On December 25th, in 2006, we lost The Godfather Of Soul, inventor of "The One,”and the man that crafted Funk as we know it-James (Joseph) Brown (Jr). Brown was born in Barnwell, SC, (May 3rd, 1933). His mother left him at an early age, something he would never get over. His father moved them to Augusta, GA, when he was about five years old, and he remained there until his teens. He lived with his Aunts while in Augusta-one owned a brothel that provided ‘entertainment’ to the troops in the area. A young James would dance and sing for the servicemen, who would tip him. He won a talent contest for singing at The Lenox Theater in Augusta. He also learned to play guitar and piano during his childhood. He only stayed in school until he completed the 6th grade; and then decided to become a musician or hustler. When his hustling aspirations went south (he was arrested and jailed at the age of 16), he started a vocal Gospel quartet while serving his time at the juvenile detention facility in Toccoa, GA.
Brown met Bobby Byrd, leader of The Gospel Starlighters. He got out early due to his ties to Byrd (in 1952, when JB was 18); and professed he was going to sing for The Lord. He became a member of Byrd’s sister’s gospel group The Ever-Ready Gospel Singers. Two years later in 1954, he joined Byrd’s Gospel outfit-and his splinter R&B group The Avons. They performed locally throughout the 1950s, and renamed themselves The Toccoa Band-then The Flames, before finally settling on The Famous Flames. In 1955, inspired by some words written by Little Richard on a napkin after a show in Macon, they recorded Please, Please, Please as a demo. It made it to King Records, who had The Famous Flames re-record the single in 1956, which became an R&B hit. They changed the group’s name one more time to James Brown & The Famous Flames. The 60s is when Brown started The Funk Movement, centered around The One-the first beat on a four bar measure-that comes in harder than the other beats. His legacy can’t be denied or tarnished. Brown invented the Funk, and we sampled it heavily. He was 73 years-old when he died.
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On December 25th, 2008 we lost the iconic actress, model, activist, pioneer, singer, and cabaret star Eartha (Mae) Kitt. The South Carolina native was the product of a White father and Black mother. Her pale complexion pushed her mother into letting her be raised by relatives. She moved to Harlem, to live with her aunt Mamie Kitt, and started working as a singer and dancer with the infamous Katherine Dunham Company-a collective of dancers, actors, singers, and musicians founded by Katherine Dunham in 1930. She remained with the troupe until the late 1940s, when she left to pursue acting-appearing in her first film Casbah in 1948. She sang and acted in films from the late 40s, up until her death. In the early 1950s, she started recording songs; and scored a few hits with Santa Baby, C’est Si Bon, & Love For Sale.
She picked up the culture and language while touring in Europe, learning three languages-French, German, and Dutch. In the 1960s, she started appearing on television (playing Catwoman on Batman). Kitt was one of the first Black women to be featured in films and television shows during the 60s. Her activist side was ripe during this time…she spoke out publicly against The Vietnam War; which would hurt her career for a while. She even made then-president Lyndon B. Johnson cry when she denounced the war. The CIA blacklisted her, and she had to move to Europe-then Asia to continue to work. Eventually, The CIA got over it; but at the time, she was exiled like many artists that were against the war (Nina Simone). Kitt was a multi-talented artist that paved the way for those yet to come; and opened doors-forging a path for many more artists of color. She was 81 years old when she died.
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On December 25th, 1907, Jazz Pioneer, bandleader, composer, singer, actor, arranger, and songwriter Cab (Cabell) Calloway III was born in Rochester, NY. TOV covered his death on the November 18th post. Calloway came from money. His parents were upper middle-class professionals. He moved to Chicago, after high school, and enrolled in Crane College (in the mid 1920s). While there, he worked at nightclubs as a MC, drummer, and singer. He met and performed with both Adelaide Hall and Louis Armstrong during this time. Armstrong taught Calloway how to scat. He became so enamored by Jazz, that he dropped out of college and joined The Alabamians-and later The Missourians (both Jazz bands). The latter became Cab Calloway And His Orchestra in the early 1930s.
He shared the house band assignment at The Cotton Club, with Duke Ellington. Their performances were broadcasted nationally by NBC Radio. He released his infamous song Minnie The Moocher, in 1931, which is his signature cut that contains the line
Hi De Hi De Hi De Ho…' The song went gold; and Calloway gained a new nickname-The Hi De Ho Man. He followed up this hit with several others during the 1930s. He even had some of his music featured in the Betty Boop and Snow White cartoons (1932 & 1933). One of my favorite songs by Calloway is Reefer Man. Calloway does a live version in the 1933 film International House. He made his first official movie appearance in the 1936 film The Singing Kid; and continued to act well throughout the 1940s and 1950s. The Hall Of Fame singer was 86 years-old when he passed away.
Hi De Hi De Hi De Ho…' The song went gold; and Calloway gained a new nickname-The Hi De Ho Man. He followed up this hit with several others during the 1930s. He even had some of his music featured in the Betty Boop and Snow White cartoons (1932 & 1933). One of my favorite songs by Calloway is Reefer Man. Calloway does a live version in the 1933 film International House. He made his first official movie appearance in the 1936 film The Singing Kid; and continued to act well throughout the 1940s and 1950s. The Hall Of Fame singer was 86 years-old when he passed away.
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On December 25th, in 1954, singer, songwriter, pianist, flautist, and co-founder of the Eurythmics-Annie Lennox (Ann Lennox) was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. She attended The Royal Academy Of Music in London, playing piano, flute, and harpsichord. She also sang with the British Rock band Windsong while attending school in the early 1970s. By the mid 70s, she was singing and playing flute with a band called Dragon’s Playground (Prog Rock, Soul). She left the band in 1977, just before they appeared on the UK TV show New Faces. For the next three years she sang lead for The Tourists. The group included her future Eurythmics partner Dave Stewart. They were a more of a New Wave meets Soul & Pop band. Lennox & Stewart formed the splinter duo group Eurythmics in 1980.
They hit us with Sweet Dreams right out the gate...I think everyone was pretty much hooked by then. MTV even boasted that the video was the most requested one before Thriller (1984). They continued to bang out hits during the 80s, showing how their soulful and new wave synth style shaped the sounds of a lot of bands that came after them. In 1990, Lennox went solo; but continued to keep her association with Stewart. In 1992, she released her solo debut album Diva. It went platinum in the UK, and she won MTV Awards for her videos Walking On Broken Glass & Why. She toured off the success of that album, and her follow up in 1995 with Medusa. Lennox then linked back up with Stewart in the late 90s, and they released Peace in 1999. They’re still performing and recording. She’s 63 today.
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On December 25th, in 1945 a 60s Soul singer, Funk innovator, early P-Funk member, songwriter, and multiple artist collaborator-Steve Mancha was born Clyde Darnell Wilson in Walhalla, SC. I don’t know much about his early life. However, I do know that in his early 20s, he was singing co-lead with 100 Proof (Aged In Soul). It was a Soul & Funk group produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland for their Hot Wax imprint. They started the company in 1968 when they left Motown. Mancha shared the mic equally with Joe Stubbs-the brother of Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs. They had a hit with Somebody’s Been Sleeping-and most of their music on Hot Wax is good (same way it is for any artists on Hot Wax). They disbanded in the early 1970s.
While Mancha was still with 100 Proof, he also was dabbling in Psychedelic Substances and Soul. He met George Clinton And The Parliaments with Funkadelic. He sang lead with them on their debut LP Osmium (1970). Their sound on this album was like Funkadelic’s: funky, gritty, and somewhat comical-with a Hard Rock edge. He has co-writing credits for two of the ‘B-Side’ cuts found on reissues of the LP, 45RPM singles, and bootlegs. The infamous breakbeat Come In Out Of The Rain was written by Ruth Copeland & Mancha, while Breakdown is Clinton, Mancha & Copeland. He also sings lead on both of these cuts. Mancha continued to record, and do session work, throughout the 1980s. He worked for charities and benefits mostly during the latter part of his career. His voice is reminiscent of the grit and Soul found in Otis Redding's, (Arlester) Dyke Chrisitian's, and Wilson Pickett's tones. He passed away in 2011, when he was 64.
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Honorable Mention: On December 25th, 1937, singer, songwriter, and co-founding member of The Isley Brothers-O’Kelly Isley Jr. was born in Teaneck, New Jersey. O’Kelly is the eldest sibling. He and his brothers (Ronald, Vernon, & Rudy) started off as a gospel quartet in the early 1950s. When their brother Vernon died in a car wreck, they moved to NYC and planned on going secular-singing Doo Wop. They got a deal with RCA Records, and O’Kelly penned with his brothers the hit song that would put them on the map-Shout. It was a response song to Jackie Wilson’s Lonely Teardrops. He was 48 when he passed away in 1986.
On December 25th, 1945, bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience-(David) Noel Redding was born in Folkestone, Kent, England. He started off on guitar, playing with The Strangers (1961), The Lonely Ones (1961), and The Loving Kings (1966). He also did session work and toured with artists in the UK. He joined The Jimi Hendrix Experience shortly thereafter; and played bass for The Power Trio. Redding was the first person to join the guitar phenom’s group, and the first to leave (1969). He was 57 when he died in 2003.
On December 25th, in 2009, singer, guitarist, songwriter, pianist, session musician, producer, and Cajun Music pioneer-Tony Bellamy (Robert Anthony Bellamy AKA Tony T-Bone Bellamy) passed away in Las Vegas, NV. He was a trained in flamenco guitar as a child-and wound up singing lead, playing guitar, and keys for the Native American Rock Band Redbone. He worked with Dobie Gray, and a pre-Moby Grape band called Peter & The Wolves, before joining Redbone. His sound was soulful and psychedelic-with his Native American Yaqui & Chicano heritage mixed in. He was 63 years old when he died.
On December 25th, in 2016, singer, songwriter, activist, and producer-George Michael (Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou) passed away in Goring-on-Thames Oxfordshire, England. He was a member of the 80s New Wave band Wham! Their sound was similar to a lot of the New Wave acts of the time, that were heavily influenced by Soul & Funk Music. He went on to win Grammys, produce songs for people that won Grammys, and even battled addiction-going to jail several times in his latter years. He was 53 when he died.
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