"Soul Brother Number One," "The Godfather of Soul," "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," "Mr. Dynamite," and "The Original Disco Man." James Brown has more nicknames then any other perfromer in music history, yet no one can question why he earned them more then any one else.

This however is certain: James was a crucial link in two revolutions of black music. He was one of the top three people responsible for turning R&B into soul and the person responsible for turning soul into funk. Even rap has James Brown to thank. His transformation of gospel into the explosiveness of R&B, together with precise choreography and charismatic showmanship helped define the directions black music would take in the next few decades.

While other singers were more popular and others were equally skilled, few African-American singers were as influential over the course of popluar music and no other musician could put on a more energetic show: Brown's perfomances were wonders of stamina and timing. With songs like "Hot Pants," "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," and "Living In America," He could get a roomful of pople up and dancing like no other singer could before.

Despite his problems, Brown's music is more influential today then ever before as his voice and dance moves have been sampled on rap records and many have hailed his innovations in rock and soul. Of course, his influence on soul, funk and rap artists from Percy Sledge and Sly & The Family Stone to Michael Jackson and Prince still radiates through the music world to this day.

Posted by Andrew on Sunday, 06/2/2013 @ 19:59pm

"Soul Brother Number One," "The Godfather of Soul," "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," "Mr. Dynamite," and "The Original Disco Man." James Brown has more nicknames then any other perfromer in music history, yet no one can question why he earned them more then any one else.

This however is certain: James was a crucial link in two revolutions of black music. He was one of the top three people responsible for turning R&B into soul and the person responsible for turning soul into funk. Even rap has James Brown to thank. His transformation of gospel into the explosiveness of R&B, together with precise choreography and charismatic showmanship helped define the directions black music would take in the next few decades.

While other singers were more popular and others were equally skilled, few African-American singers were as influential over the course of popluar music and no other musician could put on a more energetic show: Brown's perfomances were wonders of stamina and timing. With songs like "Hot Pants," "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," and "Living In America," He could get a roomful of people up and dancing like no other singer could before.

Despite his problems, Brown's music is more influential today then ever before as his voice and dance moves have been sampled on rap records and many have hailed his innovations in rock and soul. Of course, his influence on soul, funk and rap artists from Percy Sledge and Sly & The Family Stone to Michael Jackson and Prince still radiates through the music world to this day.

Posted by Andrew on Sunday, 06/2/2013 @ 20:02pm

"Soul Brother Number One," "The Godfather of Soul," "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," "Mr. Dynamite," and "The Original Disco Man." James Brown had more nicknames attached to his name then any other performer in music history, yet none question that he earned these names more than any other artist.

Other singers were more popular and others were equally skilled, but few African-American musicians were so influential over the course of rock n' roll and no other musician could put on a more energetic show: Brown's performances were wonders of stamina and timing.

This however is certain: through the gospel impassioned fury of his vocals and the complex rhythms of his beats, Brown was a crucial link in two revolutions in African-American music. Along with Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, James Brown was one of the three artists responsible for turning R&B into soul and the figure responsible for turning soul into funk in the late 60s and early 70s. Even rap in the 80s has James Brown to thank.

His transformation of gospel into the explosive intensity of R&B, together with precise choreography and charismatic showmanship, helped to define the direction black music would take from the release of Brown's first hit, "Please, Please, Please." in 1956 to the present day.

His life history tells of triumph over multiple adversities. Starting with The Famous Flames, James established himself as a fine R&B singer and the group became a close knit ensemble that showcased their talents as singers and multi-instrumentalists.

James was also a captivating performer won would incorporate a furious cycle of spins, drops and rapid speech into his skintight R&B. What Elvis Presley was to rock and roll, James Brown was to R&B: a highly productive and dominant phenom.

Like Elvis, he was also a three figure hitmaker, with 114 total songs on Billboard's R&B singles chart and 94 of those songs have made the Hot 100 singles chart. Over the years, he amassed 800 songs in his body of artistic work while maintaining a tiring touring schedule.

Recording for King and Federal record labels in the 50s and 60s, he distilled R&B down to it's essence on classic albums like "Live at the Apollo," and songs like "Cold Sweat," "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," and "I Got You." By the late 60s, Brown attained the status of a musical and cultural revolution, owning to his message of black pride with songs like "Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud" had a continuing effect in the black community, in which he was regarded as a leader and a role model.

After the mid-70s, Brown did little but trend water artistically and his financial and substance abuse eventually him got a controversial jail sentence. However, a cameo role in "The Blues Brothers" and his acknowledgment as a pioneer of rap helped trigger a resurgence in his career.

Yet, despite his problems, his music is still more influential than ever, as his voice and rhythms have been sampled on countless rap songs. James even recorded a song called "Unity" with rapper Afrika Bambaataa. Music critics have lately hailed his innovations as among the most important in rock and soul.

Ever since I first saw James Brown in “The Blues Brothers,” I’ve been hooked on his music. His stage presence is phenomenal and he could get a roomful of people up and dancing like few artists could or have.

Of course, Brown's influence on soul, funk and rap artists from Sly & The Family Stone and Stevie Wonder to Run D.M.C. and Michael Jackson can not be understated and his music still lives on to this day.

Posted by Andrew on Thursday, 03/6/2014 @ 00:25am

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/03/12/james-brown-get-on-up-biopic/6323201/

****GET ON UP-8/1/14****

Posted by Bill G. on Wednesday, 07/30/2014 @ 19:21pm

http://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-get-on-up-1201268079/

****GET ON UP-8/1/14****

Posted by Bill G. on Wednesday, 07/30/2014 @ 19:26pm

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/get_on_up/

******GET ON UP-8/1/14*****

ROTTEN TOMATOES gives an 86% POSITIVE RATING

Posted by Bill G. on Wednesday, 07/30/2014 @ 19:33pm

Can't wait to see it!

Posted by Andrew on Wednesday, 07/30/2014 @ 21:24pm

I recently saw Get On Up with my stepmother and I really loved it! Chadwick Boseman's performance as The Godfather of Soul was dynamite. The whole story was well put together, especially Brown's backstory and his childhood. The music was rockin' and when the end credits rolled, I was bopping my head and tapping my feet. Upon seeing this film, I'm encouraged to see more feature films about musicians like The Doors, The Buddy Holly Story, Nowhere Boy, and Ray.

For people who enjoy James Brown's music or just want to see a great film about a musical legend, go see this movie.

Posted by Andrew on Monday, 09/1/2014 @ 20:20pm