R.I.P. J.B.

Damn. The Godfather’s Gone. If you haven’t yet heard then you probably don’t care, so I won’t bother repeating the news. Suffice it to say it was a sad, unfunky Christmas.

I spent my first sixteen years of life knowing who James Brown was, watching Eddie Murphy parody him on Saturday Night Live, and thinking “Living In America” was crap. But in high school Chad Miller force-fed me some of the funkiest James Brown moments and I became a devotee. James Brown is to funk as The Beatles are to pop and Black Sabbath is to heavy metal; he created the gold standard and no one has come close despite countless attempts.

A few of my personal favorite James Brown cuts:

Since You Been Gone – James Brown

on Yahoo! Music JukeboxFrom the album Motherlode
Last.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Motherlode is an outtakes collection of amazing goodies from the 68-72 period and was actually one of the first things that Chad (mentioned above) loaned to me. I lost track of it for a few years and was beside myself when I noticed they reissued it a couple years back. Every time I listen to “Since You’ve Been Gone” I lose my mind. The perfect funk track, James and Bobby kicking back and forth over the Give It Up Or Turn It Loose riff, the band just killing it. As tight and as funky as any song in the history of time.

Medley: I Found Someone – James Brown

on Yahoo! Music JukeboxFrom the album Live At The Apollo, 1962
Last.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

I didn’t really appreciate this album until I’d seen James Brown live for the first time (around 1991). But after that show I couldn’t stop playing it. Check out the crowd and the way he’s winding them up. Fitting that this is where his viewing is, really.

Brother Rapp – James Brown

on Yahoo! Music JukeboxFrom the album Love Power Peace: Live At The Olympia, Paris, 1971
Last.fm page / Search for lyricsSongBlogger V1.31

Check the transition from Brother Rapp to Ain’t It Funky Now, the track builds and builds and builds and they don’t even bother to release, the just drop the needle right on the one in Ain’t It Funky and keep the train moving. Hardest working man leading his flawless, relentless band. Perfection.

I could go on, but it’s time to head out for dinner and there’s no end to the JB-love in the blogosphere. WFMU has a great post which wraps up a lot of the coverage, or you could dig the Yahoo! Music coverage if you’re looking for a place to start.

We did about 24 hours of JB in our house, once we heard the news. Maybe we’ll do that every Christmas day from now on. I can’t think of a better way to drown out the jingle bells and celebrate the legend. Groove on, James. Thank you.

ian c rogers
Yahoo! Music