*****
"Disco is James Brown, hip-hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I'm saying? You hear all the rappers, 90% of their music is me,"
he told the Associated Press in 2003. (LA TIMES)
---- I'm really pleased to find this quote and to see that even as recently as 2003 James Brown was still proud to reference himself with disco .:icon_biggrin: :icon_cool:
This when so many who did disco back then now want to say "Who, me? Disco? " :icon_evil: :icon_razz:
Musically James Brown matters right up there with the few of the very greats. When making a list of the most influencial music makers of what is called the rock n roll era ( 1955 on) James Brown will likely appear on every TOP 10 list created .:icon_cool:
*****
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
...ya gotta beat the street......
I hope that's true . Obviously I will argue forever that disco was the climatic music of modern times .....the dramatic culmination of combining almost all things music resulted in DISCO . :icon_cool:
I think the modern day music machine dominated by RAP has a better appreciation than did the rock imbedded establishment that existed during the actual disco era.
And .....with the passing of time I'm sure the disco era will get its proper props from the folks further yet into the future that will not be predispositioned with bias ....
There are artists that have moved on ( Rod Stewart comes to mind ) who today now want to minimize the glory garnered them by their disco involvement.
*****
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
Yes, thank goodness those 'rock dinosaurs' like Rod S. are dying off gradually.![]()
![]()
...ya gotta beat the street......
Did a search on my iTunes library for James Brown:
'Cross the Track 3:22 1974 Maceo & The Macks No. 1 Rare Groove Hits R&B 60 5 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
(It's Not The Express) It's The JB's Monaurail (Part 1) 4:06 1973 Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s James Brown's Funky People R&B 40 12 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Blow Your Head 4:45 1974 The J.B.'s No. 1 Rare Groove Hits R&B 60 1 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
Damn Right, I Am Somebody (Parts 1 & 2) 6:25 1973 Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s James Brown's Funky People R&B 40 8 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine 2:51 1975 James Brown 70's Party Mix R&B 100 14 of 18 Apple Lossless audio file
Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine 2:51 1975 James Brown 100 All Time Classic Dance Hits of the 1970s R&B 100 8 of 21 Apple Lossless audio file
Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine (Pt 1 & 2) 5:18 1975 James Brown No. 1 Funk Hits R&B 100 1 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
Get Up Offa That Thing 4:12 1976 James Brown No. 1 Funk Hits R&B 60 1 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
Get Up Offa That Thing 4:13 1976 James Brown Old School Jams R&B 60 7 of 10 Apple Lossless audio file
Gimme Some More 3:05 1973 The JBs James Brown's Funky People R&B 60 1 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Gimme Some More 3:07 1971 The JBs No. 1 Rare Groove Hits R&B 60 10 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose (In The Jungle Groove Remix) 6:11 1970 James Brown Kurtis Blow Presents The History Of Rap - Volume 1 R&B 80 1 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
Givin' Up Food For Funk (Part 1) 3:11 1973 The JBs James Brown's Funky People R&B 40 4 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Hot Pants Road 2:46 1973 The JBs James Brown's Funky People R&B 40 6 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
I Know You Got Soul 4:44 1971 Bobby Byrd No. 1 Rare Groove Hits R&B 60 2 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
If You Don't Get It The First Time, Back Up And Try It Again, Party 3:35 1973 Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s James Brown's Funky People R&B 40 10 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
James Brown Is Dead 3:52 1991 L.A. Style Essential Hardcore Electronica/Dance 80 18 of 20 Apple Lossless audio file
James Brown Is Dead (7" Original Mix With Rap) 3:31 1991 L.A. Style James Brown Is Dead (Single) Electronica/Dance 60 2 of 9 Apple Lossless audio file
James Brown Is Dead (7" Original Mix Without Rap) 3:09 1991 L.A. Style James Brown Is Dead (Single) Electronica/Dance 60 1 of 9 Apple Lossless audio file
James Brown Is Dead (Crossover Radio Mix) 3:59 1991 L.A. Style James Brown Is Dead (Single) Electronica/Dance 60 4 of 9 Apple Lossless audio file
James Brown Is Dead (Deadly Mix) 5:27 1991 L.A. Style James Brown Is Dead (Single) Electronica/Dance 60 7 of 9 Apple Lossless audio file
James Brown Is Dead (Original Mix With Rap) 6:07 1991 L.A. Style James Brown Is Dead (Single) Electronica/Dance 60 6 of 9 Apple Lossless audio file
James Brown Is Dead (Original Mix Without Rap) 5:42 1991 L.A. Style James Brown Is Dead (Single) Electronica/Dance 60 5 of 9 Apple Lossless audio file
James Brown Is Dead (Rock Radio Mix Vocal By Chris Randall) 3:22 1991 L.A. Style James Brown Is Dead (Single) Electronica/Dance 60 3 of 9 Apple Lossless audio file
James Brown Is Dead (Take Outs) 0:55 1991 L.A. Style James Brown Is Dead (Single) Electronica/Dance 60 9 of 9 Apple Lossless audio file
James Brown Is Dead (Wide Awake Remix) 5:25 1991 L.A. Style James Brown Is Dead (Single) Electronica/Dance 60 8 of 9 Apple Lossless audio file
James Brown Medley, Sex machine / I Got You (I Feel Good) 3:12 2003 K.C. & The Sunshine Band Greatest Hits Live Disco 20 4 of 17 Apple Lossless audio file
Make It Funky 3:18 1971 James Brown No. 1 Funk Hits R&B 60 6 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
Make It Funky 3:13 1971 James Brown Sampled The Best of Sampled R&B 60 17 of 21 Apple Lossless audio file
Mama Feelgood 3:30 1973 Lyn Collins James Brown's Funky People R&B 40 5 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Mashed Potatoes 3:37 2005 James Brown Nat Kendrick & The Swans R&B 40 1 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Message From the Soul Sisters 4:16 1970 Myra Barnes No. 1 Rare Groove Hits R&B 60 7 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
Parrty (Part 1) 3:24 1973 Maceo & The Macks James Brown's Funky People R&B 40 11 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Pass The Peas 3:14 1973 The JBs James Brown's Funky People R&B 40 2 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Please, Please, Please 2:45 1956 James Brown Heart of Stone - The Henry Stone Story R&B 40 10 of 18 Apple Lossless audio file
Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses) 4:40 1980 James Brown Get Down Tonight: The Best Of T.K. Records R&B 40 16 of 18 Apple Lossless audio file
Rock Me Again & Again & Again & Again & Again 3:26 1973 Lyn Collins James Brown's Funky People R&B 60 7 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Same Beat 3:21 1973 Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s No. 1 Rare Groove Hits R&B 60 9 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
Same Beat (Part 1) 3:19 1973 Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s James Brown's Funky People R&B 40 13 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Soul Power '74 4:12 1973 Maceo & The Macks No. 1 Rare Groove Hits R&B 60 11 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
Super-Wolf Can Do It (Short Version) 6:22 1980 Superwolf The Sugar Hill Records Story Hip Hop/Rap 40 4 of 10 Apple Lossless audio file
Take Me Just As I Am 3:32 1973 Lyn Collins James Brown's Funky People R&B 40 9 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Nothin' 4:02 1991 Living Colour Biscuits (EP) Rock 40 1 of 6 Apple Lossless audio file
The Boss 3:17 1973 James Brown No. 1 Rare Groove Hits R&B 60 8 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
The Payback 7:30 1974 James Brown Funk Of The 70's R&B 80 4 of 11 Apple Lossless audio file
The Payback - Part I 3:31 1974 James Brown Can You Dig It? The '70s Soul Experience R&B 80 1 of 23 Apple Lossless audio file
Think (About It) 3:24 1973 Lyn Collins James Brown's Funky People R&B 80 3 of 13 Apple Lossless audio file
Think (About it) 3:25 1972 Lyn Collins No. 1 Rare Groove Hits R&B 80 3 of 12 Apple Lossless audio file
Kind of interesting all the things it called up.
Bernie (Bernard Lopez)
Owner/publisher of DiscoMusic.com - on the web since 1996.
DiscoMusic.com on Facebook and MySpace
James Brown Is Dead:
You don't remember this one? It was a Techno song from the early '90s that was played everywhere. Of course it wasn't by James Brown... Was going to delete it from my search, but left it in.
Although I don't have much James Brown music, I'm listening to it it all right now and what amazing talent he and his bandmates had.
Bernie (Bernard Lopez)
Owner/publisher of DiscoMusic.com - on the web since 1996.
DiscoMusic.com on Facebook and MySpace
This is so true and something I will always say. Disco managed to bring together so many disparate musical and cultural elements: Black, Latin, Jazz, Classical... It brought together ALL people: white, black, straight, gay...
Just watch that Barry White video of Love's Theme or look at the makeup of M.F.S.B. or the Salsoul Orchestra. I really doubt that such things will ever happen again naturally.
I'm glad James Brown had the balls to say what he said about he being Disco. He really did straddle all those genres and we owe so much to him. Wish I could have seen him perform live, but I guess I'll just have to go out and buy all those missing James Brown albums and enjoy that instead.
Bernie (Bernard Lopez)
Owner/publisher of DiscoMusic.com - on the web since 1996.
DiscoMusic.com on Facebook and MySpace
I have that CD somewhere in my cellar. It was a so called "Hardfloor" production by a Dutch group called L.A. Style. The only lyrics consist of a guy stating "James Brown is dead" and than a hard synth-beat drops in with some standard rappin'. In fact it was heavily inspired by the tracks of Belgian band Praga Khan although they had nothing to do with it.
It wasn't disrespectful, only a little naughty, they wanted to say that a new beat was born and that the old grooves were gone. History has proven otherwise :icon_twisted: They were asking themselves how the world would react when that news would be announced.
Well, we know now, don't we? It was massive in European clubs BITD.
It soon was followed by "James Brown is still alive".
Here it is:
I never like 'James Brown Is Dead'. I think they did it not just for the shock value, but also to say something like 'disco is dead'. In other words, they wanted to emphasize that they didn't think James Brown's influence was around anymore, which couldn't have been further from the truth. Most disco/house/dance music, if not all of it, can be traced back to the Godfather of Soul.
Now I dislike that LA Style track even more. Long live Soul Brother Number 1.
As a tribute to JB, I've been playing his music all week. Not just his own recordings, but stuff he recorded with Marva Whitney, Vicki Anderson, Lyn Collins, Bobby Byrd, and The JBs, to mention just a few. The Hardest Working Man In Show Business will be on heavy rotation in my CD player until his funeral.
RIP James Brown
Here's a cool version of Cold Sweat, done with a dash of Give It Up Or Turnit Loose:
Cold Sweat
Disco Funk
*****
I can't imagine a crowd dancing to any song saying anything about anyone being dead . I have to say I find that beyond vulgar. I honestly can't even picture it. (! ?)
( Bernie do you really like it that much ??? You've got like eighty versions of it !! :icon_surprised: :icon_exclaim: )
*****
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
In the early 90's vulgar songs was the big thing in the techno rave world. Besides James Brown is Dead, other titles like
Obscure FM - Michael Jackson is in heaven now
(repeated lyrics: Michael Jackson is shot dead in front of a live studio audience)
New York Style - Shut the **** up bitch u can't sing
RIP - Désolé Madame (I am sorry but your son is dead)
If you buy this record your life, will be better.
*****
Disco Funk ,
I'm sorry for your pain !
I know you really dig the guy .
One of my all time favorite people past away this year too..... Buck Owens. He's my own favorite local yokel from Bakersfield. And before anyone says anything :icon_razz: …. the guy had over twenty No. ! country songs … and made one hell of a contribution to the world of music .
..Like James Brown he was an origianl , a total self-made man . He carved his own path , his music style was his own .... and he lived it .... like James Brown .... his whole life.
And like James Brown , Buck Owens was performing right up until the week he died. That is part of what is so shocking... these are the kind of people in our lives we think will be around forever . There they are, still on stage going strong. And then suddenly without warning … it’s over.
It seems unfair .... but then would they really have wanted it any other way? They lived long lives and to the fullest .... right up until the very end . We should all be so lucky.
RIP Buck Owens and James Brown . ( Never expected to mention those two names in the same sentence but it now seems most fittin’ ) Thanks for all you gave to this wonderful thing called music.
*****
Last edited by remicks; December 29th, 2006 at 02:37 PM.
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
I suspect that Mr Browns point was that most of the music he made was DANCE music, pure and simple right from things like 'I Got You' and 'Out Of Sight'..therefore he was saying that in effect he was always a disco artist in the same way that Chubby Checker (for instance) was a disco artist because he too made music for dancing, but not in the generally accepted definition of the 70's, i.e. 125 + bpm's, strings, 4/4 , hi hats ect. The very name James Brown defines funk and James brown's influence in popular music is far more important than someone like Elvis Presley.
Things like 'Star Generation' and the truly horrible 'For Goodness Sakes Look At Those Cakes' were The Godfather's attempts to go full on 'Disco' in the 70's and were not good, whereas as virtually everything he did before that in the 70's was utterly fantastic....and were uptempo FUNK records that were played in DISCOS, things like "Sex Machine' 'Body Heat' 'Get Up Offa That Thing' and from the album 'JAM/1980's" 'Nature' & 'Eyesight' (which has the legend 'James Brown New Disco Sound' on the 45 label !)
The fact is, 'Disco' killed James Brown's career in the late 70's and it wasn't until his earlier 70's and late 60's FUNKY work started to be sampled by the Hip Hop crowd that he climbed back into the place he deserved.
How the hell Rod Stewart - who made ONE disco record (and an awful one at that)..got dragged into this I don't know. Considering Rod Stewart was recording white soul lite in the 60's,and then did mostly cover versions and ballad type things he by no stretch of the imagination can be called a disco artist and shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breathe as JB.
Rod Stewart was mentioned by me as an example of someone who has "moved on" and now minimizes the significance of disco in their career . I've read that kind of attitude concerning some others too. Therefore I found it refreshing that in 2003 James Brown would even bother to mention disco in any way associated with him.
Yes Rod did one especially outstanding disco record ... (and he also went on to do more 12" club styled songs in the 80's)Stewart blasts 'sexy' song
05/01/2005 - 08:39:36Veteran rocker Rod Stewart would only erase one aspect of his career given the chance - the moment he stepped into the studio to sing hit tune Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
The gravel-voiced star remains embarrassed he asked the world to judge his sex appeal in the oft-ridiculed song, and still cringes in shame every time he has to perform it live.
Stewart says: "It was three steps backwards. I've made a few mistakes but nothing as dramatic as that.
"It's the one song I don't get a kick out of singing." © Thomas Crosbie Media, 2006.
How outstanding was it ? Well .... put it this way : Out of all the "disco acts" trying to outclaw the others to the top during the peak of disco ... it was incredibly Rod Stewartof all people with DO YA THINK I'M SEXY that bumped them out of the way .............staying at number one for an amazing four weeks....making Rod very hot property as the 70's closed out. Hardly a mere asterisk song in Rod's career or in the story of disco.....
*****
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
Hey Bernie: no James Brown collection is complete without "Papa Don't Take No Mess"... all fourteen minutes of it :icon_cool: Re: double LP "HELL" (1974)
Rod Stewart had a fling (or a "cash-in") with disco for a couple of years, like The Rolling Stones and other rock artists did. Obviously he's not a "disco artist" per se and he doesn't want to be remembered as that.
Disco was for him a huge fad, and no artist longing for a "career" wants to be linked with a fad, no matter if he's wrong in thinking that.
Remicks, it strikes me as odd that you didn't mention Isaac Hayes yet! :)
It don't mean a thing (if ain't got that swing)
Yes dear.
Rod Stewart's career was well under way (unfortunately) before the awful tacky pop garbage of 'do you think i'm sixty' (well, maybe it wasn't in your world....) and is exactly what you say it wasn't..an asterix. It stands up well these days as an example of the type of cr*p that made people burn disco records. The melody is stolen from something else as well.
Rest assured dear Remicks that if there is a Northern Soul connection I'll be sure to point it out to you. :icon_mrgreen:
At the time of Rod's execrable 'Do Ya Think I'm Sixty' (and lets just point out that between 1972 he had five top ten solo UK hits and one US number one in 1971..plus those with the Faces, so his career was well established by then) it was claimed that the melody had been stolen from something else entirely and I can't remember what. But it was a song from someone like Sly Johnson or Otis Clay..now if only I could find out exactly which track I'm sure I can find you the Northern Soul connection you so desperately crave !![]()
It's nice to know that he was willing to acknowledge his influence on disco.. Given how he seemed to struggle to find a place within a genre that he laid the foundations for, I'd certainly understand if he wanted to distance himself from disco..
That said though, lately I've really been enjoying "Eyesight," "Body Heat," "Get Up Off'a That Thing," "The Spank," "It's Too Funky In Here," and much of his "Original Disco Man" LP.. I don't know how even or uneven some of his other disco era albums were, since I don't have them, but listening to those tracks, there was some genuinely good stuff there..
And god help me, I've even been enjoying "For Goodness Sakes, Look At Those Cakes"..IMO, I used to think of it as a bit of a trainwreck, but damn, there's just something about it that I can't resist..
I think you're understanding the point exactly Neon , by 2003 James Brown had no need to go anywhere near mentioning "disco" but obviously he felt strongly about his role and WAS PROUD OF IT :icon_cool:
I think THE ORGINAL DISCO MAN song is A+ ... I was so pleasantly surprised by it (only recently) ... It deserved so much more play ....but by then I think it was too much and too late for the DJs to embrace ol' James Brown . There was so much other material right then I doubt many even had time to listen... and I'll bet Polydor didn't supply the pools with it either ....
*****
*****
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
Simon ......I've no doubt that if anyone could stretch this into being a Northern Soul song .......it'd be you.
Well actually he had two number ones here by then .... and yes we Americans appreciated Rod Stewart all thru the seventies ...moreso apparently then his folks at home. The point is this song was his all time biggest ... it went platinum and stayed on the Hot 100 longer than anything prior. But more importantly it ( and HOT LEGS soon before it ) amped up his whole persona . Now after years of softies ….he had vibrant music to prance around on stage in spandex to. And it went over BIG.... just at a time in his career when stars typically wane ... Rod Stewart soared. He was able to create quite a stage show with his SEXY antics. .Simon says :
At the time of Rod's execrable 'Do Ya Think I'm Sixty' (and lets just point out that between 1972 he had five top ten solo UK hits and one US number one in 1971..plus those with the Faces, so his career was well established by then)Notice that once he tapped into this golden egg ( despite how he says he feels about it now ) he continued recording these uptempo dancibles throughout much of the eighties...........In concert, Rod's rendition of "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" was met by a tidal wave of screaming fans -- mostly female -- shouting, "YES!" It underlined his image as "rock's premier playboy of the seventies."
( we’re sure spending a lot of time on someone who doesn’t desrve to be on this thread ! :icon_rolleyes::icon_lol:)
You keep looking for that Northern Soul connection Simon ol' boy .... maybe its in a dumpster near the docks somewhere :icon_razz: .....Simon says : it was claimed that the melody had been stolen from something else entirely and I can't remember what. But it was a song from someone like Sly Johnson or Otis Clay..now if only I could find out exactly which track I'm sure I can find you the Northern Soul connection you so desperately crave !![]()
.... meanwhile, it seems this song is actually another example of the disco/LATIN connection.
:icon_cool:Rod didn't make much off "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?," since Brazilian singer Jorge Ben sued him in court, claiming the tune was too similar to his work, "Taj Mahal." Ben won the rights to the song, then asked Rod to donate all his publishing royalties from "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" to UNICEF. all quotes wikipedia
******
Last edited by remicks; December 31st, 2006 at 06:10 PM.
Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
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