Singer, songwriter, dancer, activist and musician, James Brown was known by two nicknames: The Hardest Working Man in Show Business and the Godfather of Soul. He is also known as the Inventor of Funk, the Grandfather of Hip-Hop and is certainly one of the most influential musical pioneers of the last century. Born in 1933 in South Carolina, he died in December 2006 of pneumonia at 73 years old. He lives on through his music. As he said himself “If people wanted to know who James Brown is, all they have to do is listen to my music.”
He grew up in abject poverty and his parents split up when he was very young, so at age 4 he was sent to live with his Aunt Honey, the madam of a brothel. Brown later recalled his impoverished childhood: “I started shining shoes at 3 cents, then went up to 5 cents, then 6 cents. I never did get up to a dime. I was 9 years old before I got a pair of underwear from a real store; all my clothes were made from sacks and things like that. But I knew I had to make it. I had the determination to go on, and my determination was to be somebody.”
Well, as we know, the story has a happy ending because James Brown was certainly somebody! He developed his powerful voice singing in the church choir and his musical career started in earnest in 1955 when Bobby Byrd invited him to join his R&B group, The Gospel Starlighters. Naturally, with his almost overbearing talent and charisma it didn’t take long before he was running the show. Changing their name to the Famous Flames they started performing in local clubs. A year later in 1956 they recorded a demo tape of Please, Please, Please and played it for a talent scout for King Records. Within months the song reached Nº6 on the R&B charts. But it wasn’t until a couple of years later that Brown got the kick start he needed to make it into the big leagues. He recorded Try Me and the song went straight to Nº1 on the R&B charts. Then followed a string of hits, Lost Someone, Prisoner of Love and Night Train.
 |
 |
Brown toured relentlessly, performing 6 nights per week throughout the 60’s, which earned him his first nickname, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business. He was such a great showman – you could describe him as hypnotic even. His dancing was incredible and his charisma and passion left audiences in raptures. He mastered all the popular dances of the time “the camel walk,” “the mashed potato,” “the popcorn” and of course his own “do the James Brown.” He went on to record many of his most popular songs during the 60’s including Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag which is considered the first ‘funk’ song – an offshoot of soul and a precursor to hip-hop.
During the 70’s more hits came, most notably Sex Machine and Get Up Offa That Thing although with the advance of disco, plus personal financial troubles, the 70’s weren’t his best decade. He made a brilliant comeback in the cult 1980s film The Blues Brothers and recorded Living in America in 1985 which was featured in Rocky IV and became a huge hit for him.
He was one of the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – in 1986, which was the year it started. The late 80s were lost in a mix of depression and drug addiction and ended in 1988 when he went to prison for 15 months after a high speed car chase with the police. He continued touring after release from prison, albeit on a much lighter schedule than in his heyday.
This incredible show, filmed 6 years before he died, is a must-have video for any fan. He might not have had the energy of his youth but he could still hit it! This concert event at the House of Blues in Las Vegas features music through five decades of his chart-topping hits.
To watch this video in Creation 5, just tap here. If you enjoy it, download it using Creation 5 and keep it in your video collection!
1 Get Up Offa That Thing
2 Gonna Have A Funky Good Time
3 Living In America
4 Popcorn
5 Soul Power
6 Soul Man (Vocals – Roosevelt Johnson)
7 I Got That Feeling
8 Hot Pants
9 Try Me
10 Prisioner Of Love
11 Georgia On My Mind
12 If I Ruled The World
13 Why Don’t You Do Right (Vocals – Candice Hurst)
14 Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag
15 Funk On A Roll
16 Payback
17 I Feel Good
18 Papa Don’t Take No Mess
19 Please Please Please
20 Sex Machine
21 I Still Care (Vocals – Tomi Rae)
22 Try (Vocals – Tomi Rae)
Don’t have Creation 5? Download it from the App Store!
| iPhone | iPad |
 |
|
