RIP Funk Soul Brother.

http://www.rep-am.com/sto...p?id=17192


He was just about to begin a tour.
[Edited 12/25/06 15:12pm]

MAY GOD REST HIS LEGENDARY SOUL.....HE IS TRULY THE MAN AND THE LEGEND AND WAS STILL PERFORMING TO THE DAY HE WENT DOWN.....LOVE HIM AND HE WILL BE MISSED.....


.....MAY U LIVE 2 SEE THE DAWN

Well it's a remarkable Christmas alright, but not for the reasons I would have preferred. James Brown has got to be my favorite musician/singer of all time save for Prince but let's be clear, one of the main reasons I like Prince so much is that he is like an analogue, (albeit a much more sophisticated one)of James Brown.

I hope P does a tribute song to the master like 'James is Gone but the Funk Lives On' or something like that. My secret hopes that they would someday do a song together have died today.

I'm gonna play the shit out of Sexy MF today.

RIP James. Can I get an UNH!?

R.I.P. James.

literally ----> right now.

Damn. The Godfather changed the entire feel for pop music, and the concert of his I attended was one of the fonkiest and most spiritually uplifting moments in my life. To see see people from so many ethnic backgrounds, some bound to wheelchairs with snow white hair and some still in diapers and too young to even walk, rocking out on the one was like (speechless).



Rest in Peace, my idol, my hero, my Funky Godfather...

Mr. Dynamite! There would be no Prince without JB. Parade wouldn't have been the album it became. Lovesexy originally started out as an all out tribute to JB and his sound. Although it changed, Prince constantly honored JB with his music.

The king is dead. Long live the king.

I have to add this to my earlier comment.
The passion, the expression, the dance.....





http://www.youtube.com/wa...ed&search=

HERE'S TO THE GREATEST!!!!
YOU WILL BE TRULY MISSED!!!!!









www.arjunmusic.com

www.myspace.com/arjunmusic

www.cdbaby.com/arjuntunes

ARJUN: funk-indie-rock-jazz-groove trio just released their debut album entitled, "Pieces"
It's an instrumental outing with heavy grooves and improvisation.

Sounds Like Medeski, Martin, & Wood (MMW), Soulive, Santana, Prince

How could this haD HAPPEN.I knew I should of saw him two mounths ago.This is so shocking.

Funkmaster3000 said:

I felt the same why when Roger Troutman died. He would frequent the area, but I never got off my duff to go see him because, well, I was just taking life for granted. Next thing I know... Lesson learned.

Damn,
I can't belive I'm reading this first thing Christmas morning!
Yet another legend gone.
RIP, JAMES.
A tribute will be underway soon.

That's sad! This is what Prince was talkin about.

All the major influences in good music r passing away. RIP JB yes there will b a tribute. I'm already startin 2 download more of ur songs on itunes.

congratulations, james! you're persona will be missed here but you ain't gonna miss a thing.

words cannot even begin to describe the IMPACT James Brown has had on music. his music is & has been very inspirational.


his music inspires people to dance, makes people want to GET UP (get on up!)
countless numbers of times, if ever you were at a party & people were sitting down, a James Brown song would be played.. & people would be dancing from that point on. it's totally logical that James - as great a dancer as he was - could make music that was so dancable.


his music inspired a people to embrace & be proud of their ethnic identity & to be empowered by it. when James said "SAY IT LOUD", soul brothers & sisters said "I'M BLACK & I'M PROUD" - & they meant it. James Brown sang

"I don't want nobody to give me nothing
open up the door, I'll get it myself"

& then he showed how to do that - owning & operating his own record labels & radio stations & other business entities. James came up "from nothing" & showed by example that you can be a positive influence in the community & in the nation.


his music inspired an entire generation of musicians in the 60s & the 70s and into the 80s - everybody in some way wanted to have that James Brown sound, everybody wanted to be "on the 1". from the Commodores to Parliament-Funkadelic to Bootsy to Michael Jackson to Prince and almost everyone in between, every musician in his own way wanted to either look like James or sing like James or dance like James or have music that sounded like James or have that TOTALLY COMMANDING STAGE PRESENCE that James had. after James influenced that generation of musicians, his music continued on as hip-hop became more popular; James Brown's music is among the most sampled in the world. James' music had an impact on a generation that wasn't even born when James was in his prime. very few musicians have that type of long-term influence.


when people talk about the ALL-TIME greats of music history, JAMES BROWN MUST BE A PROMINENT POINT in any such discussion. not only did he make incredibly good music, but he made an impact on society that still reverberates to this day.


JAMES BROWN IS THE GODFATHER OF SOUL - & A LOT MORE THAN THAT. all of us who have ears are blessed to say that we have seen & heard what this man has offered to the world with his music.

what a day to die on...

god rest his soul

a loss of a musical genius

Rhondab said:

I love that...it's so true--definitely in terms of James Brown.

I was just at the used cd shop two days ago looking for some JB treasures (didn't find any ) and tried to spin some JB at my hometown bar (they didn't have any on the jukebox! )


RIP

I woke up and turned to the news and below I saw that it said "James Brown died early this morning battling pneumonia and I ran to tell my mom and she couldn't believe. Just like Anx said, he lived a hard life we don't expect him to die. I grew up with my Grandmother and my Mom and they LOVE James and I can to love him too!! He just made you feel good, he makes you wanna do his dance moves when his music is on..at least I did!!!! He did a lot for music and I will miss him. Rest in peace JB. Blessings to his family and friends.

Just to add to my earlier comments, In 2005 I read James Brown's book "I Feel Good: A Memoir of Life of Soul". It was an interesting and good read.I remember when James Brown lived in Queens, NY for a while, and my older sister and her friends used to drive over to St.Albans, Queens to look at his house. A lot of young people from the neighborhood found out he moved there and would just drive over there to look at his house.When he sold his house it was painted over but still standing. Thanks James for coming to Queens, NY and influencing so many musicians from there that loved played and danced to your music ...you were definitely loved and will be missed soooo much....you were and are the only "Godfather of Soul" RIP.
[Edited 12/25/06 10:10am]

]
[Edited 12/25/06 10:32am]
[Edited 12/25/06 10:35am]

James was the king! He influienced everyone! In subject matter, Dance, Musically in every style of music.

Rap alone should kiss his ass because basically the first decade of rap producers sampled his music.

To the...

The Godfather of Soul
The Hardest Working Man in Show Business
Mr. Dynamite
Soul Brother #1
Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk

...


Along with the death of Soul/R&B/Funk music in general his passing is the epitome of irony.
It appears that almost all the artists (Mahalia Jackson, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Jimi Hendrix, Fela, Wilson Pickett, etc.) that were the cornerstone of how I view music have gone.

Although he's taken it to the bridge for the last time, through his music he'll continue to HIT ME!

What a gift for the holidays.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

RIP

He did his thing right till the end. You can't ask for much more than that.

Jb was the 1st musical influence in my life. Before I could walk or talk I was into JB. I used his old King 45's as a teething ring. I'm NOT sad about his passing as it is the natural order of things. I'm extremely grateful 2 have had JB's musical influence in my own life.

Thanks JB,
On the ONE.

LOVE

jrodndigo said:

N I C E

P2daP said:

same here... my mom told me this morning and i came here first to confirm... and now i'm just... really sad...
i can't believe this...

Legendary singer James Brown, the 'Godfather of Soul,' dies at 73
-----

at 12:29 on December 25, 2006, EST.
By GREG BLUESTEIN


James Brown performs during the "United We Stand: What More Can I Give?" benefit concert Sunday, Oct. 21, 2001, at RFK Stadium in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

ATLANTA (AP) - James Brown, the dynamic, pompadoured "Godfather of Soul," whose rasping vocals and revolutionary rhythms made him a giant of R&B and an inspiration for rap, funk and disco, died early Christmas morning. He was 73.

Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia at Emory Crawford Long Hospital on Sunday and died of conjunctive heart failure around 1:45 a.m. Monday, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music.

He initially seemed fine at the hospital and even told people that he planned to be on stage in New York on New Year's Eve, Copsidas said.

Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, 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. Songs such as David Bowie's "Fame," Prince's "Kiss," George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" and Sly and the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song" were clearly based on Brown's rhythms and vocal style.

"He was an innovator, he was an emancipator, he was an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown," entertainer Little Richard, a longtime friend of Brown's, told MSNBC. "A great treasure is gone."

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 Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud," a landmark 1968 statement of racial pride.

"I clearly remember we were calling ourselves coloured, and after the song, we were calling ourselves black," Brown said in a 2003 Associated Press interview. "The song showed even people to that day that lyrics and music and a song can change society."

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 Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.

He triumphed despite an often unhappy personal life. Brown, who lived in Beech Island, S.C., near the Georgia line, spent more than two years in prison for aggravated assault and failing to stop for a police officer. After his release in 1991, Brown said he wanted to "try to straighten out" rock music.

From the 1950s, when Brown had his first R&B hit, "Please, Please, Please" in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business" and often tried to prove it to his fans, said Jay Ross, his lawyer of 15 years.

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, Ross said.

"He'd always give it his all to give his fans the type of show they expected," he said.

With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince.

In 1986, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And rap stars of recent years overwhelmingly have borrowed his lyrics with a digital technique called sampling.

Brown's work has been replayed by the Fat Boys, Ice-T, Public Enemy and a host of other rappers. "The music out there is only as good as my last record," Brown joked in a 1989 interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

"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 per cent of their music is me," he told the AP in 2003.

Born in poverty in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933, he was abandoned as a four-year-old to the care of relatives and friends and grew up on the streets of Augusta, Ga., in an "ill-repute area," as he once called it. There he learned to wheel and deal.

"I wanted to be somebody," Brown said.

By the eighth grade in 1949, Brown had served 3 years in Alto Reform School near Toccoa, Ga., for breaking into cars.

While there, he met Bobby Byrd, whose family took Brown into their home. Byrd also took Brown into his group, the Gospel Starlighters. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B.

In January 1956, King Records of Cincinnati signed the group, and four months later "Please, Please, Please" was in the R&B Top Ten.

Pete Allman, a radio personality in Las Vegas who had been friends with Brown for 15 years, credited Brown with jump-starting his career and motivating him personally and professionally.

"He was a very positive person. There was no question he was the hardest working man in show business," Allman said. "I remember Mr. Brown as someone who always motivated me, got me reading the Bible."

While most of Brown's life was glitz and glitter - he was the singing preacher in 1980's "The Blues Brothers" - he was plagued with charges of abusing drugs and alcohol and of hitting his third wife, Adrienne.

In September 1988, Brown, high on PCP and carrying a shotgun, entered an insurance seminar next to his Augusta office. Police said he asked seminar participants if they were using his private restroom.

Police chased Brown for a half-hour from Augusta into South Carolina and back to Georgia. The chase ended when police shot out the tires of his truck.

Brown received a six-year prison sentence. He spent 15 months in a South Carolina prison and 10 months in a work release program before being paroled in February 1991. In 2003, the South Carolina parole board granted him a pardon for his crimes in that state.

Soon after his release, Brown was on stage again with an audience that included millions of cable television viewers nationwide who watched the three-hour, pay-per-view concert at Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

Adrienne Brown died in 1996 in Los Angeles at age 47. She took PCP and several prescription drugs while she had a bad heart and was weak from cosmetic surgery two days earlier, the coroner said.

More recently, he married his fourth wife, Tomi Raye Hynie, one of his backup singers. The couple had a son, James Jr.

Three days before his death, he joined volunteers at his annual toy giveaway in Augusta, and he planned to perform on New Year's Eve at B.B. King Blues Club in New York.

"He was dramatic to the end - dying on Christmas Day," said Rev. Jesse Jackson, a friend of Brown's since 1955. "Almost a dramatic, poetic moment. He'll be all over the news all over the world today. He would have it no other way."

Brown was scheduled to perform in several Canadian cities including Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary between Jan. 4 and Jan. 14.

-

James Brown had dozens of hits over his decades-long career. Here is a smattering of his seminal, career-defining songs:

1956: "Please, Please, Please" - This begging ballad about a man trying to keep his woman took on a raw, sensual tone as Brown growled and yelped through the burning track.

1959: "Try Me" - Another slow R&B groove from a pleading Brown.

1961: "Bewildered" - Brown's she-done-me-wrong classic. He shrieks and shouts passionately, "bewildered" by the actions of his now-former woman.

1962: "Night Train" - One of the first songs to feature the tight, jumping horn section that would become a cornerstone of most of his major hits. Brown's rough-edged voice shouts out cities nationwide on the "Night Train" route.

1965: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (Part I)" - Another classic dance track about - what else - dancing.

1965: "I Got You (I Feel Good)" - Perhaps Brown's most famous tune, and one of the all-time greatest songs in rock's canon. A buoyant, joyful jam that is an instant party starter. If you've never heard this, you've never heard music.

1966: "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" - Though the title may suggest a chauvinistic ode, this passionate, downbeat track really pays homage to a man's eternal need for a woman by his side.

1967: "Cold Sweat (Part I)" - A smoking, sultry mid-tempo jam that features Brown singing about a woman that makes him weak-kneed. It was sampled by dozens, perhaps hundreds of '80s rap songs.

1968: "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud (Part 1)" - Released at the height of the civil rights movement, this anthem boldly asserted pride in being black at a time when African-Americans were still fighting for basic rights.

1970: "Get Up (I Feel Like Being Like A) Sex Machine" (Part 1)" - Despite its somewhat risque title, this frenetic groove is more of a call to move your feet. Perhaps Brown's second most-famous song, its signature is its slamming rhythm section.

1971: "Make It Funky (Part 1) - This could be the theme song of Brown's entire career. It begins with Brown saying what would become his motto: "(Whatever) I play, it's got to be funky!"

1974: "Papa Don't Take No Mess, (Part I): Brown's amazing, funky tribute to a hard-nosed, stern dad.

1974: "The Payback (Part I)": The ultimate revenge song, this song sounded as if it would fit right in with many of the blaxploitation soundtracks of the day with its blaring horns and rumbling bass lines.

1976: "Get Up Offa That Thing": A killer bass instead of horns are the real glue of this James Brown classic dance groove.

1985: "Living in America" - This rousing, patriotic song from the fourth installment of the "Rocky" movie franchise re-established Brown as a hitmaker in his fifth decade.

1988: "Static, Pts. 1 & 2" (with Full Force) - As Brown's music was being sampled right and left by rappers, Brown showed hip-hop heads how it should be done with this sizzling collaboration with the group Full Force.


©The Canadian Press, 2006

Dayum! He was scheduled to come to Canada. And I would of gone to see him perform..... and now he's not. The curtain came down

one of the main creators, along with the Beatles, of soundscapes that evolved into all pop music we know today. Slow it down, use electric distorted guitar, and you get Led Zepplin, speed it up, use software synths, you get electronica....

A huge artist has left the building.

Of all the days to die on too My dad was crushed. He adored James Brown. I didn't even know the man was sick. He was just in Augusta the other week....helping give out toys.

R.I.P. Mr James Brown