James Brown (1933-2006), the Godfather of Soul, invented funk outright — locking whole bands to the one and cutting the most-sampled breaks in hip hop history. Live at the Apollo (1963) and The Payback (1973) are the pillars of the catalog. Dig into James Brown vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
James Joseph Brown was born in Barnwell, South Carolina on May 3, 1933 and raised in Augusta, Georgia. He served time in juvenile detention as a teen before launching his music career. He formed the Famous Flames in the mid-1950s, with the group's Try Me (1958) breaking through commercially. His invention of funk as a distinct musical form - beginning roughly with Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (1965) and crystallizing in the late-1960s and early-1970s catalog including Cold Sweat (1967), Funky Drummer (1970), Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine (1970), and The Payback (1973) - is widely cited as one of the most important contributions to American music. His drum patterns and breaks have been sampled more frequently than any other single artist in hip hop history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 (inaugural class) and won three Grammy Awards including a Lifetime Achievement Award (1992). He died of pneumonia and congestive heart failure on December 25, 2006 at age 73.
James Brown's sound is foundational to funk as a recognized genre - combining R&B, soul, funk, soul jazz, and gospel with his distinctive rhythmic vocal delivery, extensive emphasis on the one beat (the downbeat of each measure), tight horn arrangements, and his bandleader role coordinating extraordinarily disciplined backing bands across multiple decades (the Famous Flames, the J.B.'s, and others). His foundational influence on hip hop, R&B, soul, and contemporary pop music is widely documented.
Original King and Polydor pressings of the James Brown catalog are foundational items in soul, funk, and R&B collecting. Multiple anniversary editions, audiophile reissues (Mobile Fidelity), and the comprehensive Star Time and Foundations of Funk box sets have been released.
Listeners new to James Brown typically start with Live at the Apollo (1963) or The Payback (1973).
