Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine
Encyclopedia
"Get Up Sex Machine" (usually known as just "Sex Machine") is a funk
song recorded by James Brown
in 1970 and released as a two-part single
on King Records
.
"Sex Machine" was one of the first songs Brown recorded with his new band, The J.B.'s
. In comparison with his 1960s soul hits such as "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
" and "Cold Sweat
", it is notable for the de-emphasis of the horn section. Instead, the song centers on the insistent riff
played by brothers Bootsy
and Catfish Collins
on bass
and guitar
and Jabo Starks on drums, along with the call and response
interplay between Brown and Bobby Byrd
's vocals.
The original single version of "Sex Machine" begins with a brief spoken dialogue between Brown and the members of his band, which was recreated (with minor variations) in live performances:
The song's freeform lyrics
consist mostly of Brown's exhortations to "Get up / stay on the scene / like a sex machine" along with Byrd's regular shouts of "Get on up." The piece is harmonically static, aside from a move to the subdominant
on the bridge
.
In 2004, "Sex Machine" was ranked number 326 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
with The JB's:
(the studio version appeared on the 1996 compilation Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang) and a disco-friendly re-recording (featuring lyrics such as "I'm going to the discotheque" , and self references other popular songs and dances of the time) re-titled "Sex Machine Parts I and II" for his 1975 album Sex Machine Today. In the early 1990's, he did an adapted version for Japan's Miso Soup commercials.
The Flying Lizards
recorded a successful cover of "Sex Machine" in 1984 which appeared on their album Top Ten.
In 1986 the Japan
ese musician Haruomi Hosono
and his band F.O.E. recorded vocal and instrumental
cover version
s of "Sex Machine" for the album F.O.E. #1: Sex, Energy and Star. The instrumental version featured a guest solo
by Brown's longtime saxophonist Maceo Parker
.
German comedian and jazz musician Helge Schneider
recorded a comedic version of the song for his 1995 album Es rappelt im Karton. It was also released as a single with an accompanying video that features Schneider walking around a metro station making faces.
The rock band Widespread Panic
covered the song on their 2004 live album
Jackassolantern
.
Jazz fusion
/Blues
guitarist Larry Coryell
covered the song on his album Electric.
and her back-up singer LeJon Walker sampled
the song during their performance of "Think (About It)
", which is featured on her DVD Sy Smith Live: Worship at the Temple
.
s, including City of God, Twisted
, Legally Blonde
, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
, Friday
and The Tuxedo
(in which it is performed by Jackie Chan
). It has also been used in an episode of the television sitcom Scrubs
and in commercial
s for the Renault
Clio
and Tassimo
. The song was featured on the Pontiac
commercial.
The song figures prominently in the 2003
Japanese film Get Up!, a comedy
about a James Brown-obsessed yakuza
gangster. The film's title (which transliterates into Japanese
as Geroppa!) is taken from the song's lyrics.
British satirical puppet show Spitting Image
ended an episode with an opera-style cover of the song, starring Luciano Pavarotti
.
Part 1 of "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" is available as downloadable content for the Rock Band
series of video games.
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
song recorded by James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
in 1970 and released as a two-part single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on King Records
King Records (USA)
King Records is an American record label, started in 1943 by Syd Nathan and originally headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.-History:At first it specialized in country music, at the time still known as "hillbilly music." King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly -- If it's a Hillbilly, it's a...
.
"Sex Machine" was one of the first songs Brown recorded with his new band, The J.B.'s
The J.B.'s
The J.B.'s were James Brown's band during the first half of the 1970s. On record the J.B.'s were sometimes billed under various alternate names such as The James Brown Soul Train, Maceo and the Macks, A.A.B.B., The First Family and The Last Word...
. In comparison with his 1960s soul hits such as "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" is a song written and recorded by James Brown. It was released as a two-part single in 1965, and is considered seminal in the musical genre of funk.-The hit single:...
" and "Cold Sweat
Cold Sweat
"Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written by his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a #1 R&B hit, and reached number seven on the Pop Singles chart...
", it is notable for the de-emphasis of the horn section. Instead, the song centers on the insistent riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
played by brothers Bootsy
Bootsy Collins
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins is an American funk bassist, singer, and songwriter.Rising to prominence with James Brown in the late 1960s, and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the '70s, Collins's driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk...
and Catfish Collins
Catfish Collins
Phelps "Catfish" Collins was a rhythm guitarist known mostly for his work in the P-Funk collective. Although frequently overshadowed by his younger brother, Bootsy Collins, Catfish played on many important and influential records by Parliament, Funkadelic, and Bootsy's Rubber Band.In 1968, the...
on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and Jabo Starks on drums, along with the call and response
Call and response
Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...
interplay between Brown and Bobby Byrd
Bobby Byrd
Bobby Byrd born Robert Howard Byrd was an American funk/soul/R&B/gospel musician, songwriter and record producer. He was born in Toccoa, Georgia, and is a 1998 winner of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's prestigious Pioneer Award...
's vocals.
The original single version of "Sex Machine" begins with a brief spoken dialogue between Brown and the members of his band, which was recreated (with minor variations) in live performances:
Fellas, I'm ready to get up and do my thing! (Yeah! That's right! Do it!) I want to get into it, man, you know? (Go ahead! Yeah!) Like a, like a sex machine, man, (Yeah!) movin', doin' it, y'know? (Yeah!) Can I count it off? (Okay! Alright!) One, two, three, four!
The song's freeform lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
consist mostly of Brown's exhortations to "Get up / stay on the scene / like a sex machine" along with Byrd's regular shouts of "Get on up." The piece is harmonically static, aside from a move to the subdominant
Subdominant
In music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance "below" the tonic as the dominant is above the tonic - in other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdominant. It is also the note immediately...
on the bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
.
In 2004, "Sex Machine" was ranked number 326 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Personnel
- James Brown - lead vocal, piano
with The JB's:
- Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells - trumpet
- Darryl "Hassan" Jamison - trumpet
- Robert McCollough - tenor saxophone
- Bobby ByrdBobby ByrdBobby Byrd born Robert Howard Byrd was an American funk/soul/R&B/gospel musician, songwriter and record producer. He was born in Toccoa, Georgia, and is a 1998 winner of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's prestigious Pioneer Award...
- organ, vocal - Phelps "Catfish" Collins - guitar
- William "Bootsy" Collins - bass
- John "Jabo" Starks - drums
Chart positions
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 15 |
| U.S. Billboard R&B | 2 |
| U.S. Cash Box R&B | 1 |
Other versions
Brown recorded two reworkings of the original: One for his 1970 live album Sex MachineSex Machine (album)
Sex Machine is a 1970 double album by James Brown. It showcases the playing of the original J.B.'s lineup featuring Bootsy and Catfish Collins, and includes an 11-minute rendition of the album's title song. This rendition is different from the original recording of the title song, which was...
(the studio version appeared on the 1996 compilation Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang) and a disco-friendly re-recording (featuring lyrics such as "I'm going to the discotheque" , and self references other popular songs and dances of the time) re-titled "Sex Machine Parts I and II" for his 1975 album Sex Machine Today. In the early 1990's, he did an adapted version for Japan's Miso Soup commercials.
The Flying Lizards
The Flying Lizards
The Flying Lizards were an English experimental rock band, who were formed in 1976 in England. They are best remembered as New wave one-hit wonders, thanks to their deliberately eccentric cover of Barrett Strong's "Money", which became a UK and US chart success in 1979.-Career:Formed by and led by...
recorded a successful cover of "Sex Machine" in 1984 which appeared on their album Top Ten.
In 1986 the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese musician Haruomi Hosono
Haruomi Hosono
, also known as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese popular musician, best known internationally as a key member of the rock band Happy End and the pioneering electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra.-Biography:...
and his band F.O.E. recorded vocal and instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of "Sex Machine" for the album F.O.E. #1: Sex, Energy and Star. The instrumental version featured a guest solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
by Brown's longtime saxophonist Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones...
.
German comedian and jazz musician Helge Schneider
Helge Schneider
Helge Schneider is a German comedian, jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist, author, film and theatre director, and actor....
recorded a comedic version of the song for his 1995 album Es rappelt im Karton. It was also released as a single with an accompanying video that features Schneider walking around a metro station making faces.
The rock band Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring...
covered the song on their 2004 live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Jackassolantern
Jackassolantern
Jackassolantern is the sixth live album released by the Athens, GA based band Widespread Panic. The album was recorded during various Halloween shows that the band has performed. It was released on September 28, 2004 and was the third of three live releases in 2004 by the band. The album is...
.
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
/Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
guitarist Larry Coryell
Larry Coryell
Larry Coryell is an American jazz fusion guitarist.-Biography:Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington, where he played in local bands The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals, and The Flames. He also played with The Checkers from nearby...
covered the song on his album Electric.
Sampling
Sy SmithSy Smith
Sy Olivia Smith is an American Emmy nominated singer-songwriter. Born in New York, New York, Smith rose to fame in the late 1990s when she signed a recording contract with Hollywood Records. Smith released her first studio album Psykosoul in 2000, which spawned the singles "Gladly" and "Good N...
and her back-up singer LeJon Walker sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
the song during their performance of "Think (About It)
Think (About It)
"Think " is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown and featured instrumental backing from his band The J.B.'s...
", which is featured on her DVD Sy Smith Live: Worship at the Temple
Sy Smith Live: Worship at the Temple
Sy Smith Live: Worship At The Temple is a live DVD by American R&B singer Sy Smith that was released in the US in 2007.-About the Show:On December 30, 2006, Sy Smith performed a live show at Santa Monica, California's Temple Bar. Accompanied by a 9-piece band, Smith performed a total of 9 songs...
.
Appearances in other media
"Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" has appeared in a number of feature filmFeature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s, including City of God, Twisted
Twisted (film)
Twisted is a 2004 American thriller film written by Sarah Thorp and directed by Philip Kaufman. It stars Ashley Judd, Samuel L. Jackson and Andy García. The film is set in San Francisco, California.-Plot:...
, Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and produced by Marc E. Platt...
, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 British crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie. The story is a heist film involving a self-confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three card brag...
, Friday
Friday (film)
Friday is a 1995 stoner comedy-drama-buddy film directed by F. Gary Gray. Starring Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Bernie Mac, Tommy Lister, Jr...
and The Tuxedo
The Tuxedo
The Tuxedo is a 2002 American comedy-action film directed by Kevin Donovan and starring Jackie Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt. It is a spy spoof that involves a special tuxedo that grants its wearer special abilities and a corporate terrorist threatening to poison the United States' fresh water...
(in which it is performed by Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
). It has also been used in an episode of the television sitcom Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
and in commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
s for the Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
Clio
Renault Clio
The Renault Clio is a supermini car produced by the French automobile manufacturer Renault. Originally launched in 1990, it is currently in its third generation...
and Tassimo
Tassimo
The Tassimo Hot Beverage System is a consumer coffee machine that prepares one-cup servings of espresso, regular coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and various other coffee drinks, notably those including milk such as latte or cappuccino....
. The song was featured on the Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
commercial.
The song figures prominently in the 2003
2003 in film
The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
Japanese film Get Up!, a comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
about a James Brown-obsessed yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
gangster. The film's title (which transliterates into Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
as Geroppa!) is taken from the song's lyrics.
British satirical puppet show Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
ended an episode with an opera-style cover of the song, starring Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
.
Part 1 of "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" is available as downloadable content for the Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
series of video games.
External links
- [ Song Review] at Allmusic
- List of songs that sample "Sex Machine"