James Brown saved music.
Music in the first half of the Sixties was
hanging by a thread, and that thread
was James Brown. Pop music had
been processed into a violin background,
acceptable, corporate product.
Gone was the vibrance of Chuck Berry,
Little Richard, and a young Elvis,
all three of whom had, by then, lost
their youthful creativity, as we all are
biologically doomed to lose our youth.
In the early 60's, the blues masters were under employed,
not on the airwaves, and practically the best that the radio stations
fed us were the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean. Motown was the only
source of listenable pop music, and thank God for them, but where
was the cutting edge that Chuck Berry and Little Richard gave us?
With Berry and Richard out of the scene, and Elvis tamed, music
was pablum. Pop music was suited for cows to digest their cud.
And then, by stark contrast, came James Brown.
He was dressed in quite unacceptable shiny duds, super slicked-back hair,
and stylistic dance. His lyrics were sparce, and his band was the definition
of tight. It was hot brass and a hard bass guitar. No violins there. His vocals
howled at us, of something essentially individual, if somewhat Baptist.
He was an explosion of talent and ego, whippin' it out, hard work and sweat.
He brought us a new definition of raw and tight. He was the lifeline
(we didn't know it then), until the blues based music came back.
We need him again. This man is sorely missed.
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