"Lost Someone" is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

recorded by

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 ...

in 1961. It was written by Brown and Famous Flames members Bobby Byrd and

Baby Lloyd Stallworth Lloyd Eugene Stallworth (April 15, 1941 – October 27, 2002), also known as Baby Lloyd, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, choreographer and dancerPlease, Please, Please" before it, the song's lyrics combine a lament for lost love with a plea for forgiveness. The

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 ...

was a #2 R&B hit and reached #48 on the pop chart. According to Brown, "Lost Someone" is based on the

chord changes In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

of the

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

song "

It's Only Make Believe "It's Only Make Believe" is a song written by drummer Jack Nance and Mississippi-born singer Conway Twitty, while both were touring across Ontario, Canada in 1958. The song was recorded on May 7 for MGM Records; produced by Jim Vienneau, it fe ...

". Although Brown's vocal group, The Famous Flames did not actually sing on this tune, two of them , Bobby Byrd, and "Baby Lloyd " Stallworth , co-wrote it with Brown, and Byrd plays organ on the record, making it , in effect, a James Brown/Famous Flames recording.

Personnel

* James Brown – lead vocal ''with the James Brown Band:'' * Roscoe Patrick – trumpet * J.C. Davis – tenor saxophone * Bobby Byrd –

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

* Les Buie – guitar * Hubert Parry – bass guitar * Nat Kendrick – drums * Other instruments unknown

''Live at the Apollo'' version

A performance of "Lost Someone" is the centerpiece of Brown's 1963 album '' Live at the Apollo''. Nearly 11 minutes long and spanning two tracks on the original LP release (the end of Side 1 and the beginning of Side 2), it is widely regarded as the album's high point and as one of the greatest performances in its idiom on record. Critic Peter Guralnick wrote of the recording:

Here, in a single, multilayered track ... you have embodied the whole history of soul music, the teaching, the preaching, the endless assortment of gospel effects, above all the groove that was at the music's core. "Don't go to strangers," James pleads in his abrasively vulnerable fashion. "Come on home to me.... Gee whiz I love you.... I'm so weak...." Over and over he repeats the simple phrases, insists "I'll love you tomorrow" until the music is rocking with a steady pulse, until the music grabs you in the pit of the stomach and James knows he's got you. Then he works the audience as he works the song, teasing, tantalizing, drawing closer, dancing away, until finally at the end of Side I that voice breaks through the crowd noise and dissipates the tension as it calls out, "James, you're an asshole." "I believe someone out there loves someone," declares James with cruel disingenuousness. "Yeah, you," replies a girl's voice with unabashed fervor. "I feel so good I want to scream," says James, testing the limits yet again. "Scream!" cries a voice. And the record listener responds, too, we are drawn in by the same tricks, so transparent in the daylight but put across with the same unabashed fervor with which the girl in the audience offers up her love.

An edited version of the live performance was released as a single in 1966 and charted at #94 on the US Pop chart. Long, drawn-out performances of "Lost Someone" continued to be a feature of Brown's live shows until 1966, when "

It's a Man's Man's Man's World "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song written by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966, in a New York City studio and released it as a single later that year. It reached No. 1 on the '' Billboard'' R&B ...

" largely supplanted it in his concert repertoire. Brown would sometimes interpolate parts of "Lost Someone" into the newer song, as in the 1967 performance documented on ''

Live at the Apollo, Volume II ''Live at the Apollo, Volume II'' is a 1968 live double album by James Brown and The Famous Flames, recorded in 1967 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. It is a follow-up to Brown's 1963 recording, '' Live at the Apollo''. It is best known for the lo ...

''.

Personnel

* James Brown – lead vocal ''with the James Brown Band:'' * Lewis Hamlin – music director, principal trumpet * Roscoe Patrick – trumpet * Teddy Washington – trumpet * Dickie Wells – trombone * William "Po' Devil" Burgess – alto saxophone *

St. Clair Pinckney St. Clair Pinckney (September 17, 1930 – February 1, 1999) was an American saxophonist who performed with James Brown as a member of the James Brown Orchestra and The J.B.'s. He played tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing vo ...

– principal tenor saxophone * Al "Briscoe" Clark – tenor and baritone saxophones * Les Buie – guitar * Bobby Byrd –

* Hubert Parry – bass guitar * Clayton Fillyau – principal drums * Probably George Sims – drumsLeeds, Alan M. (2004). ''Live at the Apollo (1962) Expanded Edition''

D liner notes D, or d, is the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''dee'' (pronounced ), plural ''dees''. History The ...

London: Polydor Records.

Other versions

Brown made several other recordings of "Lost Someone", including: * A version with

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

for his 1963 album ''Prisoner of Love'' * A studio version similar to the 1962 Apollo performance on 1972's '' Get On The Good Foot'' * An uptempo version on 1974's ''

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

Covers

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

recorded a satirical

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the intro to "Lost Someone" for their 1984

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

George & James ''George & James'' is an album released by American art rock group the Residents in 1984, subtitled ''American Composer Series – Volume 1''. Side one of the album consists of George Gershwin covers, while side two is a studio rendition of Ja ...

''. *

Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a ...

recorded "Lost Someone" for her 2008 album '' Jukebox''.

References

{{authority control James Brown songs 1961 singles 1966 singles Songs written by James Brown Songs written by Bobby Byrd 1961 songs King Records (United States) albums