James Brown

James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American musician known as the central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music. He had various honorific nicknames including 'the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business', 'Godfather of Soul', 'Mr. Dynamite', and 'Soul Brother No. 1'. Brown influenced the development of several music genres over his career that lasted more than 50 years. Starting as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia, he gained popularity in the mid-1950s as the lead singer of the Famous Flames. Known for his dynamic live performances, Brown recorded hit ballads such as 'Please, Please, Please' and 'Try Me' with the Famous Flames and his backing band, the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra.