Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, James Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolised him, and sometimes openly copied him. His fleet-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, among many others.
Songs such as David Bowie's Fame, Prince's Kiss and George Clinton's Atomic Dog were clearly based on Mr Brown's rhythms and vocal style.
If Mr Brown's claim to the invention of soul can be challenged by fans of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, then his rights to the genres of rap, disco and funk are beyond question. He was to rhythm and dance music what Bob Dylan was to lyrics - the unchallenged popular innovator.
Mr Brown emerged from a boyhood of extreme poverty and petty crime to become one of the biggest record-sellers in rhythm and blues, and later achieved success across musical genres. His gospel-style voice backed by staccato horns brought a distinctive funky and frenetic sound to black, and later white, audiences.
He had more than 119 charting singles and recorded in excess of 50 albums, was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and received a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 1992. From the 1950s, when he had his first R&B hit, Please, Please, Please in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Mr Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.
With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye make-up and outrageous hair, Mr Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince.
Rap stars of recent years overwhelmingly have borrowed his lyrics with a digital technique called sampling.
But his personal life was sometimes troubled. In 1988, Mr Brown, who had begun his music career in jail as a juvenile offender, was back behind bars, sentenced to six years' prison for drug, weapons and driving offences after a high-speed car chase which ended with police shooting out the tyres of his truck. He left prison in 1991.
The singer, also known as Mr Dynamite, is credited with bringing the word "funk" into mainstream musical vernacular and influencing a new generation of black music that spawned rap and hip-hop.
Mr Brown's hit Say It Loud (I'[m Black and I'm Proud) became a civil rights anthem during the turbulent 1960s.
JAMES BROWN LIVES!
Four ways in which James Brown will continue to sock it to us.
THE LAST ALBUM
It was due to be titled World Funk Against The Grain, and on January 2 James Brown should have been in Montreal recording two new tracks written by LA songwriter Gabe Lopez for his new album before collaborating with Joss Stone on the final tracks. "He was very excited about recording," states co-manager Super Frank. "We did that track Gutbucket last year on the MOJO sampler (James Brown's Funky Summer in August 2006) and there are about eight tracks done. It's too early to say exactly what will happen, but there will be another album this year."
THE MOVIE
On December 27 Paramount Pictures confirmed that Spike Lee is set to direct a biopic based on James Brown's life and his autobiography. It will go into production this year. "Mr Brown signed the contracts before he passed," confirms his personal manager Charles Bobbitt. "The main thing he wanted to know was, 'Who's going to play me? They got to be good because I don't want a mess and I don't want anything comical in there! You make sure everything is on the up- and-up!'" No lead has yet been confirmed, but Brown is thought to have favoured Cuba Gooding Jr in the role.
THE CHARITY
"Mr Brown didn't do charity stuff for the coverage, he did things like the toy and Thanksgiving turkey giveaways because he remembered his own childhood," says SuperFrank who has helped to set up The James Brown Music Education Foundation in the man's memory. "It's a scholarship fund, but also a music awareness programme. Mr Brown didn't like synthesisers, he wanted people to learn how to play real instruments. That's the principal aim."
THE BAND
James Brown's final band, the Soul Generals, played at his public memorial service at the James Brown Arena in Augusta on December 30 and hope to keep playing. "We are talking about the possibility of continuing as a tribute band," states trumpeter Hollie Farris, who played with Brown for over 25 years. "But we don't want to be like an Elvis impersonation band. We want to honour him and carry on his legacy."
Songs such as David Bowie's Fame, Prince's Kiss and George Clinton's Atomic Dog were clearly based on Mr Brown's rhythms and vocal style.
If Mr Brown's claim to the invention of soul can be challenged by fans of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, then his rights to the genres of rap, disco and funk are beyond question. He was to rhythm and dance music what Bob Dylan was to lyrics - the unchallenged popular innovator.
Mr Brown emerged from a boyhood of extreme poverty and petty crime to become one of the biggest record-sellers in rhythm and blues, and later achieved success across musical genres. His gospel-style voice backed by staccato horns brought a distinctive funky and frenetic sound to black, and later white, audiences.
He had more than 119 charting singles and recorded in excess of 50 albums, was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and received a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 1992. From the 1950s, when he had his first R&B hit, Please, Please, Please in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Mr Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.
With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye make-up and outrageous hair, Mr Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince.
Rap stars of recent years overwhelmingly have borrowed his lyrics with a digital technique called sampling.
But his personal life was sometimes troubled. In 1988, Mr Brown, who had begun his music career in jail as a juvenile offender, was back behind bars, sentenced to six years' prison for drug, weapons and driving offences after a high-speed car chase which ended with police shooting out the tyres of his truck. He left prison in 1991.
The singer, also known as Mr Dynamite, is credited with bringing the word "funk" into mainstream musical vernacular and influencing a new generation of black music that spawned rap and hip-hop.
Mr Brown's hit Say It Loud (I'[m Black and I'm Proud) became a civil rights anthem during the turbulent 1960s.
JAMES BROWN LIVES!
Four ways in which James Brown will continue to sock it to us.
THE LAST ALBUM
It was due to be titled World Funk Against The Grain, and on January 2 James Brown should have been in Montreal recording two new tracks written by LA songwriter Gabe Lopez for his new album before collaborating with Joss Stone on the final tracks. "He was very excited about recording," states co-manager Super Frank. "We did that track Gutbucket last year on the MOJO sampler (James Brown's Funky Summer in August 2006) and there are about eight tracks done. It's too early to say exactly what will happen, but there will be another album this year."
THE MOVIE
On December 27 Paramount Pictures confirmed that Spike Lee is set to direct a biopic based on James Brown's life and his autobiography. It will go into production this year. "Mr Brown signed the contracts before he passed," confirms his personal manager Charles Bobbitt. "The main thing he wanted to know was, 'Who's going to play me? They got to be good because I don't want a mess and I don't want anything comical in there! You make sure everything is on the up- and-up!'" No lead has yet been confirmed, but Brown is thought to have favoured Cuba Gooding Jr in the role.
THE CHARITY
"Mr Brown didn't do charity stuff for the coverage, he did things like the toy and Thanksgiving turkey giveaways because he remembered his own childhood," says SuperFrank who has helped to set up The James Brown Music Education Foundation in the man's memory. "It's a scholarship fund, but also a music awareness programme. Mr Brown didn't like synthesisers, he wanted people to learn how to play real instruments. That's the principal aim."
THE BAND
James Brown's final band, the Soul Generals, played at his public memorial service at the James Brown Arena in Augusta on December 30 and hope to keep playing. "We are talking about the possibility of continuing as a tribute band," states trumpeter Hollie Farris, who played with Brown for over 25 years. "But we don't want to be like an Elvis impersonation band. We want to honour him and carry on his legacy."