Term Paper on "James Brown"

Term Paper 4 pages (1151 words) Sources: 1+ Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Music and Mastery of James Brown

James Brown is as much a part of American history as hot dogs at the ballpark. Brown illustrates how one can make something from nothing American style. Brown was a musical pioneer and the timelessness of his demonstrates that he will be an icon forever. It is Brown's unique style of music, singing, and dancing that have earned him the popularity that still lives on today. Brown personified soul and then he introduced it to funk. His screams, moves on stage, and excited nature display musical genius at work.

Brown was born in 1933 and grew up in poverty. He rose above his circumstances and pursued music when he was still a teenager. Brown's first group was called the Flames and the band's first big hit was in 1956. It was called "please, please, please." David Brackett describes this type of music that Brown and his band performed as establishing:

What was to become a stylistic trademark: insistent repetition of a single phrase (in this case, the song's title) resulting in a kind of ecstatic trance. This approach and Brown's characteristic raspy vocal timbre and impassioned melismas display his debt to the black American gospel tradition. His stage shows, dancing and inspired call-and-response interactions with the audience also convey the fervour of a sanctified preacher. (Bracket)

This is an accurate description of what Brown sang onstage as well as how he looked while he sang it.

Brown was part of a movement of 60s rock music called "soul" (Kamein 614) that is a combination of "gospel roots and its relationship to the black community" (614). Soul music expresses African-American pride and culture and its foundation comes from melodic riffs derived from folk blues, which evolved into soul jazz by the late 1950s. Singers and musicians experimented with soul jazz, incorporated their own musical techniques and flavors and by the 1960s, soul fell under the umbrella of soul jazz. Soul music is not rhythm and blues but the two are connected through heritage and their influences are present in James Brown's music. Marc Elliot states that while Brown's legacy can be traced back to the sounds of Louis Jordon and Nat "King" Cole. Brown is no doubt a "true American cultural icon, America's goodwill ambassador whose smile is as instantly recognizable around the world as that of his predecessor, the late, great Louis Armstrong" (Elliot iv). There is no doubt that Brown borrowed from those before him but like any innovator, he took what he knew and then made it his own - the mark of a true genius.

In 1963, Brown recorded and released the "first live recording from the Apollo Theater, a project he funded himself" (Danielson 6). The album was the second best-selling album in the United States. In 1965, Brown released "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" which became a hit. In the following years, Brown and his "orchestra" (6) began working on a new style that "surfaced for the public with "Cold Sweat" in 1967" (6). For years after that, Brown was considered the "best within the rhythm and blues/soul/funk branch of black American music" (6). Danielson son contends that Brown's music from 1965 to 1974 is significant because "from this period was important to the struggle for a black cultural identity as history as a means of demonstrating an African influence and African-American music and culture" (41). The music was important to… READ MORE

How to Reference "James Brown" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Aestheticism Artistic Appreciation and Taste in James Spoils of Poynton Term Paper

James Spoils

People, Things, and Ethics: Perspectives on Collection and Control in Henry James' the Spoils of Poynton

Though not long in words or plot complexity, Henry James' novel the… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2590 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Art / Painting / Sculpture

---

James Joyce Dubliners Term Paper

James Joyce's Dubliners

Dubliners by James Joyce believe that in composing my chapter of moral history in exactly the way I have composed it I have taken the first step… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (3380 words) Sources: 6 Style: MLA Topic: Women / Feminism

---

Women in Afghanistan and China Research Paper

rhythm and blues artist James Brown, "This is a man's world (Newsome)." In his song, It's a Man's, Man's Man's World, Brown goes on to list things that the male… read more

Research Paper 20 pages (6230 words) Sources: 1+ Style: MLA Topic: Women / Feminism

---

Brown vs. The Board of Education Term Paper

Brown vs. Board of Education

The immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court's Decision

Almost a year and a half before Dwight D. Eisenhower had been elected as the American President,… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2426 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Law / Legal / Jurisprudence

---

Dan Brown Da Vinci Code Term Paper

DAN BROWN SAYS ABOUT the CHURCH in the DA VINCI CODE? DOES it QUESTION the CHRISTIAN FAITH?

The objective of the following work in writing is to examine Dan Brown's… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (1994 words) Sources: 7 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>