James Brown



"WOOOW! I feel good!"

- James Brown, "I Got You (I Feel Good)"

The Godfather of Soul.

Also, Soul Brother Number One, Sex Machine, Mr. Dynamite, The King of Soul, Mr. Please-Please-Please, The King of Funk, and most of all, The Hardest Working Man In Show Business.

James Joseph Brown, Jr. (May 3, 1933 - December 25, 2006) was one of the biggest music stars of all time. This singer, dancer, and bandleader left his mark on rock, R&B, and soul and practically invented Funk music. His live performances were extremely memorable, and Live at the Apollo is considered one of the best albums, let alone live albums, of all time. He was also famous for his social activism, solidifying his influence on African-American culture.

Brown's accolades include a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Kennedy Center Honors, and inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Also rather well known for being dead.


 * Bad to the Bone: "I Got You (I Feel Good)" (not titled just "I Feel Good") has been used in many movie scenes with happy people. It is also a Standard Snippet in comedy trailers.
 * Careful with That Axe: HUUOOWWAAUUUAAAORGGHAAAGGOOOWWWW!
 * Gorgeous George: Developed his stage persona after being inspired by George Wagner.
 * Funk: Possible trope maker.
 * I Am the Band: Brown was a notorious perfectionist, and ran through backup band members like water.
 * I Have Many Names: Just look at all of those Stage Names.
 * Indecipherable Lyrics: Many songs of his have barely any intelligible lyrics except for "Hey!"
 * As a Memphis radio host put it, "James Brown didn't need any lyrics sheets. He had PCP!"
 * Intercourse with You: "Sex Machine", just for starters.
 * Listing Cities: "Living In America" and "Night Train."
 * Long Title: "I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door I'll Get It Myself)".
 * Lyrical Tic: Brown may well be the Most Triumphant Example of a musician who uses this trope. He was famous for going "ow!". He was also famous for variations of "Hunh!", "Heh!", "Whoa", "Ooh", and (as noted in the page quote), "Hey!"
 * A short-lived Twitmeme, "Radio 4 Minus One Letter", defined "From Our Ow Correspondent" as "a series of reports from across the world delivered by our reporters, interspersed with their impressions of James Brown".
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: James Brown is one of the most used victims of this trope.
 * Three Chords and the Truth