Trivia / James Brown

• Chart Displacement:
  • Considering the literal hundreds of hits Brown had throughout his storied career, you'd think he'd have at least a couple #1's on the pop charts to his name, right? WRONG! Brown, despite his success, holds the record for having the most hits on the Billboard Hot 100 without ever hitting the top position. The closest any of his signature hits got to hitting #1 was "I Got You (I Feel Good)", which peaked at #3. By contrast, he had 17 #1 hits on the R&B chart.
  • But there's also the strange case of "Living in America" being a bigger hit on the Hot 100 than the R&B chart. It was his second-highest Hot 100 peak (getting to #4, in large part due to its usage in Rocky IV), but only reached #10 on the R&B side.
• Follow the Leader: Inspired countless soul, R&B, funk, hiphop and rap acts, but also Reggae, Afrobeat and dance music in general. Also a huge influence on live performing. Mick Jagger and Iggy Pop are just two artists who borrowed a lot from Brown's stage presence. Bruno Mars, of course, emulates him to a tee.
• He Also Did: Despite obviously being best-known as a singer and stage performer, he could play piano, guitar and harmonica. Brown himself played the famous piano riff on "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine".
• Serendipity Writes the Plot: "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" in 1970 was one of the first songs he recorded with his new band The JBs, and the horn section didn't have a whole lot of experience, so Brown was forced to have bassist Bootsy Collins carry the song along with his brother Catfish on guitar and drummer Jabo Starks. This emphasis on the rhythm section was a Trope Codifier for the future of Funk.

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