"Maybe the Last Time" is a song written 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 ...

(under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Ted Wright) and recorded by Brown and

the Famous Flames The Famous Flames were an American Rhythm and blues, Soul vocal group founded in Toccoa, Georgia, in 1953 by Bobby Byrd. James Brown first began his career as a member of the Famous Flames, emerging as the lead singer by the time of their first ...

in 1964. It was released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of "

Out of Sight ''Out of Sight'' is a 1998 American crime comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Frank, adapted from Elmore Leonard's 1996 novel of the same name. The first of several collaborations between Soderbergh and actor George C ...

" and was also included on the ''Out of Sight'' album. Brown described it as "a heavy

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

-based number, all about appreciating friends and everything while you can because each time you see somebody may be the last time, you don't know." It was the last studio recording Brown made with the Famous Flames, although the singing group continued to perform live with him for several more years. "Maybe the Last Time" did

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

, on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100, peaking at No. 7 the week of October 17, 1964. It became a frequent part of Brown and the Famous Flames' concert repertoire in the 1960s. Live performances appear on the albums ''

Live at the Garden ''Live at the Garden'' is the fourth DVD release by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, recorded on July 8, 2003 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was released on November 11, 2003. Overview The DVD documents Pearl Jam 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 th ...

'', and '' Say It Live and Loud: Live in Dallas 08.26.68'', and in the concert film '' Live at the Boston Garden''. The song has gospel antecedents, particularly an earlier recording by the Staple Singers, and similarity to a later track by the Rolling Stones called “The Last Time”, which borrowed its name and theme from the Brown/Famous Flames song

Personnel

* James Brown - lead vocal, piano ''and The Famous Flames:'' *

Bobby Byrd Bobby Howard Byrd (August 15, 1934 – September 12, 2007) was an American rhythm and blues, soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, bandleader and talent scout, who played an integral and important part in the development ...

- vocals * Bobby Bennett - vocals * "Baby Lloyd" Stallworth - vocals ''with the James Brown Band:'' * Mack Johnson - trumpet * Ron Tooley - trumpet * Joe Dupars - trumpet * Robert Knight - trumpet * Les Buie - guitar *

Bernard Odum Bernard Odum (June 10, 1932 – August 17, 2004), born Bertrand Odom, was an American bass guitar player best known for performing in James Brown's band in the 1960s. Biography Odum started playing with Brown in 1956 and became a full-time ...

- bass * Melvin Parker - drumsLeeds, Alan, and Harry Weinger (1991).

References

James Brown songs Songs written by James Brown The Famous Flames songs 1964 singles 1964 songs Smash Records singles {{1960s-R&B-song-stub