Soul Power
Encyclopedia
- Soul Power is also the name of a documentary filmSoul Power (film)Soul Power is a 2008 documentary film directed by Jeff Levy-Hinte about the Zaire 74 music festival which accompanied the Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight boxing championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in October 1974....
, a fictional fighting style used by Street Fighter character Rose, and a super hero from the cartoon Static ShockStatic ShockStatic Shock is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered in September 2000 on the Kids' WB! block and ran for four seasons, with a total of 52 half-hour episodes....
(see Soul Power and Sparky).
"Soul Power" is a song 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...
. Recorded in 1971 with the original J.B.'s (plus Fred Wesley
Fred Wesley
Fred Wesley is an American jazz and funk trombonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
) and released as a three-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...
, it was a Top Ten R&B hit. The song also appeared on the 1972 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...
Soul Classics. Like "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine
Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine
"Get Up Sex Machine" is a funk song recorded by James Brown in 1970 and released as a two-part single on King Records....
" and other hits from this period it features backing vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
by 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...
, the original leader and founder of Brown's singing group, 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...
.
Personnel
- James Brown - lead vocal
with The J.B.'s:
- 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, vocals - Darryl "Hasaan" Jamison - trumpet
- Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells - trumpet
- Fred Wesley - trombone
- 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 - Phelps "Catfish" Collins - guitar
- Bobby Roach - guitar
- William "Bootsy" Collins - bass
- John "Jabo" Starks - drums
- Johnny Griggs - congas
Other versions
Brown performs "Soul Power" on the live albumLive album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
s Revolution of the Mind: Recorded Live at the Apollo, Vol. III (1971) and Love Power Peace (1992; recorded 1971).
An 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....
version of "Soul Power" was created in 1974 by adding new overdubbed
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
horn parts by 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...
and Fred Wesley to the rhythm track of the original recording. Sound engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
Bob Both added random sound effect
Sound effect
For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
s at several points to conceal where the horn
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...
track from the original recording had bled through into the rhythm parts. Titled "Soul Power '74" and credited to "Maceo & the Macks", the new version was released as a single on People Records and reached #20 on the R&B charts. It also appeared on the album Us!. This version is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
on the radio station Master Sounds 98.3.
A re-edit
Re-edit
In popular music, a re-edit is an altered version of a recorded song created by repeating, reordering, or removing sections of the original recording - for example, making a chorus repeat several times in a row, or extending the length of a break section. Like remixes, re-edits are especially...
of "Soul Power" was included on the 1986 compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
In the Jungle Groove
In the Jungle Groove
In the Jungle Groove is a compilation album by American funk and soul musician James Brown, released in August 1986 on Polydor Records in the United States...
.
Both the original recording of "Soul Power" and "Soul Power '74" have been extensively sampled by hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s. "Soul Power '74" was also sampled on Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
's 2005 song "Get Right
Get Right
"Get Right" is a song recorded by American recording artist and actress Jennifer Lopez, taken from her fourth studio album, Rebirth...
".
"Soul Power" was cover
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...
ed by the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
on their 2000 album Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music
MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music
Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music is the sixth album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was released for free on the Internet on September 5, 2000...
.
External links
- [ Song Review] at Allmusic
- List of songs that sample "Soul Power"