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Q. Who created Go-Go music?
A. Chuck Brown, often called the “Godfather of Go Go,” is the undisputed sole founder and creator
Go-Go music, a hypnotically danceable genre deeply rooted in funk and soul that
he developed in the early 70’s , and the only form of expressive
culture to originate in the District of Columbia. Foreshadowing rap
and many of the major popular R&B styles of the past three decades, Chuck's
signature style earned him a place in American musical royalty. This
esteem was maintained by the reputation of his legendary live shows, heavy on
audience participation and built around “the beat” to create an unparalleled
non-stop party atmosphere.
In the 1960s while searching for a sound to call his own, Chuck was deeply
inspired by artists like James Brown. He latched onto the Latin percussion
groove from the band he played with at the time, Los Latinos. Combining
this with his roots, his love of blues, jazz, gospel, soul, and African
rhythms, Chuck began to develop his own unique sound. Starting out
playing top forty, Brown would break-it-down between songs with percussion and
audience call and response, and keep the music going, and the dance floor
packed.
His first hit was “We the People” on the debut album of the same name in
1972. Next came the album Salt
of the Earth, with the hit “Blow Your Whistle” (sampled by Grammy
winner Eve in 2007 in her hit “Tambourine”), and one of the most sampled break
beats of ALL time from “Ashley’s Roach Clip” (including Eric B and Rakim,
LL Cool J and countless others). In 1978, the Soul Searchers
became Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, and Chuck’s original composition
“Bustin’ Loose” took the #1 spot in Billboard, on Source/MCA Records. The
song was used in Grammy winner Nelly’s 2002 smash “Hot in Herre,” and continues
to be one of the most relevant and often sampled funk songs ever written
(“Bustin’ Loose” is currently featured in a national television campaign for
Chips Ahoy).
After substantial touring across the US, but no money to show for his
success, Chuck found himself looking for inspiration. He found it in his
next hit, the Billboard charting “We Need Some Money,” which propelled him
around the world again. Brown then revisited his love of jazz and created
the “Go Go Swing Medley,” introducing people around the world to classics by
Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, and James Moody, spun in Chuck’s inimitable
way. Released independently and later on Polygram Records, Chuck Brown
and the Soul Searchers once again reached an international audience through a
1985 at Holland’s
North Seas Jazz Festival. In between sets by Curtis Mayfield and James
Brown, Chuck schooled everyone on the genre he created. That same year,
Chris Blackwell introduced the movie “Good to Go,” a much hyped but poor
reflection of the scene. Nonetheless other artists, such as Salt N Pepa,
Kurtis Blow, and Grace Jones, began incorporating his sound in their music.
Brown continued to record, perform in the US,
with stints in Europe and Japan
in the nineties.
After a string of live recordings, he met at the time an undiscovered, shy
talent by the name of Eva Cassidy in the early nineties. His lifelong
dream of singing with a lady, springing from his love of duets by the likes of
Louis Armstrong with Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Eckstine with Sarah Vaughan,
came to fruition with the critically acclaimed and worldwide release of “The
Other Side” by Chuck Brown and Eva Cassidy (which contained the original
recording of the worldwide Eva Cassidy hit “Over the Rainbow”). He
dedicated a jazz standards album to Ms. Cassidy after her tragic loss to
cancer.
In 2001, he released the Billboard charting “Your Game... Live at the 9:30
Club” which was voted as one of the top 10 albums of 2001 by Billboard’s
R&B Editor, Rapper Chuck D and others. A live DVD came next, called
“quite possibly the greatest live concert video/DVD I have ever seen” by Murder
Dog Magazine. The same year a double re-mastered “Best Of” album was
released. In 2006 the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Chuck a
“Lifetime Heritage Fellowship,” the Federal Government’s highest honor for folk
and traditional arts, and Chuck also performed at the Rock And Roll Hall of
Fame in 2006. The following year his “We’re About the Business” CD debuted as
the #1 independent album and #2 R&B album in Billboard. The
National Visionary Leadership Project recognized Chuck’s contributions in
shaping American history in 2007, joining previous honorees such as Ray
Charles, Quincy Jones, BB King, and Earth Kitt.
Most recently Chuck has recorded with artists as diverse as Thievery
Corporation, Brian Culbertson and Jeff Majors. A street in Washington DC
was recently renamed “Chuck Brown
Way.” His most ambitious
recording, a three disc set “WE GOT THIS” was released on September 21,
2010. It contains a live concert DVD shot in HD, a live concert audio CD
and a CD of bonus new studio material including collaborations with Ledisi,
Marcus Miller and Jill Scott. At 74 years of age, Chuck Brown
remains not only culturally and musically relevant, but a tireless and constant
tour de force in American music.
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