James Brown

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 honorific nicknames "the Hardest Working Man in Show Business", "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres. Brown was one of the first 10 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction in New York on January 23, 1986.

Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia. He first came to national public attention in the mid-1950s as the lead singer of the Famous Flames, a rhythm and blues vocal group founded by Bobby Byrd. With the hit ballads "Please, Please, Please" and "Try Me", Brown built a reputation as a dynamic live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with the live album Live at the Apollo and hit singles such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World".

During the late 1960s, Brown moved from a continuum of blues and gospel-based forms and styles to a profoundly "Africanized" approach to music-making, emphasizing stripped-down interlocking rhythms that influenced the development of funk music. By the early 1970s, Brown had fully established the funk sound after the formation of the J.B.s with records such as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and "The Payback". He also became noted for songs of social commentary, including the 1968 hit "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud". Brown continued to perform and record until his death from pneumonia in 2006.

Official Fan Site: James Brown

Woodstock Video Library

July 22, 1999 (Thursday) (pre-show)

West Stage
  • Frostbit Blue
  • K.J. James
  • Little Big Jam
  • Gridley Paige
  • Djoliba
  • Red Herring
  • Rattlebasket
  • In Bloom
  • Flipp
  • 3rd Bass
  • Vertical Horizon
  • West Stage
  • Strangefolk
  • G. Love & Special Sauce
  • The String Cheese Incident
  • Bernie Worrell and the Woo Warriors
  • George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars
  • AMP.com Emerging Artists Stage
  • Immoral Fibres
  • Simmi
  • Chris Glenn
  • Gary Durdin & The Clay Pinps
  • Johnny Rushmore


  • July 23, 1999 (Friday)

    East Stage
  • James Brown
  • G. Love & Special Sauce
  • Jamiroquai
  • Live
  • Sheryl Crow
  • DMX
  • The Off Spring
  • Korn
  • Bush


  • West Stage
  • Spitfire
  • Oleander
  • The Umbilical Brothers
  • moe.
  • Lit
  • Buckcherry
  • West Stage
  • The Roots
  • Insane Clown Posse
  • George Clinton

    Emerging Artists Stage
  • F.o.N.
  • Linda Rutherford & Celtic Fire
  • Animal Planet
  • Sugar Daddy
  • Sticky Pistil
  • Bijou Phillips
  • Mike Errico
  • King Konga
  • Ben Lee
  • Beth Hart Band
  • Liars Inc.
  • Chris McDermott
  • Moby


  • July 24, 1999 (Saturday)

    East Stage
  • The Tragically Hip
  • Kid Rock
  • Wyclef Jean
  • Counting Crows
  • Dave Matthews
  • Alanis Morissette
  • Limp Bizkit
  • Rage Against The Machine
  • Metallica


  • West Stage
  • Spitfire
  • Guster
  • Bruce Hornsby
  • Everclear
  • Ice Cube
  • Los Lobos
  • Mickey Hart/Planet Drum
  • The Chemical Brothers
  • Emerging Artists Stage
  • Young & Fabulous!
  • Gargantua Soul
  • Serial Joe
  • American Pearl
  • Full Devil Jacket
  • Old Pike
  • Strangefolk
  • DDT
  • Skinnee J's
  • Gigolo Aunts
  • Fatboy Slim


  • July 25, 1999 (Sunday)

    East Stage
  • Willie Nelson
  • The Brian Setzer Orchestra
  • Everlast
  • Elvis Costello
  • Jewel
  • Creed
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers


  • West Stage
  • Spitfire
  • Mike Ness
  • Our Lady Peace
  • Rusted Root
  • Sevendust
  • Collective Soul
  • Godsmack
  • Megadeth
  • Emerging Artists Stage
  • Kirsti Gholson
  • Moe Loughran
  • The Scoldees
  • The Supersuckers
  • Stormy Mondays
  • Big Sugar
  • Muse
  • John Oszajca
  • Pound
  • Pushmonkey
  • Cyclefly
  • Indigenous
  • John Entwistle
  • Reveille

  • Get your Merch!


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