James Brown – Don’t Stop The Funk (Astrolabio Discotheque) 1980

The God Father of Soul still doing it in 1980.  Love this song and a possible tagline for ‘VFR’?  For the generations who have yet to discover James Brown I’m sure they will find it as thrilling and exciting experience as I have.

A huge back catalogue of records that has seen James Brown become widely recognised as the most sampled artist in the history of recorded music.  I discovered ‘Don’t Stop The Funk’ in 2007, released two years before I was born I was convinced it was new and astonished to find it’s  1980 release date.  As with so much of Brown’s material it still sounds as fresh now as the day it was first played.

 

 

James Brown facts:

1.  James Brown was incarcerated in Dec 1988.  He was arrested for driving under the influence of PCP.  He had been released on bail      for the same charge, the day before!

2.  While is prison James brown was surprised to find that many of the inmates didn’t know who he was, although in an ironic twist Brown heard numerous samples of his earlier work played by the very same prisoners in a new form of music.  Hip Hop brought James Brown to a wider and younger audience at just the right point leading critics to re-evaluate his earlier work and help pries him from an all time career low.

2.  ‘Sex Machine’ was released in 1970 – 43 years ago.

3.  James Brown had 44 gold records and released 68 Albums in his lifetime.

4.  In 1968 the IRS claimed James Brown owed 4.5 Million in back taxes.

5.  James Brown had a bad reputation as a women beater.  Often induced by excessive use of alcohol and  drugs.

6. On April 5th 1968 the day after Martin Luther King Jnr was assassinated James Brown’s live performance was attributed to the lack of violence and rioting in the city of Boston Massachusetts particularly as the rest of America was experiencing wide spread unrest.  This really is a fascinating story read more about it here.

 

James Brown – Don’t Stop The Funk (Astrolabio Discotheque) 

 

Remarkable control, stage presence and poise from ‘JB’ in the wake of Martin Luther King Jnr assassination.  In this clip he controls the crowd as they almost get out of hand.

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http://youtu.be/PCZSc1mn06w

 

www.veryfunkyrecords.com