Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #95 is "Stoned To The Bone" from 1973. It was also shown as "Stone To The Bone" on some pressings of the single. It was named on 4 ballots and had 85 total points. The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard R&B chart. It was included on "The Payback" album.

Image


Next up at song #94 is one from 1972:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZuVQZztpP8
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #94 is "There It Is" from 1972. It is included on the album of the same name. The single reached #4 on the Billboard R&B charts.

Image


Song #93 is next, and we go way back to 1957 for this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcK82HZgMPY
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #93 is "Baby Cries Over The Ocean" from 1957, the flip side of "That Dood It." It was later included on the "Please, Please, Please" album in 1958. So far it is the oldest record on the countdown, but don't fret, there are several to come from 1956.

Image


Low and behold, up next at #92 is one of those items from 1956:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjdGLjd5mhA
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #92 is "I Don't Know" from 1956. It was JB's second release, the follow up to "Please, Please, Please" and the flip side of "I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On." It was included on the "Please, Please, Please" album which was issued late in 1958. The song was listed on 3 ballots and accumulated 92 points in the voting.

Image


Next up at #91 is another 1973 funk jam from "The Payback" album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSDgVn3T5sk
Last edited by Hymie on Wed Jun 05, 2019 11:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
BobPatience
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by BobPatience »

Hymie wrote:Song #91 is "I Don't Know" from 1956.
Typo? I think this is supposed to be #92
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

BobPatience wrote:
Hymie wrote:Song #91 is "I Don't Know" from 1956.
Typo? I think this is supposed to be #92
Yes thanks
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #91 is "Shoot Your Shot" from 1973. It was on "The Payback" album that year.

Image


RANK-BALLOTS-TOTAL POINTS-TITLE
091 - 02-95 - Shoot Your Shot
092 - 03-92 - I Don't Know
093 - 04-87 - Baby Cries Over The Ocean
094 - 03-87 - There It Is
095 - 04-85 - Stoned To The Bone
096 - 02-83 - Signed Sealed and Delivered
097 - 05-82 - It Hurts To Tell You
098 - 03-81 - Got To Cry
099 - 03-79 - Coldblooded
100 - 03-79 - I Don't Care
101 - 03-79 - Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn
=================================================


Next up is song #90. We go back to 1960 for this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbqXcATHYQY
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #90 is "And I Do Just What I Want" from 1960. It was issued as his first single on King when they switched him over from Federal. The flip side is "The Bells." The first album that the song was on was "The Amazing James Brown and the Famous Flames" in 1961.

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Moving along in the countdown now we go to 1971 for song #89. The full version of this one is over 19 minutes long:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A430qOnzyg
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #89 is "Escape-ism" from 1971. It was Brown's first release on his own label, People Records. The single reached #6 on the Billboard Soul chart and clearly was influential in the start of rap and hip hop soon after. The long version of the track is on the "Hot Pants" album. The previously unreleased nineteen-minute unedited take of the track appearing on the album's 1992 CD re-release. According to Robert Christgau the song was "supposedly cut to kill time until Bobby Byrd arrived" at the studio.

Image


Next up at #88 is an early funk track from 1967:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zWGenrgvbc
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #88 is "Get It Together" from 1967. It reached #11 on the Billboard Soul Chart and got to #40 on the Hot 100. It was also included on the 1968 album "I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)." James wrote this one along with Bud Hodgood and Pee Wee Ellis. Donald A. Guarisco of Allmusic described the song as "a taut, minimalist tune that combines soulful but frantically paced verse melodies with a bubbling, two-note staccato chorus."

Personnel

James Brown - lead vocal
Waymond Reed - trumpet
Joe Dupars - trumpet
Levi Rasbury - trombone
Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis - alto saxophone
Maceo Parker - tenor saxophone
Eldee Williams - tenor saxophone
St. Clair Pinckney - baritone saxophone
Jimmy Nolen - guitar
Alphonso "Country" Kellum - guitar
Bernard Odum - bass
John "Jabo" Starks - drums

Image


Next up is song #87, from 1984:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6hE5OmpKyc
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #87 is "Unity" from 1984. It was named on 3 ballots and accumulated exactly 100 points. This one is by Afrika Bambaataa & James Brown together. It was the first recording in which Brown collaborated with a performer associated with hip hop, a then-new idiom heavily influenced by Brown's own funk music. The record's title and its cover showing the two performers clasping hands express solidarity between the two styles. The song's music is similar in its structure to Brown's own funk songs of the late 1960s and 1970s, but uses the drum machine and keyboard-generated timbres of electro. The song's rapped lyrics are on the themes of "Peace, unity, love, and having fun". The single charted #87 R&B.

"Unity" contains several references to Brown's earlier recordings. The song's a cappella opening paraphrases the beginning of his 1970 songs "Get Up, Get Into It and Get Involved","Soul Power" and an instrumental passage in the middle of part 1 is borrowed from his 1969 hit "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose".

Image


Song # 86 is next. More funk, this time from 1974:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCq1Gyar0-E
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #86 is "Hell" from 1974. It's one of very few songs on the list that was not issued as a single. It was the title track of a double album that reached #35 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.

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Moving up now to song #85, it comes from 1973.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC2ZY2loo74
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #85 is "The Boss" from 1973. It was issued as the A side of a single but failed to make the Billboard Soul chart. It was on the "Black Caeser" soundtrack album by JB. The album reached #31 on the Billboard LP chart in a 21 week run. The song was sampled in the Nas record "Get Down."

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Okay, after a run of 5 funk things we are heading back to the 50s for song #84.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2gHpdPgFGk
antonius
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by antonius »

Strange that "The Boss" is so low. It's the third most played James Brown song on Spotify,
Next to "It's A Man's Man's Man's World"
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

antonius wrote:Strange that "The Boss" is so low. It's the third most played James Brown song on Spotify,
Next to "It's A Man's Man's Man's World"
Many of the people who voted likely never heard of Spotify. We only got about 15 ballots from this site. I had never heard "The Boss" before myself.
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #84 is "Hold My Baby's Hand" from 1956. The song was mentioned on 5 ballots and totaled 107 points in the voting. It was JB's third single, flip side of "No, No, No, No, No."It was later included on the "Please, Please, Please" album, in 1958.


Image


Up next is song #83, and we are staying in the 1950s for this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOYx6I4MzJo
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #83 is "Messing With The Blues" from 1957. It was on the flip side of "Love Or A Game" and later was included on the "Try Me!" album (in 1959).


Image


Next up is song #82, and we go to 1970 for this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWZJnCPoY7w
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #82 is "Brother Rapp" from 1970. The single reaches #2 on the Billboard Soul Chart and #32 on the Hot 100 Pop Chart. It is included on the "Sex Machine" album, which is a studio album with a phony audience dubbed in.

In his 1986 autobiography, Brown related the lyrical message of "Brother Rapp" to his support of hip hop music:

I admire the rap and the break dancing and all the stuff coming out of hip hop. A lot of the records are messages that express community problems. Used right, those records could help prevent the riots of the sixties from happening again. If you know how a community feels about things, then you can do something about it... That's what my song "Brother Rapp" is all about. A fella is calling on his lady and protesting at the same time: "Don't put me in jail before I get a chance to rap. Here what I'm saying. When you see me on a soapbox out there complaining, don't lock me up. Sit down and join me." And that's what I'm saying about these records. Let 'em testify. Let the brothers rap.

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Coming up now is song #81. This one was JB's last hit single of 1968:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWh_-Ig1kcI
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Diane pointed out:

Writer's credit says James Brown but the song was written by Memphis Slim, recorded by him as "Messing Around (With The Blues)."

Thank you Diane. Here's Slim's version. It was a number one R&B hit in 1948.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crs3Yna01Ag
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #81 is "Goodbye My Love" from 1968. This one reached #9 on the Billboard Soul chart. It was included on the "Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud" album in the spring of 1969. Occasionally some of JB's King singles were issued on label colors other then the usual blue.

Image

RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE
081 - 03-114 - Goodbye My Love
082 - 03-112 - Brother Rapp
083 - 02-112 - Messing With The Blues
084 - 05-107 - Hold My Baby's Hand
085 - 03-107 - The Boss
086 - 03-102 - Hell
087 - 03-100 - Unity
088 - 04-97 - Get It Together
089 - 03-95 - Escape-ism
090 - 02-95 - And I Do Just What I Want
091 - 02-95 - Shoot Your Shot
092 - 03-92 - I Don't Know
093 - 04-87 - Baby Cries Over The Ocean
094 - 03-87 - There It Is
095 - 04-85 - Stoned To The Bone
096 - 02-83 - Signed Sealed and Delivered
097 - 05-82 - It Hurts To Tell You
098 - 03-81 - Got To Cry
099 - 03-79 - Coldblooded
100 - 03-79 - I Don't Care
101 - 03-79 - Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn
=================================================

Song #80 is up now. This one is from 1962:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXHK_hWwMuU
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #80 is "Shout And Shimmy" from 1962. It reached #16 on the Billboard R&B chart and got to #61 on the Hot 100 Pop Chart. The critic Douglas Wolk described the song as "a truly shameless ripoff of The Isley Brothers' 1959 hit "Shout"... basically the fast parts of "Shout" with the gospel inflections removed and the word 'shimmy' added." Wolk argues that Brown and The Famous Flames probably performed "Shout and Shimmy" in the October 24, 1962 concerts at which Live at the Apollo was recorded, but that it was left off of the album to prevent sales competition with the studio version of the song. Evidence to support this contention includes the fact that Brown customarily began his concerts with his latest hit (which "Shout and Shimmy" was at the time), and the presence of "Shout and Shimmy"'s a cappella opening ("You know I feel all right...") immediately before the first song on the album, "I'll Go Crazy". James and The Famous Flames sang and performed this song on Dick Clark's American Bandstand,on a telecast dated June 11th, 1962. A performance of "Shout and Shimmy" was the first track on Brown & The Flames' next live album, 1964's Pure Dynamite! Live at the Royal,featuring a comedy skit between Brown and Famous Flame Bobby Bennett.

The song was the title track of the album shown below, with of course, two white people on the cover!

Image


We now head back to 1959 for song #79.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fNKNHdSFfw
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #79 is "There Must Be A Reason" from 1959. It was on the flip side of "I Want You So Bad" on a single. It was also included on the "Try Me!" album.


Image


Song #78 is next, and we jump ahead 20 years to 1979 for this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AKF8Iupox4
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #78 is "It's Too Funky In Here" from 1979. It got to #15 on the Billboard Black chart. It also appeared on the album The Original Disco Man.

Image


Song #77 is next.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz48PR__uSo
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #77 is "Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto," from 1968. The song was written by Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis, Charles Bobbit and Hank Ballard and was the lead track on the "A Soulful Christmas" album, also from 1968.

Image


We now go to song #76. This one is from 1972:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aml7u5CCwQ8
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #76 is "Public Enemy #1" from 1972. It expanded upon the idea of "King Heroin" which may or may not be coming up later in the countdown. Both songs were on the "There It Is" album.

Image


Next up is #75. We go back to 1960 for JB's version of a classic hit from Clyde McPhatter and the Dominoes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2UCnG-0LIc
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #75 is "The Bells" from 1960. It was his first single on the King label after they moved him over from Federal, the flip side of song #90 "And I Do Just What I Want." "The Bells" reached #68 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was included on the album "The Amazing James Brown" in 1961.


Image


"The Bells" played an important part in the early careers of James Brown and The Famous Flames. In their performances on the chitlin' circuit the group would act out the story of bereavement told in the lyrics, pushing a doll representing the dead woman across the stage in a baby carriage. As they passed Brown, he would fall to his knees crying and sobbing, eventually segueing into "Please, Please, Please." The routine was so popular that audiences sometimes became violent if they tried to perform the song without it.

Here is the Dominoes version:

Up next at #74 is JB's first ever release, from January of 1956:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-TaPJzSorg
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #74 is "Why Do You Do Me" from 1956. It was JB's first release, the flip side of "Please, Please, Please." It was included on the "Try Me!" album in 1959.

Image


Next up is song #73, from 1960.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bVhVJe0Wig
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Before we move on, Diane has reminded me that "Why Do You Do Me" was a remake of the original version of the song from the Big Three Trio in 1949.
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #73 is "I'll Never, Never Let You Go" from 1960. It was first released on the "Think!" album in 1960, and then on a single in 1961, flip side of "Baby, You're Right." It was named on 5 ballots and totaled 135 points in the voting.

Image


Song #72 now is an overlooked gem from 1958.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e08XOWzPAp0
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #72 is "Begging, Begging" from 1958. Could be the closest thing that JB ever did to a true doo wop. This was JB's first single release of 1958. It was included on his first album, "Please, Please, Please," later in 1958.

Image


Song #71 is next, and James, as he did several times, records a version of a song that was a huge hit in the 1940s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br_bc8THOKg
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #71 is "Caldonia" from 1964. An audience was dubbed in to the recording to make it seem like a live performance, but nowadays you can get the recording without the phony audience. This record was on the Smash label. James had left King for a short while in 1964. A lawsuit ensued and for a while he was only permitted to make instrumentals for Smash until the lawsuit was settled and he was back on King. Billboard did not have an R&B chart in 1964, but "Caldonia" did make the Cash Box R&B chart that year, peaking at #39. It also made the Billboard Pop chart, getting to #95. The song of course was a monster hit by Louis Jordan in 1945, when JB turned 17.


Image


RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-SONG TITLE
071 - 03-145 - Caldonia
072 - 03-138 - Begging, Begging
073 - 05-135 - I'll Never, Never Let You Go
074 - 05-133 - Why Do You Do Me Like You Do
075 - 03-133 - The Bells
076 - 03-127 - Public Enemy #1
077 - 03-125 - Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto
078 - 03-124 - It's Too Funky In Here
079 - 04-119 - There Must Be A Reason
080 - 03-119 - Shout And Shimmy
081 - 03-114 - Goodbye My Love
082 - 03-112 - Brother Rapp
083 - 02-112 - Messing With The Blues
084 - 05-107 - Hold My Baby's Hand
085 - 03-107 - The Boss
086 - 03-102 - Hell
087 - 03-100 - Unity
088 - 04-97 - Get It Together
089 - 03-95 - Escape-ism
090 - 02-95 - And I Do Just What I Want
091 - 02-95 - Shoot Your Shot
092 - 03-92 - I Don't Know
093 - 04-87 - Baby Cries Over The Ocean
094 - 03-87 - There It Is
095 - 04-85 - Stoned To The Bone
096 - 02-83 - Signed Sealed and Delivered
097 - 05-82 - It Hurts To Tell You
098 - 03-81 - Got To Cry
099 - 03-79 - Coldblooded
100 - 03-79 - I Don't Care
101 - 03-79 - Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn
===================================================

Song #70 is up now, and we head to 1962 for this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vShtLXFqFbc
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #70 is "Why Does Everything Happen To Me" from 1959. It was first released on the "Try Me!" album in 1959, and later was the flip side of "Night Train" on a single in 1962.

Image


Next up at #69 is a track from 1980.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0qc67eD5yU
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #69 is "Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses) from 1980. The single reached #46 in a 13 week run on the Billboard Black chart. It also appeared on the album "Soul Syndrome." The song was essentially a disco reworking of "The Payback."

Image


Next up is song #68. It's the flip side of a big hit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wix5yEMgodg
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #68 is "Tell Me What I Did Wrong" from 1958. It's on the flip side of "Try Me." It was included on the "Please, Please, Please" album in 1968. It's one of my favorites, #13 on my ballot. Me and 3 other voters with excellent taste had in on our ballots!


Image


Moving down to song #67, this one is from 1957.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRWhPME7mKI
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #67 is "That Dood It" from 1957. It's the flip side of song #93 "Baby Cries Over The Ocean." The song was written by Rose Marie McCoy and Rudolph Toombs, two veteran R&B songwriters of the 50s who each wrote several hits during the decade. The song was included on the "Please, Please, Please" album in 1958.

If you're not familiar with the promo copies of King, Federal and DeLuxe 45's from the 50s you'll get the idea with the image below. They contained a few lines about the artist.

Image


Okay, after a couple of 1950s tracks we head back to the funk era for song #66:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB-hpewwEiY
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #66 is "I Got Ants In My Pants" from 1973. It reached #4 on the Billboard Soul chart and got to #27 on the Pop chart. It was not on any album until later collections of hits.

Image

Song #65 is next, from 1974:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIU63C8K7-8
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #65 is "Funky President (People It's Bad)" from 1974. The single reached #44 on the Billboard Pop chart and got to #4 on the Black Chart. The flip side was song #99 on this list, "Coldblooded." The song was included on the "Reality" album. According to Brown the "funky president" of the song's title was meant to refer to U.S. President Gerald Ford, who had succeeded Richard Nixon in the White House shortly before it was recorded. David Sanborn plays alto sax on the track.

"Funky President" is one of James Brown's most frequently sampled recordings. The most rhythmic portions of the song, namely the intro drum fill and wah-wah guitar have been used on dozens of hip hop tracks, shown below:

Eric B. & Rakim - "Eric B. Is President"/"Make 'Em Clap to This"
MC Shan - Kill That Noise
N.W.A. - "Fuck Tha Police"
Guy - "Groove Me"
Salt-N-Pepa - "Shake Your Thing"
Public Enemy - "Fight the Power"
Heavy D & the Boyz - "We Got Our Own Thang"
Brand Nubian - "All for One"
Ice Cube - "Jackin' for Beats"
LL Cool J - "6 Minutes of Pleasure"
Johnny Gill - "Rub You the Right Way"
King Tee - "At Your Own Risk"
Ronny Jordan - Come With Me (1993)
Ronny Jordan - Bad Brother (1993)
Wreckx-N-Effect - "New Jack Swing"
UMC's - "One to Grow On"
Kid 'N Play - "Ain't Gonna Hurt Nobody"
Digital Underground - "Kiss You Back"
Paperboy - "Ditty"
Run-DMC - "Faces"
Bebe's Kids - Freedom
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth feat. Grand Puba - "Skinz"
Kris Kross - "I Missed the Bus"
Guru - "Trust Me"
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - "Summertime"
Beastie Boys - "Hey Ladies"
KRS-One - "Outta Here"
Arts n Crafts - Surley (1990)
Naughty by Nature - "Hip Hop Hooray"
MC Breed - "Gotta Get Mine"
A Tribe Called Quest - "Oh My God"
Kid 'N Play - "Last Night"
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - "I'm Looking for the One (To Be with Me)"
Digital Underground - "Wussup Wit the Luv"
Usher - "Call Me a Mack"
Black Eyed Peas and Q-Tip feat. Talib Kweli, Cee-Lo Green and John Legend - "Like That"
Tony! Toni! Toné! - "Feels Good"
The D.O.C. - "It's Funky Enough"
Heavy D & the Boyz - "Blue Funk"
Poor Righteous Teachers - "Rock Dis Funky Joint"
Del the Funky Homosapien - "If You Must"
Kanye West, Jay-Z & Big Sean - "Clique"
Rick Ross feat. Kanye West - "Live Fast, Die Young"
Pusha T and Kanye West - "New God Flow"
Kanye West feat. Pusha T - "Runaway (Video Version)"
Michel'le feat. Dr. Dre - "Nicety"
Ghostface Killah - "Mighty Healthy"
Nice & Smooth - "Sex, Sex, Sex"
Mic Geronimo feat. Ja Rule, Jay-Z, and DMX - "Time to Build"
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Outro
Childish Gambino - "3005"
DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist - "Funky"
Sugar Ray - "Falls Apart"
Yolanda Adams - "Fly Like An Eagle (Medley)"
De La Soul - "Freedom of Speak (We Got Eight Minutes)"
De La Soul - "Ghetto Thang"
LL Cool J - "Fast Peg"
LL Cool J - "Ain't No Stoppin' This"
Heavy D and the Boyz - "Gyrlz, They Love Me"
Logic - "We Get High"
Cella Dwellas - "Perfect Match"
Run the Jewels - "Get It"
Big Sean - "Ashley"
Spoonie Gee - "Spoonie Is Back"
The X-Ecutioners feat. DJ Premier - "Premier's X-Ecution"
Large Professor - "I Juswanna Chill"
Pete Rock feat. Black Thought and Rob-O - "It's About That Time"
2Pac feat. Richie Rich - "Lie to Kick It"
Lord Finesse - "True and Livin'"
Logic - "The Spotlight"
Pete Rock feat. C.L. Smooth - "Da Two"
Gang Starr - "Gotta Get Over (Taking Loot)"
A Tribe Called Quest - "Show Business"
The Offspring - "Original Prankster"
DJ Kay Slay feat. Fat Joe and 50 Cent - "Free Again"
Gang Starr - "Knowledge"
Violadores del Verso - "Mierda"
Shanice - "I Love Your Smile (Driza Bone Club Mix)"
Citizen King - "Better Days (And the Bottom Drops Out)"
Calvin Harris - "C.U.B.A"

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Next up at song #64 is one of the few tracks on this list that was not issued as a single.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHvvyaCUd5A
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #64 is "Blues And Pants" from the "Hot Pants" album in 1971. It's the highest ranking song on the countdown that was only listed on 3 ballots. This track was sampled in over 100 songs, including..

Just Playing (Dreams) by The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)
Put It On by Big L feat. Kid Capri (1994)
Scarface by Geto Boys (1989)
What About Your Friends by TLC (1992)
New Jack Hustler by Ice-T (1991)

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And after 3 funk records we go back to the 50s for song #63:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n7a4Zcid7E
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #63 is "Don't Let It Happen To Me" from 1959. It was the flip side of "Good, Good Lovin'" on a single and was also included on the "Try Me!" album that same year. It was listed on 5 ballots and accumulated 161 points in the voting.

Image

Up next at #62 is more funk. This time from 1974:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu8FhdgzaNo
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #62 is "My Thang" from 1974. It was a #1 song on the Billboard Black chart. It was on the double album "Hell." "My Thang" was also sampled on various Hip-Hop songs, including "Brand New Funk" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince and "Funky Child" by Lords Of The Underground among others. The song was featured in the 1990 psychological horror film Jacob's Ladder.

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Again we head back to the 1950s, this time for song #61:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk_grbqzwbw
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

We heard song #61, "I Want You So Bad" from 1959. It reached #20 on the Billboard R&B chart, and was JB's first hit that did not feature the Famous Flames singing along with him although they did get label credit on the record. It was included on the "Try Me!" album.

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RANK-BALLOTS-POINTS-TITLE
061 - 05-174 - I Want You So Bad
062 - 05-162 - My Thang
063 - 05-161 - Don't Let It Happen To Me
064 - 03-157 - Blues And Pants
065 - 04-155 - Funky President
066 - 05-154 - I Got Ants In My Pants
067 - 04-151 - That Dood It
068 - 04-148 - Tell Me What I Did Wrong
069 - 04-148 - Rapp Payback (Where iz Moses)
070 - 04-147 - Why Does Everything Happen To Me
071 - 03-145 - Caldonia
072 - 03-138 - Begging, Begging
073 - 05-135 - I'll Never, Never Let You Go
074 - 05-133 - Why Do You Do Me
075 - 03-133 - The Bells
076 - 03-127 - Public Enemy #1
077 - 03-125 - Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto
078 - 03-124 - It's Too Funky In Here
079 - 04-119 - There Must Be A Reason
080 - 03-119 - Shout And Shimmy
081 - 03-114 - Goodbye My Love
082 - 03-112 - Brother Rapp
083 - 02-112 - Messing With The Blues
084 - 05-107 - Hold My Baby's Hand
085 - 03-107 - The Boss
086 - 03-102 - Hell
087 - 03-100 - Unity
088 - 04-97 - Get It Together
089 - 03-95 - Escape-ism
090 - 02-95 - And I Do Just What I Want
091 - 02-95 - Shoot Your Shot
092 - 03-92 - I Don't Know
093 - 04-87 - Baby Cries Over The Ocean
094 - 03-87 - There It Is
095 - 04-85 - Stoned To The Bone
096 - 02-83 - Signed Sealed and Delivered
097 - 05-82 - It Hurts To Tell You
098 - 03-81 - Got To Cry
099 - 03-79 - Coldblooded
100 - 03-79 - I Don't Care
101 - 03-79 - Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn


Next up at #60 we have one of JB's killer ballads from the early 60s. He had several of these that were huge staples of his live show and were captured on his classic 1963 album "Live At The Apollo." Here is #60.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvKBstuv61w
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #60 is "You've Got The Power" from 1960. The female voice on the record is Bea Ford. Released as the B-side of Brown and the Famous Flames' hit recording of "Think," it also charted, reaching #14 R&B and #86 Pop. It was Brown's first recorded duet and his first hit B-side. It was included on the "Think!" album in 1960.

Image


Coming up now at #59 is a big favorite of mine, from 1961:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFLHBB2XWcM
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

The #59 song on the countdown is "Come Over Here" from 1961. It was listed on 6 ballots and had a total of 178 points in the voting. It was first issued on the album "The Amazing James Brown" in 1961, and then as the flip side of "Shout And Shimmy" on a single in 1962. The song has a very gospel feel with call and response, and is a good illustration of the influence of the "5 Royales" on James Brown.

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Next up at #58 is a funk track that is essentially an instrumental although James does make some comments during the track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gKRACScAu0
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #58 is "Ain't It Funky Now" from 1969. It reached #3 on the soul chart and got to #24 on the pop chart. It is the lead track on the "Ain't It Funky" album.

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Up next at #57 is a track from 1956:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by_O6QGCmqA
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #57 is "Let's Make It" from 1956. It features an opening that comes from "Honky Tonk" by Bill Doggett, which at that time was the biggest selling single ever for Sid Nathan's King Records. It was on the flip side of "Just Won't Do Right," Brown 4th release on Federal. It was included on JB's first album, "Please, Please, Please," in 1958.

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Next up on the countdown is song #56. Some early funk, from 1967.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD1HL0RDeFM
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #56 is "Let Yourself Go" from 1967. Brown recorded "Let Yourself Go" after hours in the Latin Casino nightclub during a ten-day performing engagement there. An edited version of this recording was released as a single, which charted #5 R&B and #46 Pop, and appeared on the album Sings Raw Soul. A 3:47-long unedited version of the recording with overdubbed applause was included on Brown's album Live at the Garden, which was itself recorded during the same Latin Casino engagement. The song first appeared in unedited form without overdubs on the 1991 box set Star Time. Brown and his musicians continued to experiment with the arrangement of "Let Yourself Go" during rehearsals on the road. Eventually a new song, "There Was a Time", developed from the accumulated changes.

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Song #55 is next and it's a killer ballad from 1960.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HMDFh-LVmo
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #55 is "I Know It's True" from 1960. It was the flip side of "I'll Go Crazy" on a single and was included on the "Think!" album, also in 1960. It is the first song on the countdown that was listed on 8 (or more) ballots in the voting.

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Next up is song #54. This one is the flip side of song #57, from 1956:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5YEzrZcBck
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #54 is "Just Won't Do Right" from 1956. It was JB's 4th release. The song was included on the "Please, Please, Please" album in 1958.

Song #53 is next. This one is from 1958:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opTMMIIxhKw
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #53 is "That's When I Lost My Heart" from 1958. On a single is was the flip side of song #72, "Begging, Begging." It later included on the "Please, Please, Please" album, in 1958.

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Next up is song #52, and we are staying in the 1950s with this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwlqR0Zmx6Q
Hymie
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Re: Best James Brown Songs - RESULTS

Post by Hymie »

Song #52 is "It Was You" from 1959. This was his last single of the 1950s. It was also included on the "Try Me" album in 1959. "It Was You" was named on 6 ballots and had 207 points in the voting.

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Song #51 is next as we are now halfway through the countdown. This one is from 1956 and is sort of a sequel to "Please, Please, Please."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU3L7W1uM2c
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