Out of Sight (song)
Encyclopedia
"Out of Sight" is an Rhythm and blues
song
recorded by James Brown
in 1964. A twelve-bar blues written by Brown under the pseudonym
"Ted Wright", the stuttering, staccato
dance rhythm
s and blasting horn section
riff
s of its instrumental arrangement
were an important evolutionary step in the development of funk music
. In his book James Brown: The Godfather of Soul Brown wrote that
"Out of Sight" was the third single
Brown recorded for Smash Records
in the midst of a contract dispute with his main label, King
. A significant pop hit, reaching #24 on the Billboard Hot 100
, it was also the last song he would record for over a year, as the court's ruling in his dispute with King barred him from making vocal recordings for Smash.
"Out of Sight" was one of Brown's first recordings to feature the playing of saxophonist Maceo Parker
. Its B-side, "Maybe the Last Time", was his last studio recording with The Famous Flames
. Besides its single release, "Out of Sight" appeared on a Smash album
of the same name, which was quickly withdrawn from sale for legal reasons. The withdrawn album was re-released on King in 1968 with one track missing under the title James Brown Sings Out of Sight.
with the James Brown Band:
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
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 1964. A twelve-bar blues written by Brown under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Ted Wright", the stuttering, staccato
Staccato
Staccato is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration and separated from the note that may follow by silence...
dance rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
s and blasting horn section
Horn section
In music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
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....
s of its instrumental arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
were an important evolutionary step in the development of funk music
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...
. In his book James Brown: The Godfather of Soul Brown wrote that
"Out of Sight" was another beginning, musically and professionally. My music - and most music - changed with "Papa's Got a Brand New BagPapa'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:...
", but it really started on "Out of Sight" ... You can hear the band and me start to move in a whole other direction rhythmically. The horns, the guitars, the vocals, everything was starting to be used to establish all kinds of rhythms at once... I was trying to get every aspect of the production to contribute to the rhythmic patterns.
"Out of Sight" was the third 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...
Brown recorded for Smash Records
Smash Records
Smash Records is an American record label. It was founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Mercury Records by Mercury executive Shelby Singleton and run by Singleton with Charlie Fach. Fach took over after Singleton left Mercury in 1966...
in the midst of a contract dispute with his main label, King
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...
. A significant pop hit, reaching #24 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, it was also the last song he would record for over a year, as the court's ruling in his dispute with King barred him from making vocal recordings for Smash.
"Out of Sight" was one of Brown's first recordings to feature the playing of 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...
. Its B-side, "Maybe the Last Time", was his last studio recording with The Famous Flames
The Famous Flames
The Famous Flames was an R&B vocal group founded by Bobby Byrd that recorded and performed with James Brown during the early years of his career...
. Besides its single release, "Out of Sight" appeared on a Smash album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
of the same name, which was quickly withdrawn from sale for legal reasons. The withdrawn album was re-released on King in 1968 with one track missing under the title James Brown Sings Out of Sight.
Personnel
- James Brown - lead vocal
with the James Brown Band:
- McKinley "Mack" Johnson - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Ron Tooley - trumpet
- Robert Knight - trumpet
- Joe Dupars - trumpet
- Wilmer Milton - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- Nat Jones - alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
- Eldee Williams - tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- St. Clair PinckneySt. Clair PinckneySt. Clair Pinckney was a saxophonist who performed with James Brown as a member of the James Brown Orchestra and The J.B.'s. He played tenor and baritone saxophone.-External links:*...
- tenor saxophone - Al "Brisco" Clark - tenor saxophone
- Maceo ParkerMaceo ParkerMaceo 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...
- baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece... - Lucas "Fats" Gonder or 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...
- organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with... - Les Buie - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Bernard OdumBernard OdumBernard Odum was an US bass guitar player best known for performing in James Brown's band in the 1960s.Odum started playing with Brown in 1956 and became a full-time member of Brown's band in 1958...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Melvin ParkerMelvin ParkerMelvin Parker is a drummer, brother of saxophonist Maceo Parker and was an important member of James Brown's band. Parker's drumming style was a major ingredient in James Brown's funk music innovations in the late 1960s...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Filmed performances
- Brown and his band perform "Out of Sight" in The T.A.M.I. ShowThe T.A.M.I. ShowT.A.M.I. Show is a 1964 concert film, released by American International Pictures. It includes performances by numerous popular rock and roll and R&B musicians from the United States and England...
with The Famous FlamesThe Famous FlamesThe Famous Flames was an R&B vocal group founded by Bobby Byrd that recorded and performed with James Brown during the early years of his career...
, who dance (but don't sing) at his side.
Cover versions
- Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
and ThemThem (band)Them were a Northern Irish band formed in Belfast in April 1964, most prominently known for the garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching singer Van Morrison's musical career...
coverCover versionIn 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...
ed "Out of Sight" on their 1966 album Them AgainThem AgainThem Again is the second album by the Northern Irish band, Them, whose lead singer and songwriter was Van Morrison. The album was released by Decca Records in the UK on January 21, 1966 but it failed to chart. In the U.S...
.