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.
Brown recorded 17 singles that reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts. He also holds the record for the most singles listed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that did not reach No. 1. Brown was posthumously inducted into the first class of the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013 as an artist and then in 2017 as a songwriter. He also received honors from several other institutions, including inductions into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In Joel Whitburn's analysis of the Billboard R&B charts from 1942 to 2010, Brown is ranked No. 1 in The Top 500 Artists. He is ranked seventh on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown
Studio albums
Please Please Please (1958)
Try Me! (1959)
Think! (1960)
The Amazing James Brown (1961)
James Brown and His Famous Flames Tour the U.S.A. (1962)
Prisoner of Love (1963)
Grits & Soul (1964)
Showtime (1964)
Out of Sight (1964)
James Brown Plays James Brown Today & Yesterday (1965)
Mighty Instrumentals (1966)
James Brown Plays New Breed (The Boo-Ga-Loo) (1966)
James Brown Sings Christmas Songs (1966)
Handful of Soul (1966)
James Brown Sings Raw Soul (1967)
James Brown Plays the Real Thing (1967)
Cold Sweat (1967)
I Can't Stand Myself When You Touch Me (1968)
I Got the Feelin' (1968)
James Brown Plays Nothing But Soul (1968)
Thinking About Little Willie John and a Few Nice Things (1968)
A Soulful Christmas (1968)
Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud (1969)
Gettin' Down to It (1969)
The Popcorn (1969)
It's a Mother (1969)
Ain't It Funky (1970)
Soul on Top (1970)
It's a New Day - Let a Man Come In (1970)
Hey America (1970)
Sho Is Funky Down Here (1971)
Hot Pants (1971)
There It Is (1972)
Get on the Good Foot (1972)
Black Caesar (1973)
Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973)
The Payback (1973)
Hell (1974)
Reality (1974)
Sex Machine Today (1975)
Everybody's Doin' the Hustle & Dead on the Double Bump (1975)
Hot (1976)
Get Up Offa That Thing (1976)
Bodyheat (1976)
Mutha's Nature (1977)
Jam 1980's (1978)
Take a Look at Those Cakes (1978)
The Original Disco Man (1979)
People (1980)
Soul Syndrome (1980)
Nonstop! (1981)
Bring It On! (1983)
Gravity (1986)
I'm Real (1988)
Love Over-Due (1991)
Universal James (1993)
I'm Back (1998)
The Merry Christmas Album (1999)
The Next Step (2002)
All The Way
James Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's no good unless they love you all the way
Happy to be near you
Oh, when someone cheer you all the way
Taller than the tallest tree
That's how it's got to feel
Deeper than the deep blue sea
When somebody needs you
It's no good unless they need you all the way
Through the good years or the lean years
And all the in between years, come what may
Who knows where the road will lead us, baby
Only a fool would say
But if you'll let me love you
It's for sure I'm gonna love you all the way, all, all the way
Deeper than the deep blue sea
That's how deep it goes if it's real
When somebody needs you
It's no good unless they need you all the way
All, all, all the way, all the way, all the way
The song "All The Way" by James Brown & Dee Felice Trio talks about the importance of complete and unconditional love in a relationship. The lyrics suggest that merely loving someone partially or under certain conditions is not enough. According to the song, real love needs to be all-encompassing and unyielding, something that extends through the good times and bad. The opening verse highlights the necessity of loving someone "all the way," right from being happy to near them and to the extent of liking everything about them. The lyrics then suggest that true love needs to be as tall as the tallest tree and run deeper than the deep blue sea.
The second verse talks about the significance of someone needing us in the same way we need them. The lyrics imply that true love cannot exist unless both partners are entirely dedicated and invested in each other. The line "come what may" stresses the importance of staying together through all kinds of challenges and circumstances. The chorus repeats the idea that true love runs all the way, urging the loved one to trust in the promise of the relationship, ultimately leading to a fulfilling experience for both partners.
One interesting fact about the song is that it was not composed by James Brown, but Suze Rotolo and Phil Spector as a demo for Frank Sinatra. Another interesting thing about "All The Way" is that James Brown recorded the song twice, once in 1967 and again in 1988, and both versions have different lyrical and musical arrangements. The original 1967 version includes clear influences from Brown's signature funk sound, while the 1988 version is more of a classic big band style. The song has also been covered by several other artists over the years, including Celine Dion and Michael Bublé, among others.
Line by Line Meaning
When somebody loves you
If someone loves you
It's no good unless they love you all the way
It is not enough if someone loves you partially or halfway, it has to be an all-encompassing love
Happy to be near you
Being close to you brings happiness
Oh, when someone cheer you all the way
It's even more fulfilling when someone supports and cheers you on wholeheartedly
Taller than the tallest tree
The feeling of love should be so boundless and immense that it feels like it surpasses even the tallest of trees
That's how it's got to feel
This is the level of love that is required
Deeper than the deep blue sea
The love should be so deep that it feels like it extends beyond the depths of the ocean
That's how deep it goes if it's real
This is the measure of true love
When somebody needs you
If someone truly needs you
It's no good unless they need you all the way
It is not enough if someone needs you partially or halfway, it has to be an all-encompassing need
Through the good years or the lean years
Through the good times and the tough times
And all the in between years, come what may
And all the years in between, no matter what happens
Who knows where the road will lead us, baby
The future is uncertain and unpredictable
Only a fool would say
Only a foolish person would confidently predict the future
But if you'll let me love you
If you allow me to love you
It's for sure I'm gonna love you all the way, all, all the way
I will undoubtedly love you with all-encompassing, boundless love if you let me
All, all, all the way, all the way, all the way
Again emphasizing the importance of complete and wholehearted love
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GENE (USA 2) SIMMONS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind