Chuck Arnold
Music
Published February 20, 2024, 7:39 p.m. ET
After a great string of hits from the '60s to the '70s – including classics like 1965's “Papa's Got a Brand New Bag,” 1966's “It's a Man's Man's World,” 1970's “Super Bad” and 1974's “The Payback.” – James Brown's recording career was decimated by the disco explosion of the mid-'70s.
“What an interesting time, especially in New York, with everything going on,” says Mick Jagger in the new four-part A&E documentary “James Brown: Say It Loud,” which Rolling Stone co-executives with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson producer produced.
“There's punk and disco, everything mixes together. A lot of other people were kind of left behind because this is a big change, a fundamental change in the music scene.”
And Part 3 of “Say It Loud,” which premieres tonight alongside Part 4, reveals that Brown was “annoyed” by how much disco took from his draft.
James Brown brought the funk in 1985's “Rocky IV,” in which he played the late Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed. ©MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection
“I’m the one who started disco,” the Godfather of Soul says in the documentary. “Disco is really the vamp of a soul record.”
By the early 1980s, Brown was having trouble scoring hits. His record company had cut his budget and he had major tax problems.
But Soul Brother No. 1 got its groove back by bringing its funk to the film.
“James Brown's genius was somehow used, eaten up and borrowed by every other band,” says executive producer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson in “James Brown: Say It Loud.” Look Magazine Collection/Library of Congress
After his lively performance as a preacher in 1980's “The Blues Brothers,” the late legend got an even bigger boost when Sylvester Stallone asked Brown to record a song for 1985's “Rocky IV.”
“Living in America” eventually reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Brown his second Grammy in 1987 – for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
“When 'Living in America' was released, James Brown's career was changing at that point because he hadn't had a big record in a long time,” says his former manager Jack Bart in “Say It Loud.” “His money went up, his popularity went up. And James Brown was back in heaven.”
“Living in America” was James Brown's last Top 10 single and earned the soul legend his second Grammy. Alamy Stock Photo
Ironically, Brown recaptured the '70s dance sound on his final Top 10 single, produced and co-written by disco star Dan Hartman (“Relight My Fire,” “Instant Replay”).
“It’s almost like the Village People. That’s what it really sounds like,” says Dr. Jason King, dean of the USC Thornton School of Music. “It sounds like 'YMCA' or 'Macho Man' or something like that. But it just works.”
It was a major revenge for Brown after countless acts had stolen from him, as Questlove notes: “James Brown's genius was somehow used, eaten up and borrowed by every other band.”
Filed under A&E, Carl Weathers, disco, James Brown, Mick Jagger, music documentaries, Questlove, R&B, singers, soundtracks, Sylvester Stallone, the 80s, 02/20/24
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