James Brown

James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer, and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honorific nicknames "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres…

Originally released in 1973 as a sprawling two-LP set, The Payback was one of James Brown's most ambitious albums of the 1970s, and also one of his best, with Brown and his band (which in 1974 still included Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, St. Clair Pinckney, Jimmy Nolen, and Jabo Starks) relentlessly exploring the outer possibilities of the James Brown groove…

By this point Brown's insane schedule was catching up to him. He seemingly had singles or albums coming out on a weekly basis, and Reality finds him at an artistic impasse. Released in late 1974, Reality was one of the few of his '70s albums recorded entirely in N.Y., with and without the J.B.'s…

SEX MACHINE TODAY (subtitled: Disco Soul/Dance Dance Dance) (originally Polydor PD-6042) was the middle release of three 1975 James Brown albums, preceded by REALITY and followed by EVERYBODY'S DOIN' THE HUSTLE & DEAD ON THE DOUBLE BUMP. The album contains three consecutively linked tracks on both sides, all introduced by James' exclamation of "Sex Machine!" before each cut. The album is also known for it's lascivious cover art, the words SEX MACHINE are spelled out in letters composed of nude women! This another James Brown album that divides fans, probably because most can't get all the way through the tepid and draggy remake of the title cut that begins Side One. It's even hard to imagine that you're listening to the actual J.B.'s!