"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" is a song written and recorded by

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

. Released as a two-part single in 1965, it was Brown's first song to reach the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top Ten, peaking at number eight, and was a number-one R&B hit, topping the charts for eight weeks. It won Brown his first

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

, for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording. Consolidating the rhythmic innovations of earlier James Brown recordings such as " I've Got Money" and "

Out of Sight ''Out of Sight'' is a 1998 American action comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Frank, adapted from Elmore Leonard's 1996 novel. The first of several collaborations between Soderbergh and actor George Clooney, it was ...

", "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" is considered seminal in the emergence of

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 ...

music as a distinct style. As Brown sings the praises of an old man brave enough to get out on the dance floor of a

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

("brand new bag" meaning new interest, taste, or way of doing something), his band provides a horn-heavy backdrop with a prominent rhythm and an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

riff for a hook. Both singer and musicians place overwhelming emphasis on the first beat of each measure ("on the One"). The song is Brown's first recording to feature Jimmy Nolen on guitar. The taped recording of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" was edited and sped up for its single release, increasing the

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

and raising the pitch by a half step. In 1991, the recording was released in unedited form at its original speed on the

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

'' Star Time''. The track includes lead-in studio chatter, with Brown throatily (and presciently) shouting "This is a hit!" just before the drum and horn intro.

Legacy

In 2004, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" was ranked number 72 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's list of

the 500 greatest songs of all time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

. (In 2010, the magazine updated its list, and the song was moved up a rank to number 71.) In 1999, the 1965 recording of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (Part 1)" by

on King Records was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

Other recordings

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

version of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" was released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of Brown's 1965 single from Smash called " Try Me". He also recorded a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

jazz arrangement of the song with

Louie Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paolino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer ...

's Orchestra for his 1970 album '' Soul on Top''. Live performances of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" appear on the albums '' Hot on the One'', '' Live in New York'', '' Soul Session Live'', '' Live at the Apollo 1995'', and the 2009 Expanded Edition of '' Live at the Garden''. It is also featured in medleys on '' Love Power Peace'' and '' Say It Live and Loud''.

Cover versions

* In 1965,

The Fabulous Echoes ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

covered the song on their album ''Lovin' Feeling''. * In 1965,

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

played the song participating in the European tour American Folk Blues Festival. The song is not on the record but in the movie that was made of the tour. *In 1965,

The McCoys The McCoys were a rock music, rock group formed in Fort Recovery, Ohio, United States, in 1962. They are best known for their 1965 hit single "Hang On Sloopy". Originally named Rick and the Raiders, they changed their name to "The McCoys" from ...

released a version of the song on their debut album, '' Hang on Sloopy''. * In 1968,

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the com ...

released a single by

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

, from the posthumously released LP '' In Person at the Whisky a Go Go''. * In 1968, The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band released a version of the song on their album, ''Together''. * In 1971, Fadoul, a Moroccan musician, covered the song in Arabic. *In 1974,

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 vid ...

recorded a German version of the song for their Third Reich N Roll album. * In 1987,

Roger Troutman Roger Lynch Troutman Jr. (November 29, 1951 – April 25, 1999), also known simply as Roger, was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and infl ...

covered the song on his album '' Unlimited!''. * In 1995, Jimmy Smith recorded an instrumental version on his album ''Damn!'' * In 1999, The Sugarman 3 covered the song on Sugar's Boogaloo. * In 2006, Bebi Dol covered the song on her album ''Čovek rado izvan sebe živi''. * In 2007, Ubisoft remake this song for the game '' Rayman Raving Rabbids 2'' covered by Franck Chapelat. * In 2018, fourteen year-old Courtney Hadwin covered the song in a broadcast performance on NBC's primetime TV show ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

''.

Personnel

* James Brown – lead vocals ''with the James Brown Band:'' * Joe Dupars – trumpet * Ron Tooley – trumpet * Levi Rasbury – trombone * Wilmer Milton – trombone * Nat Jones – alto saxophone, organ *

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 ...

– tenor and baritone saxophones *

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 and baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (so ...

– tenor saxophone * Eldee Williams – tenor saxophone * Al "Brisco" Clark – tenor saxophone * Jimmy Nolen – guitar * Sam Thomas or Bernard Odum – bass *

Melvin Parker Melvin Parker (June 7, 1944 – December 3, 2021) was an American drummer. He and his brother, saxophonist Maceo Parker, were key members of James Brown (musician), James Brown's band. Life and career Parker was born in Kinston, North Carolina on ...

– drums

References and uses in popular culture

Pigbag's 1981 single " Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" is an instrumental version of Brown's original. "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse", an episode of '' The Fresh Prince of Bel Air'', was named for the song. The song's title was also referenced by ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' episode " Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge". The 2013 musical '' Kinky Boots'' contains the line "Papa's got a brand new shoe" in the song "Everybody Say Yeah" (music and lyrics by

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

). Towards the end of one of the mixes of

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

's 1994 song " Give It Up",

Flavor Flav William Jonathan Drayton Jr. (born March 16, 1959), known by his stage name Flavor Flav ( ), is an American rapper and television personality. Known for his catchphrase "Yeah, boyeeeeee!" when performing, he is a founding member alongside Chuck ...

is heard to say "Papa's got a brand new bag." The same line is also heard in the rap part of Color Me Badd's 1991 single "Color Me Badd" and

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American Rapping, rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influe ...

's 1989 song "Warm It Up, Kane". In 1990, the song was featured in an episode of ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl X ...

'' (season 3, episode 15), "The Tree House". Later it was featured in the 1993 film '' Mrs. Doubtfire''. A remix of the song was played in the official Season 6 trailer of '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)''.Archived a
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and th
Wayback Machine

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

's song " Just Lose It" features the lyric "Papa's got a brand new bag of toys".

References

External links

AllMusic review
{{Authority control 1965 songs 1965 singles Songs written by James Brown James Brown songs The McCoys songs Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients King Records (United States) singles 1965 quotations Quotations from music