN (1933 - 2006)
“When I'm on stage, I'm trying to do one thing: bring people joy. Just like church does. People don't go to church to find trouble, they go there to lose it.” Soul Brother Number One, Mr Dynamite, the Godfather of Soul, the creator of funk, one of popular music’s most prolific songwriters ever - all these titles belong to man himself, James Brown. Born into poverty in South Carolina, he started singing in a gospel group while serving time as a teenager in a reform school. On his release he sang with the group the Gospel Starlighters (which over time evolved into his dynamic singing-dancing R&B band the Flames). In 1955 Brown recorded his first hit Please Please Please, and in recorded a live album at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. Capturing the raw energy of Brown’s now legendary live shows, Live At The Apollo went on to become a huge hit. More and more fans flocked to his shows, awed by his vocal attack and virtuousity, and acrobatic stage routines. During the Sixties he amassed a string of major singles hits with classics like I Got You (“I Feel Good”) and Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag. Continually touring with his big live show as well as recording, he gained a reputation as “the hardest working man in showbusiness”. He embraced the black power message in the early 1970s, with songs like Say It Loud - I'm Black and My Proud. His recording output continued undiminished well into the Seventies, and his career catalogue shows around a hundred charting singles. Changing musical trends (disco, punk) saw his output finally starting to diminish as the decade wore on, but he still scored occasional successes in the Eighties. Domestic problems saw him in trouble with the law again in the Nineties, but he continued touring in the new millennium, despite now being an octogenarian. Soul Brother Number One goes on.

By Larry Buttrose

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Parent Category Page Links: Music Artists / Outfits - America

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