"Bewildered" is a

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

written in 1936 by

Teddy Powell Teddy Powell (March 1, 1905 – November 17, 1993) was born in Oakland, California, United States, as Teodoro Paolella, and became a respected American jazz musician, band leader, composer, and arranger. Some of his compositions were written unde ...

and Leonard Whitcup. It was a 1938 hit for

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

and His Orchestra.

1948 recordings

The song was revived in the late 1940s when two different versions, by the Red Miller Trio and

Amos Milburn Joseph Amos Milburn (April 1, 1927 – January 3, 1980) was an American rhythm-and-blues singer and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in Houston, Texas, and died there 52 years later. One commentator noted, "Milburn exce ...

, reached number one on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in 1948 (neither of them made the pop chart). Both these versions departed significantly from the original published

melody A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...

and influenced later recordings.

James Brown and the Famous Flames version

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 hono ...

and the Famous Flames recorded "Bewildered" in 1959. Their

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

–tinged rendition was somewhat similar to the Amos Milburn version, with a strong triplet feeling and a heavily

melisma Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is refer ...

tic vocal line. It was first released as a track on Brown's 1960

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 c ...

'' Think!''. The following year it was issued as a single, which reached the R&B Top Ten and became Brown's second single (after " Think") to enter the pop Top 40 (US charts: number 8 R&B; number 40

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'' ( ...

). "Bewildered" became a staple of Brown's concerts for much of his career. It was featured in a

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music * Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People * Medley (surname), list of people with this n ...

on his breakthrough 1963 album '' Live at the Apollo'' and appeared on several of his later

live 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 c ...

s, including '' Revolution of the Mind: Recorded Live at the Apollo, Vol. III'' (1971) and '' Love, Power, Peace'' (1992). He also recorded new studio versions for the albums ''Prisoner of Love'' (1963) and ''

Sex Machine A sex machine is a mechanical device used to simulate human sexual intercourse or other sexual activity.Leung, Isaac (2009). The Cultural Production of Sex Machines and the Contemporary Technosexual Practices. In Grenzfurthner, J. et al., eds. ...

'' (1970).

Personnel

* James Brown – lead vocal ''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, piano * Bobby Bennett – vocals * Baby Lloyd Stallworth – vocals *

Johnny Terry Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Variant ...

– vocals * Willie Johnson – vocals ''with the James Brown Band:'' * George Dorsey – alto saxophone * J.C. Davis – tenor saxophone * Bobby Roach – 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 guitar * Nat Kendrick – drums

Other versions

"Bewildered" was subsequently recorded by several others, including R&B performers: *Also in 1938, it was also recorded by Mildred Bailey. *

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

and the

Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely a ...

, with Eckstine's version reaching number 4 on the R&B chart and number 27 on the

chart. *A decade later it was recorded by Mickey & Sylvia, again with an altered melody similar to that of the Red Miller Trio recording. *"Bewildered" was also covered in 1990 by the

Notting Hillbillies The Notting Hillbillies were a country rock project formed by British singer-songwriter Mark Knopfler in May 1986. The group consisted of Knopfler (guitar and vocals), Steve Phillips (guitar and vocals), Brendan Croker (guitar and vocals), Guy F ...

on their album '' Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time''.Wolk, Douglas. (2004). ''Live at the Apollo''. New York: Continuum Books. pp. 89–92.

References

{{authority control 1936 songs 1948 singles 1949 singles 1958 singles 1961 singles James Brown songs The Famous Flames songs Mickey & Sylvia songs Songs written by Teddy Powell Songs written by Leonard Whitcup King Records (United States) singles