Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
James Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was born in Barnwell, South Carolina, and by the time he was 11 he won his first talent show, dancing and singing. He dropped out of school after 6th grade. In 1955 he and his group, The Famous Flames, began their recording career, and in 1966 they had a huge hit with "Please, Please, Please" a song inspired by Little Richard.
By 1962 Brown and The Famous Flames started making inroads into the mainstream "top 40" radio world. I was all of 13 years old when James had his first #1 hit, and performed on SHINDIG! He was magnetic, exotic, sexual in a way that basically NEVER got on network TV. It was my generation's introduction to Soul Music.
James went on to become an advocate for Black rights, and a spokesperson with songs like "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud (1969). His career spanned over 50 years, and he touched on or created virtually all aspects of pop music, from funk to rap to hip-hop.
This video from Shindig shows his talent, but also reflects the time it was made, and you can almost hear the TV producers saying "How can we make this work for our mainly white viewing audience?" A slice of history...
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