"Doing It to Death", also known as "Gonna Have a Funky Good Time", is a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

song recorded by The J.B.'s featuring

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

. A 10-minute, two-part version of "Doing It to Death" was included on a J.B.'s album of the same name. The complete, unedited and nearly 13-minute-long original recording of the song was first issued on the 1995 J.B.'s

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

''Funky Good Time: The Anthology''. Performances of the song also appear on the albums ''

Live at Chastain Park ''Live at Chastain Park'' is a live album recorded by James Brown in 1985 at Chastain Park, the titular city park in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally released in the UK and Europe in 1988 by Charly Records, it has been reissued numerous times on budget ...

'' and ''

Live at the Apollo 1995 ''Live at the Apollo 1995'' is a live album by James Brown. It was the fourth and final album he recorded at Harlem's Apollo Theater. Contrary to the title, it was recorded in 1994,Bodley, Ivan (1995). ''Live at the Apollo 1995'' D liner notes ...

''.

Background

Although the song has a lead vocal by Brown (who also wrote the tune and the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

), the recording is credited to "

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

& The J.B.'s". It was the first J.B.'s recording to feature

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of B ...

, who had returned to work with Brown again after attempting a career as a bandleader. "Doing It to Death" contains an uncommon

key change In music, modulation is the change from one tonality ( tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature (a key change). Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as ...

in which Brown tells the band to modulate downward from F to D ("In order for me to get down, I have to get down in D"). Composers who place key changes in tunes typically have them modulate upwards. Unusually for a James Brown song, the actual words "doing it to death" appear nowhere in the song's lyrics, which feature the

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

"we're gonna have a funky good time." The title came from a figure of speech Brown heard Wesley use.

Personnel

* James Brown - lead vocal ''with Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s:'' *

- trombone * Darryl "Hasaan" Jamison - trumpet * Jerone "Jasaan" Sanford - trumpet * Ike Oakley - trumpet *

- alto saxophone and flute * St. Clair Pinckney - tenor saxophone * Eldee Williams - tenor saxophone *

Jimmy Nolen Jimmy Nolen (April 3, 1934 – December 18, 1983)
- accessed November 13, 2011 was an American

- guitar * Hearlon "Cheese" Martin - guitar * Fred Thomas - bass *

John "Jabo" Starks John Henry "Jabo" Starks (; October 26, 1937Sources vary as to his year of birth. According to his obituary, published by Mobile Register, Starks was born on October 26, 1937; The New York Times gives 1938 – May 1, 2018), sometimes spelled Jab' ...

- drums

Chart performance

"Doing It to Death" was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

and peaked at number one on the soul singles chart and number twenty-two on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

References

James Brown songs The J.B.'s songs Songs written by James Brown 1973 singles 1973 songs {{1970s-R&B-song-stub