James Brown

CTL-E-5233 · Person · musician · 1933–2006

VERIFIED evidence grade of this record

James Brown (born May 3, 1933, in Barnwell, South Carolina; died December 25, 2006, in Atlanta, Georgia) was an American singer, bandleader, and producer who built funk out of soul and gospel. Raised in Augusta, Georgia, he rose as lead singer of the Famous Flames and broke through with “Please, Please, Please” (1956). Live at the Apollo (1963) captured his incendiary stage act and stayed on the charts for 66 weeks. Singles such as “Papa's Got a Brand New Bag,” “I Got You (I Feel Good),” and “Say It Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud” (1968) made rhythm itself the message. He played Chicago's Regal Theater repeatedly in the 1960s, including a documented engagement in May 1967. History's honorific for him — the Godfather of Soul — records the debt later music owes. In 1986 he was among the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The record

• Also known as: James Joseph Brown

Notes

Staged 2026-10-15 under CTL-GOV-006; Gate A clear; Gate B met (2 authoritative sources). CTL treatment: Live at the Apollo scored 90 in a live CTL AOTY review (2026-10-01); one of the eight “Black Music in Their Own Words” quote-card artists; subject of 33 CTL research files per the 2026-10-15 corpus gap scan. Statistic carried: Live at the Apollo charted 66 weeks (Britannica, checked 2026-10-15). Cause of death omitted — located sources conflict (pneumonia vs. congestive heart failure).

Relationships

• Regal Theater — played
  James Brown & the Famous Flames are listed among the Regal Theater's performers; documented Regal engagement May 5–11, 1967 and a Regal setlist dated February 26, 1968.

Sources

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, “James Brown” — https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Brown-American-singer (primary source)
• Columbia Encyclopedia via FactMonster, “Brown, James” — https://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/arts/bios/pop-jazz/brown-james

Watch the Short

• James Brown — Live at the Apollo (1963)

CultureTechLens Shorts on YouTube — the citable record is this page.

Record CTL-E-5233 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: VERIFIED · 2 sources (1 primary) · 1 mapped relationship · CTL research: PPL-001.
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