Tue 26 Dec 2006

The self-proclaimed “hardest-working man in show business”, the “Godfather of soul”, the “Minister of the New New Super Heavy Funk”, passed away on Christmas morning yesterday of pneumonia-induced heart failure. He was 73.

His musical contributions to 20th century popular culture cannot be easily measured. Credited with transporting r ‘n’ b into soul, and again taking soul and turning it into funk, James Joseph Brown, Jr. grabbed two generations by the hand and gave them musical revolution. His genius for rhythm not only popularised his own music, but also became the basis of hip hop sampling for the first 20 years of that new genre, and influenced the rise of modern dance music, electronica, techno and drum and bass.

Rest in peace.


About this entry:

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 26th, 2006 at 3:30 pm and is filed under Sounds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response

  1. tiffany Says:

    Thanks for the article. Really appreciate his creative work. Also interesting RnB roots tracing. Always search the web for cool music ftp mp3 is a site where one can compile perfect playlists. A cushy spot for a music addict!

Leave a Comment

Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.