Had he lived, James Brown would have been 75 years old today. What can I say in regards to the greatness of James Brown that hasn't been said and that you don't know? Since the answer to that question is not much, here are my top 5 tunes by The Godfather of Soul (in no particular order):
Say It Loud- I'm Black and I'm Proud-1968
Think-1960
Cold Sweat-1967
Get Up Offa That Thing (Release the Pressure)- 1976
The Payback-1974
Shit, narrowing it down to just a quintet is hard. Here are five more:
Papa's Got A Brand New Bag-1965
I'll Go Crazy-1960
Out of Sight- 1964
I Got Ants In My Pants- 1973
Body Heat- 1976
What are some of your favorite James Brown songs?
Below is a clip of JB from the 1964 concert film "The T.A.M.I. Show". This is one of the most dynamic performances ever committed to film!
11 comments:
I like "Try" and "Please, Please, Please". His funky stuff was awesome but he had some really great slower songs as well. Great voice too.
Funny enough, I was just thinking about when he died last night...along with whatever other musicians I recall hearing about their deaths. Joey Ramone, Michael Hunchence, George Harrison, Layne Stanley, the guy from The Clash and James Brown. Those are the ones that stick out to me.
That's Layne Staley, not Stanley.
My favorite is "I Feel Good," which didn't even crack your top-10.
Of course, that might not be an appropriate song, since James isn't feeling all that good these days.
I always liked "Please, Please, Please"
Happy Birthday to the Godfather of Soul, may he RIP.
PopArtDiva
He sure influenced lot of others, I can't help but think of James whenever I see Michael dance.
I don't want to plug myself on your blog but the comment from silverneurotic made me think of my blog, Gone But Not Forgotten:
http://laylasclassicrick2.blogspot.com/
He was really a monster performer. I had a chance to see his show a couple years before his death, and even that late in the game, his performance was excellent.
JB had so many great songs, it's hard to know where to start. Some of mine include: "I Got The Feelin"
"Mother Popcorn(PT I)" "It's A Man's World" "Papa Don't Take No Mess (Part I)" and "Hot Pants."
Of course, I like a lot of the ones you named too, "Say It Loud" "Cold Sweat" and "The Payback" in particular.
I love James Brown (of course you know that), he was a huge part of my youth. It's hard to choose, but I would have to say "Poppa Don't Take No Mess". I like "Sex Machine", "Get Involved", "Soul Power", and "Hot Pants". Great Tribute.
Hot Pants rocks. Period.
Get Up Offa That Thing is another song that Ellen dances to all the time. Love that one! I also like Think.
Silver Neurotic: That's one thing that I thought about mentioning, but wasn't ambitious enough to include was James Brown's great singing voice. I feel that alot of people think of the screaming, squealing JB and forget or don't even know about the excellent singing he did on his early stuff.
It seems to me that Layne Staley's death gets lost in the shuffle of rock stars who died too young. When I was a card carrying member of Alternative Nation, Alice In Chains were one of my favorite bands.
X. Dell: "I Got You (I Feel Good)" is without a question a damn good tune. For me, it gets overplayed so it loses a little. One song that would be even less appropriate in regards to how James is feeling these days is "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine".
Pop Art Diva: That's a great one too!
Barbara: Another singer that I think of when watching Michael dance is Mr. Excitement himself, Jackie Wilson. Speaking of Jackie, when can we expect to see him and others (Ike Turner, Mike Smith of the DC 5, etc.) on your Gone But Not Forgotten blog? :-)
Mister Anchovy: That's so cool that you got the chance to see JB perform live. I am glad to hear that he still had it towards the end of his career.
Lori: JB is one of those artists for which it's hard to narrow down a list of fave songs. If someone asked me today, "I Got the Feelin'" might make my list.
Pjazzy: Thanks! I consider you to be the biggest JB fan that I know. "Get Up, Get Involved" is another classic one. I love the way it starts out.
David: Good call
Holly: Ellen's taste in music that she dances to is impeccable. You just gave me an idea for a post... thanks!
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