As a young man growing up in the late ’60s and early ’70s, I liked nothing better than to go to a concert, to take in live music. Some of the early shows that stick in my mind include rock & roll legend Little Richard; jazz giant Duke Ellington, who I was lucky enough to catch at the end of his storied career; pop icon Elton John as he was just starting out; blues master B.B. King; and such brilliant rockers as Cream, Creedence, Cocker, and the inimitable Janis Joplin. One day I got a call from my best buddy Paul, inviting me to the old Philadelphia Spectrum to go see James Brown. Always liked his mid-’60s song “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”, but really, I was not a fan and went to the show with little enthusiasm- and proceeded to be blown away! I have never seen such a tight show. His touring band, with guitars, a rhythm section, and horns, as well as His Famous Flames, the backup singers and dancers, were astonishingly tight, both musically and visually. The choreography, precision and professionalism were off the charts and Brown himself, an extraordinary dancer who influenced the likes of Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars, truly was “the hardest working man in show business.” To this day, his Live at the Apollo LP is considered a landmark recording, feted by the likes of Rolling Stone magazine and the National Recording Registry.

            Brown grew up in the South in desperate poverty and by the age of 16 was in trouble with the law; yet he was musically gifted, joined an R&B group and was eventually discovered by Little Richard. He had some R&B hits early on, but around 1967 his music had morphed into a very unique danceable style with less melody, more emphasis on staccato rhythm, heavy bass and percussion- funk, they called it. The songs- “Cold Sweat”; “Say It Loud- I’m Black and I’m Proud”; “Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine” are among his funk classics, but it’s important to name a couple other hits from when his music was transitioning- “I Got You (I Feel Good)”, from 1965 and “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”, from the same year.

            Brown’s vocal style was all his own- raspy, gritty, prone to grunts and groans and screams- it served the music. His musical influence on future artists is simply incalculable- from Sly and the Family Stone to Earth, Wind & Fire, from David Bowie to the entire hip-hop genre. Brown was part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 1986. 

            -Steve Williams (8/17/23) Greatest Recording Artists Blog Post #37