''Sex Machine'' is a

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

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 ...

. It showcases the playing of the original J.B.'s lineup featuring

Bootsy William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading na ...

and Catfish Collins, and includes an 11-minute rendition of the album's

title song A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

, different from the original recording of the title song which was released as a two-part single in 1970. ''Sex Machine'' purports to be a live recording. However, the first LP's worth of material consists of tracks recorded in studio settings with added reverberation and overdubbed applause (some of which subsequently were released in unadulterated mixes, most notably on the 1996 ''Funk Power'' compilation CD.). All but one track of the second LP apparently were recorded live in concert in Brown's hometown of

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Geor ...

, although this material, too, features added reverb and overdubbed applause. It charted #4 R&B and #29 Pop. ''Sex Machine'' is often considered to be one of the greatest and most important funk records of all time, and arguably the high point of Brown's creative heyday from 1967 to 1971. It was ranked 1st in SPIN magazine's 25 greatest albums of all time in 1989, and 96th in a 2005 survey held by British television's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. ''Sex Machine'' was also voted the 34th greatest album of all time in a VH1 poll of over 700 musicians, songwriters, disc jockeys, radio programmers, and critics in 2003. In ''Rolling Stones 2020 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, it was ranked number 439.

Track listing

All tracks on sides one and two are studio recordings with added reverberation and audience noise. All tracks on sides three and four recorded live at the Bell Auditorium in Augusta, GA unless otherwise noted. " Brother Rapp" and " Lowdown Popcorn" are the same studio performances initially released as singles. Audience-free studio versions of " Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine" and "

Give It Up or Turnit a Loose "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" is a funk song recorded by James Brown. Released as a single in 1969, the song was a #1 R&B hit and also made the top 20 pop singles chart. "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" appeared as an instrumental on the ''Ain't ...

" appear on the CD compilation '' Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang'', along with a previously unreleased take of "

There Was a Time "There Was a Time" is a song written and performed by James Brown. Release history "There Was a Time" was recorded in June 1967 during a live performance at the Apollo Theater in a medley with " Let Yourself Go" and "I Feel All Right", and was ...

" from the same session. "

Mother Popcorn "Mother Popcorn (You Got to Have a Mother for Me)" is a song recorded by James Brown and released as a two-part single in 1969. A #1 R&B and #11 Pop hit, it was the highest-charting of a series of recordings inspired by the popular dance the Pop ...

", which was indeed recorded live, appears without added audience noise and with a longer running time on the CD compilation '' Foundations of Funk: A Brand New Bag 1964-1969''. In addition, the album '' Motherlode'' includes a live rendition of " Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" purportedly from the same Augusta 1969 concert. Side one (studio recordings produced to sound in concert) #" Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine" (Brown,

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 ...

, Ron Lenhoff) – 10:48 #" Brother Rapp (Part I & Part II)" – (Brown) 5:09 Side two (studio recordings produced to sound in concert) #Medley: – 13:42 ##" Bewildered" (

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 ...

, Leonard Whitcup) – 6:09 ##"

I Got The Feelin' "I Got the Feelin'" is a funk song by James Brown. Released as a single in 1968, it reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and #6 on the pop chart. It also appeared on a 1968 album of the same name. The Jackson 5 auditioned for Motown founder Berry Gord ...

" (Brown) – 1:07 ##"

" (Charles Bobbit) – 6:26 Side three #" I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door I'll Get It Myself)" (Brown) – 4:31 #"

Licking Stick - Licking Stick Licking is the action of passing the tongue over a surface, typically either to deposit saliva onto the surface, or to collect liquid, food or minerals onto the tongue for ingestion, or to communicate with other animals. Many animals both gro ...

" (Brown, Byrd,

Pee Wee Ellis Alfred James Ellis (April 21, 1941 – September 23, 2021), known as Pee Wee Ellis due to his diminutive stature, was an American saxophonist, composer, and arranger. With a background in jazz, he was a member of James Brown's band in the 19 ...

) – 1:19 #" Lowdown Popcorn" (Brown) – 3:25 ''(studio recording)'' #"

Spinning Wheel A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinnin ...

" (

David Clayton-Thomas David Clayton-Thomas (born David Henry Thomsett, 13 September 1941) is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the American band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Clayton-Thomas has been inducte ...

) – 4:02 #"

If I Ruled the World "If I Ruled the World" is a popular song, composed by Leslie Bricusse and Cyril Ornadel, which was originally from the 1963 West End musical '' Pickwick'' (based on Charles Dickens's ''The Pickwick Papers''). Background In the context of the ...

" (

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' Do ...

Cyril Ornadel Cyril Ornadel (2 December 192422 June 2011) was a British conductor, songwriter and composer, chiefly in musical theatre. He worked regularly with David Croft, the television writer, director and producer, as well as Norman Newell and Hal Sha ...

) – 4:03 Side four #"

" (Brown, Bud Hobgood) – 4:04 #" It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (Brown, Betty Jean Newsome) – 3:42 #"

Please, Please, Please "Please, Please, Please" is a rhythm and blues song performed by James Brown and the Famous Flames. Written by Brown and Johnny Terry and released as a single on Federal Records in 1956, it reached No. 6 on the R&B charts. The group's debut r ...

" (Brown, Johnny Terry) – 2:26 #"

I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me) "I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)", also known as "I Can't Stand It", is a song written and recorded by James Brown in 1967. It is the most successful of the handful of recordings he made with The Dapps, a band of white musicians led by B ...

" (Brown) – 1:28 #"

" (Brown, Pee Wee Ellis) – 5:50

Personnel

Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine, ''Medley'' *

– vocals, piano (Sex Machine) *Clayton "Chicken" Gunnels – trumpet *Darryl "Hassan" Jamison – trumpet *Robert "Chopper" McCollough – tenor sax *

– organ, vocals (Sex Machine) *

Phelps "Catfish" Collins Phelps "Catfish" Collins (October 17, 1943 – August 6, 2010) was an American musician. A lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist, he is known mostly for his work in the P-Funk collective. Although frequently overshadowed by his younger brother, ...

– guitar *

William "Bootsy" Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading na ...

– 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 (Sex Machine) *

Clyde Stubblefield Clyde Austin Stubblefield (April 18, 1943 – February 18, 2017) was an American drummer best known for his work with James Brown. A self-taught musician, he was influenced by the sound of natural rhythms around him. His drum patterns on Brown's ...

– drums (Medley) *Johnny Griggs – congas (Medley) Bell Auditorium, Augusta, GA *

– vocals, organ (Spinning Wheel) *Richard "Kush" Griffith – trumpet *Joseph Davis – trumpet *

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

– trombone *

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 o ...

– tenor sax, organ, emcee *Eldee Williams – tenor sax *

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 is a ...

– tenor and baritone sax *

Jimmy Nolen Jimmy Nolen (April 3, 1934 – December 18, 1983)
- accessed November 13, 2011 was an American

– guitar *Alphonso "Country" Kellum – guitar *

Sweet Charles Sherrell "Sweet" Charles Sherrell (born Charles Emanuel Sherrell, March 8, 1943) is an American bassist known for recording and performing with James Brown. Biography Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Sherrell began his career playing drums with fellow ...

– bass *

– drums *

– drums *Melvin Parker – drums

References

External links

*
Sex Machine
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{Authority control James Brown albums James Brown live albums 1970 albums 1970 live albums King Records (United States) albums