James Brown
He has had many prestigious titles bestowed upon him during his long and industrious career including 'The Godfather Of Soul', 'Soul Brother No. 1' and of course, 'The Hardest Working Man In Showbusiness'. Without doubt one of the most important figures in black music is James Brown. This soul singer received his first hit record in the late 50's and in the 60's revolutionized the sound of rhythm and blues to such an extent that a new term, "Funk" was born. One of my many sayings when it comes to music (and I have quite a few) has been "Others may come and go, but there will always be JAMES BROWN". And even though he left us on Christmas Day 2006, aged 73, I still stand by that statement. Where ever a funky rhythm is heard, the influence of this giant will be there. Even the hip hop community owe a huge debt of gratitiude as in their very early days it was Brown's music that propped up the whole movement and kick started several careers.
So it was no surprise to learn that James Brown will be getting his very own official YouTube channel and site. This exciting venture will debut this coming Friday and is a collaboration between the entertainment company Shout! Factory and The James Brown Estate. The channel plans to have available to view an extensive amount of live JB footage, including the famous 1968 show in Boston after the fatal shooting of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jeffrey Thompson, Vice President of Digital Strategy & Business Development of Shout! Factory said in a statement, "We launched these YouTube online and mobile experiences today as the 45th anniversary of the Boston Concert is a major milestone we all wanted to commemorate."
As one of my musical heroes I think it is only fitting there should be place where future generations can experience the flavour of the man who influenced the very best, including Prince and Michael Jackson. As my mind wandered on to the subject of James Brown (as a kid buying records, he was one of my obsessions) I kept thinking of my all time favourite JB record (and believe you me, there's are buckets of his music I can easily choose from), but it has to be 'Stone To The Bone' from his 1973 album, 'The Payback'. I bought the US imported 7" single when it was brand new. I love the track for two reasons. One, the funk riff on it is extraordinary. It's plain, simple and as the title suggests, is Stone To The Bone. The other reason is the lyrics, which in my opinion best expresses my lifelong relationship with music. So I decided to include this classic piece of wax to this story. Check it out and pay particular attention to the words, because with music I know I've got a good thing! Remember, others may come and go, but there will always be....
So it was no surprise to learn that James Brown will be getting his very own official YouTube channel and site. This exciting venture will debut this coming Friday and is a collaboration between the entertainment company Shout! Factory and The James Brown Estate. The channel plans to have available to view an extensive amount of live JB footage, including the famous 1968 show in Boston after the fatal shooting of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jeffrey Thompson, Vice President of Digital Strategy & Business Development of Shout! Factory said in a statement, "We launched these YouTube online and mobile experiences today as the 45th anniversary of the Boston Concert is a major milestone we all wanted to commemorate."
As one of my musical heroes I think it is only fitting there should be place where future generations can experience the flavour of the man who influenced the very best, including Prince and Michael Jackson. As my mind wandered on to the subject of James Brown (as a kid buying records, he was one of my obsessions) I kept thinking of my all time favourite JB record (and believe you me, there's are buckets of his music I can easily choose from), but it has to be 'Stone To The Bone' from his 1973 album, 'The Payback'. I bought the US imported 7" single when it was brand new. I love the track for two reasons. One, the funk riff on it is extraordinary. It's plain, simple and as the title suggests, is Stone To The Bone. The other reason is the lyrics, which in my opinion best expresses my lifelong relationship with music. So I decided to include this classic piece of wax to this story. Check it out and pay particular attention to the words, because with music I know I've got a good thing! Remember, others may come and go, but there will always be....
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