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James Brown

Musician
Forfunk and soul devotees, live-album addicts, crate-diggers, and hip-hop heads tracing the sample dna.
7 Reviews 15 Definitions 91 Charts
Soul Funk R'n'b

The Profile

James Brown (1933–2006) was an American singer, bandleader, and pioneer of funk whose electrifying shows and innovations in rhythm reshaped soul, R&B, and popular music. Rising with the Famous Flames, he broke through with Please, Please, Please and cemented legend with Live at the Apollo. Landmark singles like Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag, I Got You (I Feel Good), and Cold Sweat defined funk’s blueprint. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Born 1933 in Barnwell, South Carolina; died 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia. Pivotal influence on funk and hip-hop sampling. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1986) and Songwriters Hall of Fame (2000). Nicknames include “Godfather of Soul,” “Mr. Dynamite,” “Soul Brother Number One,” and “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.”

These reviews hail James Brown’s live ferocity and studio precision, from the legend-making Live at the Apollo to the epochal Sex Machine. King Heroin spotlights his social messaging amid peak-funk years with the J.B.’s. Writers praise his groove, horn power, and crowd control, casting Brown as the Godfather of Soul whose work fueled funk and hip-hop. The box set Star Time is treated as essential.

Notable Quotes

❝ Five hours of which not even a millisecond can be thrown away.
❝ Ladies and Gentlemen,
Fellow Americans,
Lady Americans,
This is James Brown,
I wanna talk to You about one of our most deadly killers in the country today...
❝ Pure adrenaline. Ten minutes of animal power, without a moment’s pause.
❝ That night the undisputed king of Soul was born, and the laws were delivered to R&B.
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