James Brown once said his secret lied in the first beat, the fist time...

It is also the first time I feel so shocked by an artist passing. Elvis, Lennon, Marley, even the great Marvin Gaye... I cannot compare with such a huge loss. I think to JB every time my mind is free, every time I am not thinking or working on something special.

But I have to justified this new thread.

I hear his bass guitar riffs all the time. Once a time, JB said his groove secret lied in stressing the first beat of a 4/4, both in the groove and in the singing.

True : Sex Machine, Ain'it Funky, Soul Power or Get Up, Get into it, Get into it, all those numbers were buildt on the first time. It is the JB's signature. The fighter hitting the disco floor. Later this inspired another great dancer : Michael Jackson who also emphasized the first beat in his two monster hits : Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) and Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

But this is quite an exception in the big collection of RnB, soul or rock music where you would rather find pieces playing hard the second beat, the fourth beat or in-between, syncopated beat between the fourth and the first – the later trick being often marked with a big cymbal strike.

See for instance other great funky stuff like Hot Stuff (RS), Superstition (S. Wonder), Fame (D. Bowie), Le Freak (Chic), Tramp (Otis Redding). All those artists rather avoid - with some exceptions - to sing and hit the first beat. See also JJF, and Satisfaction, of which the lyrics start also on the second beat.

Extract from Rolling Stone January 25

"Mr Dynamite sharpened his penchant for showcasing the percussive aspect of all instruments and had them whomp the goods down on the the first and third beats, rather than the two/four cadence aimed at American Bandstand record raters."

Did James Brown write the music to the songs as well? Did he write all the lyrics too.

Huh, gimme da beat, y'all. Maceo, blow yo' funky horn!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-02-26 17:55 by Elmo Lewis.