Who is it that has been born yet to fill his shows. We'll never again know the inspiration of another talent like this. A man of head of his time and one of my musical heroes - James Brown.

The Hardest Working Man In Show Business, Soul Brother Number One

nicknames the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Soul Brother Number One (1928- ) Musician, born in Barnwell, South Carolina, USA. One of the most significant figures in black pop music, he began his singing career in Macon, GA with the Gospel Starlighters. In 1954 he formed a vocal group, the Famous Flames, with whom he recorded his first ‘cry' ballads, ‘Please, Please, Please' (1956) and ‘Try Me' (1958). Combining gospel and blues roots with a stage presentation that mixed calculated hysteria and absolute musical precision, he emerged by 1962 as the leading star in rhythm and blues and one of its key innovators. During the late 1960s his ambiguous racial politics made him an emblematic figure for both moderate and radical movements. His 1968 recording, ‘Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud', became an anthem of the Black Power movement. By the early 1970s he had become one of the first black entertainers to assume complete control of his own career, and this remains an enduring aspect of his legacy. An inaugural member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame (1968), the next year his recording ‘Living in America' won a Grammy for best rhythm & blues performance. In 1988 he was jailed for three years on charges that included aggravated assault. Upon his release (1991) he resumed his career as a leading concert and recording artist.

Major Works: Albums

1959 Please Please Please

1959 Try Me

1960 Think

1961 The Amazing James Brown

1961 James Brown Presents His Band/Night Train

1962 Shout And Shimmy

1962 James Brown and His Famous Flames Tour the USA

1963 Live At The Apollo

1963 Prisoner of Love

1964 Pure Dynamite: Live at the Royal

1964 Showtime

1964 The Unbeatable James Brown

1964 Grits and Soul

1964 Out Of Sight

1965 Papa's Got A Brand New Bag

1966 I Got You (I Feel Good)

1966 James Brown Plays James Brown Today and Yesterday

1966 Mighty Instrumentals

1966 James Brown Plays New Breed (The Boo-Ga-Loo)

1966 Soul Brother No. 1: It's A Man's Man's Man's World

1966 James Brown Sings Christmas Songs

1966 Handful of Soul

1967 The James Brown Show

1967 Sings Raw Soul

1967 James Brown Plays The Real Thing

1967 Live At The Garden

1967 Cold Sweat

1968 James Brown Presents His Show of Tomorrow

1968 I Can't Stand Myself

1968 I Got The Feelin'

1968 Live At The Apollo, Volume 2

1968 Jams Brown Sings Out Of Sight

1968 Thinking About Little Willie John and a Few Nice Things

1968 A Soulful Christmas

1969 Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud

1969 Gettin' Down To It

1969 The Popcorn

1969 It's A Mother

1970 Ain't It Funky

1970 Soul On Top

1970 It's A New Day - Let A Man Come In

1970 Sex Machine

1970 Hey America

1971 Super Bad

1971 Sho' Is Funky Down Here

1971 Hot Pants

1971 Revolution of the Mind/Live At The Apollo, Volume 3

1972 There It Is

1972 Get On the Good Foot

1973 Black Caesar

1973 Slaughter's Big Rip-Off

1974 The Payback

1974 Hell

1975 Reality

1975 Sex Machine Today

1975 Everybody's Doin' The Hustle and Dead on the Double Bump

1976 Hot

1976 Get Up Offa That Thing

1976 Bodyheat

1977 Mutha's Nature

1978 Jam 1980's

1979 Take A Look At Those Cakes

1979 The Original Disco Man

1980 People

1980 Hot On The One

1980 Soul Syndrome

1981 Nonstop!

1981 Live In New York

1983 Bring It On

1986 Gravity

1988 James Brown And Friends

1988 I'm Real

1991 Love Over-Due

1993 Universal James

1993 Funky President

1995 Live At The Apollo

Compilations

1972 Soul Classics

1973 Soul Classics, Volume 2

1977 Solid Gold

1977 The Fabulous James Brown

1981 Can Your Heart Stand It?

1981 The Best of James Brown

1984 The Federal Years, Part 1

1984 The Federal Years, Part 2

1984 Roots of A Revolution

1984 Ain't That A Groove - The James Brown Story 1966-1969

1984 Doing It To Death - The James Brown Story 1970-1973

1985 Dead On The Heavy Funk 1974-1976

1985 The CD of JB: Sex Machine and Other Soul Classics

1986 The LP of JB

1986 In The Jungle Groove

1988 Motherlode

1991 Messin' With The Blues

1991 Star Time

1993 Chronicles - Soul Pride

1996 JB40: 40th Anniversary Collection

1997 On Stage

Crystal Reference Encyclopedia, © Crystal Reference Systems Limited 2006