James Brown A Lifetime Of Soul

James Brown was called by many names, but a national treasure said it all. He was the master of funk; although his flamboyant style will be missed, his influence will live forever.

Some others said it best...

Fifty years after recording his first hit song, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business has played his final encore. James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, died early Christmas morning after a brief bout with pneumonia in an Atlanta hospital. – Source: James Sullivan, Rolling Stone Magazine

He had more than 119 charting singles and recorded over 50 albums, was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and received a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 1992. He even played the role of a manic preacher in the hit 1980 movie "The Blues Brothers." - Source: Reuters

Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, James Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolized him, and sometimes openly copied him. His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson among others.

If Brown's claim to the invention of soul can be challenged by fans of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, then his rights to the genres of rap, disco and funk are beyond question. He was to rhythm and dance music what Dylan was to lyrics: the unchallenged popular innovator.

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.

He won a Grammy award for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living In America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He was one of the initial artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers. - Source: Variety

After James Brown had his first R&B hit with "Please, Please, Please" in 1956, he went on a frenzy of cross-country tours and concerts and earned the nickname "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business." Brown would routinely lose two or three pounds each time he performed and kept his furious concert schedule in his later years, even as he fought prostate cancer. He always gave his all to his fans. - Source: myTelus.com

Related Tags: Music, Rock and Roll, Classic Rock, James Brown, The Blues Brothers, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry, CybersMusic

Posted by Mike