"James Brown Is Dead" is a song by Dutch electronic dance music duo

L.A. Style L.A. Style was a Dutch electronic dance music group, consisting of founder, producer and radio DJ Wessel van Diepen (who later also created Nakatomi and the successful Vengaboys), composer Denzil Slemming (a.k.a. Michiel Van Der Kuy of Laser ...

, produced by

Wessel van Diepen Wessel Dietrich van Diepen (born 12 November 1966) is a Dutch radio host, music producer, voice actor and former TV presenter. Under the pseudonym DJ Delmundo, he is part of Danski & Delmundo, the production duo behind internationally famous act ...

and Denzil Slemming. It was released in August 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, ''

'' (1993). The song was a major hit across Europe, reaching number-one in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. Additionally, it also reached the top 10 in Australia, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. In the US, it peaked at number 59 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

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 ...

. The song inspired multiple answer songs and is considered a "

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

classic" with artists like

DJ Irene DJ Irene (born Irene M. Gutiérrez) is an American electronic dance music DJ and producer. Discography Albums *'' Hard House Diva'' (1998) *'' Global House Diva'' (2001) *'' Audio Underground'' (2002) *'' Global House Diva 2'' (2002) *'' Ph ...

mixing it into their sets and DJ Boozy Woozy who used samples of

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

's "Family Affair" with the main sample of "James Brown Is Dead" to create his song "Party Affair" (2002). In 2001,

and

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

released "James Brown Is Dead 2001", a new version of the L.A. Style original.

Critical reception

Andy Kastanas from ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

'' wrote, "This is high energy

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

at its frantic beat. Racing forward like a

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

, it never slows down until you're exhausted. The voice tells you that "James Brown is dead" while the beat rocks your body from here to eternity."

Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As critic and music editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles appeared in publications around the wor ...

from ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' commented in his year-end review of 1992, "A good starting point because this record’s self-conscious, yet unapologetic celebration of dance-floor minimalism helped give the movement credibility and direction. Released in 1991, but it enjoyed its greatest success this year."

Track listing

* Europe, CD single (1991) # "James Brown Is Dead" (Radio Edit) - 3:32 # "James Brown Is Dead" - 5:38 # "James Brown Is Dead" - 5:09 * US, CD single (1992) # "James Brown Is Dead (7" Version of Original Mix (Without Rap))" 3:06 # "James Brown Is Dead (7" Version of Original Mix (With Rap))" - 3:30 # "James Brown Is Dead (Rock Radio Mix)(Vocals – Chris Randall of Sister Machine Gun)" - 3:20 # "James Brown Is Dead (Crossover Radio Mix)" - 3:57 # "James Brown Is Dead (Original Mix (Without Rap))" - 5:38 # "James Brown Is Dead (Original Mix (With Rap))" - 6:04 # "James Brown Is Dead (Deadly Remix)" - 5:26 # "James Brown Is Dead (Wide Awake Remix)" _ 5:21 # "James Brown Is Dead (Take Outs)" - 0:55

Charts

Answer songs

*In the wake of "James Brown Is Dead" the song "James Brown Is Still Alive" was released that same year by

Holy Noise Holy Noise was an electronic dance music group from the early 1990s best known for the 1991 song " James Brown is Still Alive". Its membership consisted of Paul Elstak, Rob Fabrie, Elidio Gomes, Richard van Naamen, all of whom were from Rotterdam, ...

, a techno group also from the Netherlands. Although the first song's lyrics do actually assert that

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 ...

, "the hardest working man in showbiz is alive", the Holy Noise song is regarded as an

answer Answer commonly refers to response to a question. Answer may also refer to: * Answer (law), any reply to a question, counter-statement or defense in a legal procedure Music * Answer, an element of a fugue Albums * ''Answer'' (Angela Aki alb ...

to the L.A. Style song. *In 1992, Mexican comedian Memo Ríos recorded a Spanish parody called "Pedro Infante murió" ("''Pedro Infante Is Dead''") referring to the Mexican film actor.

In popular culture

Professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

Yoji Anjo (born March 28, 1967) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Professional wrestling career Universal Wrestling Federation and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1985–1988) A former practitioner of judo, sumo and muay th ...

has used the song as his entrance music in

UWF International Union of Professional Wrestling Force International, better known as UWF International, U-Inter, or simply UWFi, was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1991 to 1996. The UWF international was the successor to the ''Newbo ...

References

{{authority control 1991 songs 1991 debut singles Cultural depictions of James Brown Songs about musicians Songs about soul Songs about death Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in Spain Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Techno songs Eurodance songs ZYX Music singles Arista Records singles