You will have caught the news.
Obituaries...
BBC (UK)
His performances remain unsurpassed for their urgency of expression and raw physicality, influencing later white rockers like Mick Jagger and Iggy Pop.
Herald Sun (Australia)
"James presented obviously the best grooves," rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once said. "To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one's coming even close."
His hit singles include such classics as Out of Sight, (Get Up I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine, I Got You (I Feel Good) and Say It Out Loud -- I'm Black and I'm Proud, a landmark 1968 statement of racial pride.
"I clearly remember we were calling ourselves coloured, and after the song, we were calling ourselves black," Brown said in 2003. "The song showed even people to that day that lyrics and music and a song can change society."
Voice of America (Ed Kowalski)
"My influence was Louis Jordan, who recorded a song by the name of "Caldonia" and other things that were very big in the '50s and the late-'40s," he said.
"'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag' will probably be one of the most important things I've ever done in the way of changing the music [rhythms] around from two and four to one and three, which is 'funk,'" he said.
Just a year before his death, the Godfather of Soul reached into his vast catalog of hit songs for a night of music, recorded live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Hear the full performance, originally webcast live on NPR.org Dec. 28, 2005 as part of NPR Music’s live concert series from All Songs Considered.
James Brown in Concert (MP3)
Other material...
"James Brown's Personal Soul Retrospective"
Jon Pareles | The New York Times (1 Mar 1992)
Mr. Brown brought the showgirls back for a song from his 1991 album, "Love Overdue." He reached back for material he might have used on the rhythm-and-blues circuit of the 1950's and 1960's, including "Prisoner of Love" and "Georgia on My Mind," complete with a tribute to two jazz musicians, Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery.
paleez. the only white musician influenced by james brown was jimmy chance...right down to the contortion coif. sir mick, osterberg? don't think so...the former a fop too vain to impersonate anyone but himself, the ladder an unfortunate by-product of trailer parks and too many trips to the jif & jelly bar. when little richard goes, at least he won't have that phony m-fer sharpton (can u spell tawana brawley? good for u, i can't) presiding over a coffin so heavy it had to be a drive-by......
Posted by: brian morris | January 01, 2007 at 02:07 PM