James Brown: 1933 - 2006

[zircon]

On such a joyous day as this, I was saddened to see this on CNN. The "Godfather of Soul" James Brown passed away early this morning. Few people can claim as much influence on modern music that this man did, taking genres like funk, hip-hop, and R&B to another level - and being the main force in creating breakbeat music.Rest in peace.

[horacejesse]

According to Brown he was sampled by the rappers more than anyone else. I thought Rick James was the king of that. I am sure he got used plenty though. R.I.P.

[nomiyah]

Quote:According to Brown he was sampled by the rappers more than anyone else. I thought Rick James was the king of that. I am sure he got used plenty though. R.I.P.You got your James' mixed up. James Brown has been sampled more times than anyone else in history.The first sample I ever made was a JB sample in 86. I got involved with hip hop before most people in 81. To put that in perspective, most of the people into hip hop were babies or unborn then. But that's beside the point.The point is... the Godfather of Soul has gone to the Christmas party in heaven. Respect due.Nomi

[horacejesse]

Nomi,What parts of a piece would they normally sample? Would it be the groove with the bass and drums and guitar? Or do they do a brief snippet over the entire cross section of the song? Did they use James Brown's voice in their pieces too? Does what he did run the entire length of their piece? I really don't know. Obviously I am not up on the genre.

[zircon]

I can't speak for every genre, but in the realm of electronic music, people loved sampling the drum breaks from his songs, specifically. Hence the moniker "breakbeat" which became a genre In particular, the drum break from the song "Funky Drummer" is extraordinarily popular.

[ernstinen]

I loved James Brown. Besides his singing and dancing, he was one of the greatest band leaders ever. Talk about funky!I remember back in the 80's when the Emulator sampler came out, and everybody would crowd around it at a music store in Hollywood and were astonished by playing a keyboard note and hearing "Yow!" And another note "Hit Me!" etc. Everybody was laughing in glee --- the Godfather of Soul! Wow!R.I.P. James!Ern

[nomiyah]

Quote:Nomi,What parts of a piece would they normally sample? Would it be the groove with the bass and drums and guitar? Or do they do a brief snippet over the entire cross section of the song? Did they use James Brown's voice in their pieces too? Does what he did run the entire length of their piece? I really don't know. Obviously I am not up on the genre.The sample I did was JB saying "Make it funky now", which we looped into the rhythm track in the background. Many people have taken samples of his trademark outcries like "hit me" etc. Other take a sample of his horn section or of course the drum track.

[53mph]

I never sampled James Brown much but I used to sample Smokey Robinson alot.I think one reason those old recordings were sampled so much was also because of the stereo division; all the horns and guitars in one ear and the drums and bass in another. It meant that you could take the bits you wanted and discard the rest. I used to use Smokey Robinsons spring reverbed drums with John Barry strings.....beautiful.James Brown's early recordings had the same kind of technique and dynamics "This is a man's world" has some fantastic instrumentation.A great artist and performer RIP

[sgs4u]

I wonder who's making the coin from all those very important recordings JB made. I wonder if he ever became a millionaire himself. Who controls those copyrights, and are they paying for his funeral? Should they be?Did JB ever write his own lyrics? Music?

[horacejesse]

At an important heavyweight boxing contest in Hollywood, Florida this Saturday past, James Brown's band (just the horn section) performed the national anthem prior to the contest, airing live on Showtime.They gave a riveting rendition. Their tone just wouldn't let go of you. It was one of the few times in memory that the Star Spangled Banner seemed too short.The performance was a good final cannon shot to send off the godfather.