Marquee Names: James Brown – “I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing”

In the discussion of music, numerous names are tossed around. Sure, there are many recording artists who are worthy of some level of research. But then there are those names that are worthy of intense MusicStudy. These are the Marquee Names…

In 1969, America was moving fast into a new era. Just a year after the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy and the 1968 Summer Olympics “Black Power Salute” of black American track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the social turbulence of the 1960s was coming to a close. But it triggered a new awakening in the black American music tradition when, in 1965, James Brown introduced a new form of soul music he dubbed “funk.” By 1969, James Brown had perfected his funk sound (others would soon formulate their own funk signatures), which included tightly wound rhythms, percussive horn arrangements, and an unmistakable groove that rocked steady on the down beat. Finally, key to James Brown’s funk sound was a straight-forward social commentary.

The music and video below is presented here for the purpose of scholarship.

James Brown – “I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing”