"Soul Power" is a song 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 ...

. Brown recorded it with the original

J.B.'s The J.B.'s (sometimes punctuated The JB's or The J.B.s) was the name of James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs, The James Brown Soul T ...

(plus Fred Wesley) and it was released as a three-part

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 ...

in 1971. Like " Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and other hits from this period it features backing vocals by Bobby Byrd. It charted #3 R&B and #29

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

. Part 1 of "Soul Power" appeared on the 1972 album ''Soul Classics''. Live versions of the song were included on ''

Revolution of the Mind ''Revolution of the Mind: Live at the Apollo, Volume III'' is a live double album by James Brown released in 1971. As its subtitle suggests, it is Brown's third album recorded at the Apollo Theater, following the original '' Live at the Apollo'' (1 ...

'' (1971) and ''

Love Power Peace ''Love, Power, Peace: Live at the Olympia, Paris, 1971'' is a live album by James Brown. It is the only recording that documents one of his live performances with the original J.B.'s lineup featuring Bootsy and Catfish Collins. (The group's c ...

'' (1992; recorded 1971), but no longer version of the original studio recording received an album release until an eight-minute

re-edit In popular music, a re-edit is an altered version of a recorded song created by repeating, reordering, or removing sections of the original recording - for example, making a chorus repeat several times in a row, or extending the length of a break ...

was issued on the 1986

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

'' In the Jungle Groove''. The complete studio recording, over 12 minutes long, appeared for the first time on the 1996 CD compilation '' Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang''.

Personnel

* James Brown - lead vocal ;with The J.B.'s * Bobby Byrd - organ, vocals * Darryl "Hasaan" Jamison - trumpet * Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells - trumpet * Fred Wesley - trombone *

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 ...

- tenor saxophone * Phelps "Catfish" Collins - guitar * Bobby Roach - guitar * William "Bootsy" Collins - 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 * Johnny Griggs - congas

Soul Power 74

In 1974, Brown created an instrumental version of "Soul Power" by having Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley overdub new horn parts onto the rhythm track of the original recording. Sound engineer Bob Both added sound effects at several points to conceal where the original horn track had bled through into the rhythm parts. Titled "Soul Power 74" and credited to "Maceo and the Macks", the new version was released as a two-part single on People Records and charted #20 R&B and #109 Bubbling Under Pop. It also appeared on the album ''Us!''.

Cover versions and sampling

* Alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins covered "Soul Power" on their 2000 album '' Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music''. * Rapper

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...

performed it on his 2007 tribute album ''Tribb to JB''. * Soul band Tower of Power has performed "Soul Power" as an extended ending/jam to their popular hit "What Is Hip?". Both the "Soul Power" and "Soul Power 74" have been extensively sampled in hip hop music and other genres. "Soul Power 74" was sampled on Redman's "Rated R", MC Breed and

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

's "

Gotta Get Mine "Gotta Get Mine" is a song performed by American rappers MC Breed and Tupac Shakur. It was released on June 3, 1993, through Wrap Records with distribution via Ichiban Records, as a lead single from MC Breed's second solo studio album '' The New ...

", Spoonie Gee's "The Godfather",

Black Machine Black Machine is an Italian electronic music group, most active throughout the 1990s. They are best known for the singles " How Gee", "Funky Funky People" and "Jazz Machine", all of which charted in several countries across Europe. In 1992, "How ...

's "

How Gee How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...

" and

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** Fiel ...

's "Ride" (later re-made by

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

as " Get Right"), among many others.

Appearances in other media

"Soul Power 74" is featured in the video game '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' on the radio station

Master Sounds 98.3 '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' is an open-world, action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. First released on 16 October 2004 for the PlayStation 2, ''San Andreas'' has an in-game radio that can tu ...

References

External links

Song Review 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 repetition ...

at AllMusic
List of songs that sample "Soul Power"
{{Authority control Songs about soul James Brown songs Songs written by James Brown The J.B.'s songs 1971 singles 1974 singles King Records (United States) singles 1971 songs