James Brown, Soul Brother #1, R.I.P.
Sometime after midnight on December 29th, singer/guitarist and bandleader Phil Guy joined the Matthew Skoller Band onstage at his brother’s club (Buddy Guy’s Legends) and ripped into a spirited version of James Brown‘s “I Can’t Stand It” that brought the cheering crowd to its feet in tribute for a beloved artist who changed the face of American popular music.
James Brown, who died Christmas day at the age of 73, went by many different titles: “Soul Brother #1,” “The Hardest Working Man In Show Business,” “The Godfather Of Soul,” “Mister Dynamite,” and the “Minister Of Super Heavy Funk.” Brown was all of the above and more. Singer, songwriter, dancer, bandleader, and visionary, Brown combined showmanship and musical innovation with social consciousness. “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag,” released in 1965, ushered in the birth of funk. Brown shifted the beat from the two and the four, to the one and the three, changing the upbeat to the downbeat. He combined jazz and gospel with complex African polyrhythms, punctuated by impassioned screams. He was never far from the blues with songs like “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” and “Please, Please, Please.” In 1968 he wrote “Say It Loud, I’m Black And I’m Proud,” changing the word “Black” from a pejorative term referring to African-Americans to one of pride, and making the then popular term “Negro” obsolete.
Brown’s influence on American popular music during the last five decades is staggering. His innovations are woven throughout the fabric of ’70s soul and R&B and the funky beats of hip-hop (“Funky Drummer” is one of the most widely sampled beats in hip-hop), and his intense performing style and smooth dance moves influenced Michael Jackson, Prince, and Mick Jagger. Brown cited two crucial elements that influenced his becoming an entertainer: He learned the value of showmanship from watching the circus when he was 11, and he learned the value of performance from seeing Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five around the same time.
Brown’s funk found its way into blues, adding groove to the one-four-five chord structure. Junior Wells, the “Godfather Of The Blues,” adopted some of Brown’s moves on stage, covered his songs, and added funk to his extensive blues repertoire. Buddy Guy recorded “I’ll Go Crazy” on Feels Like Rain, and Otis Rush channeled his deep blues feeling into “Please, Please, Please.” Many blues musicians were delighted by Brown’s innovations, but purist fans and critics cringed as bass players added string-popping to the mix and bluesmen like James Cotton and Albert Collins added funky horn sections to their bands.
Given his iconic stature it’s no wonder James Brown’s life was celebrated by thousands of fans – those who came to view his body as it lay in state at the famed Apollo Theater in New York and those who attended his public funeral at the 8,500-seat theater that bears his name in Augusta. “The Hardest Working Man In Show Business” was rewarded by the multitude of friends and fans whose lives he touched forever.
NEW RELEASE: The Good Girl Blues (Cadabra) by The Soul Of John Black is an ode to the blues by ex-Fishbone guitarist/keyboardist John “JB” Bigham and bassist Chris Thomas. Bigham is a heavyweight musician who worked with Miles Davis prior to his eight-year stint with Fishbone. He contributed the track “Jilli” on Davis’ last studio album and more recently toured as a sideman and played on sessions with Eminem, Dr. Dre, Nikka Costa, Bruce Hornsby, and others.
The Good Girl Blues begins with “The Hole,” a field holler that becomes a funky, jazz-inflected journey in the search for self: “I went down in the hole, to see what I could see/When I got down in the hole, there wasn’t nobody but me.” Bigham visits slow blues with the sexy “The Moon Blues,” he sounds a bit like Robert Cray on “I Got Work,” and evokes some 12-bar menace on the John Lee Hooker/Muddy Waters-inspired “Good Girl.”
“Slippin’ And Slidin'” is a compelling instrumental track, played on an old Stella guitar and highlighted by DJ Phizz Ed on turntables. The mix of old and new works, as Bigham creates haunting and sinuous melodies that evoke mysterious Delta nights. “One Hit” is a humorous folk country ditty inspired by the working girls of Sunset Boulevard. “Deez Girls,” another ditty played on slide guitar, lightens the mood somewhat. The Good Girl Blues reclaims the essence of the blues in a thoroughly contemporary setting.
NEWS: Relax folks, Buddy Guy’s Legends is not closing its doors for good. Especially not at the end of May, a mere week or two before the Chicago Blues Festival. You’d think the Chicago media might have considered this, before they raced to scoop one another and create a firestorm about an issue that has been public knowledge for years. Guy does have to move, and by the time you read this, he may already have announced his new location, but, as the club’s General Manager, Brian Moravec, told me recently, if the end of May comes and a new space hasn’t been secured, Columbia is flexible. Guy is concerned, and rightly so, he will not find another prime location in the Loop that is accessible and affordable.
According to Moravec, the media buzz generated worldwide interest in helping Guy purchase a new place, and outright offers of space. As Chicago’s ambassador to the blues, Guy may get some help from the city. There is always the risk however, that city involvement will turn Legends, a down-home, funky place with tons of atmosphere into a soulless tourist joint, like, say, The House Of Blues. More on Legends and its importance to Chicago in my March column.
– By Beverly Zeldin-Palmer
Category: Columns, Monthly, Sweet Home
