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)
Night Train
James Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I know where I'm gonna find them
All aboard
All aboard
All aboard for night train
Miami, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
Miami, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
Raleigh, North Carolina
Washington D.C.
Oh, and Richmond, Virginia too
Baltimore, Maryland
Philadelphia
New York City
Take it home
And don't forget New Orleans
The home of the blues
Oh, yeah, night train
All aboard to New York City
Are you ready for the night train
Are you ready for the night train
I believe in something I did not know, I'm coming home now
Atlanta, Georgia
Raleigh, North Carolina
Washington D.C.
Oh, and Richmond, Virginia too
Baltimore, Maryland
Philadelphia
New York City
Take me home, Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts
And don't forget New Orleans
The home of the blues
James Brown's Night Train is an iconic song that has been referenced countless times in popular culture. The lyrics depict a journey on a train from Miami, Florida, through various cities, including Atlanta, Georgia, Raleigh, North Carolina, Washington D.C., Richmond, Virginia, Baltimore, Maryland, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Massachusetts, and finally to New Orleans, the home of the blues. The lyrics also indicate that the singer has lost someone and is hoping to find them on this journey.
The song's title, Night Train, is an allusion to the railroad system that was used to transport African Americans out of the South during the Great Migration. The train symbolizes freedom, hope, and possibility, as many people took it to escape from the racial violence and poverty of the Jim Crow South. The lyrics of Night Train reflect this history by listing cities on the Eastern seaboard that were major hubs for black migration and cultural production during the mid-20th century.
The refrain "All aboard for night train" is a call to action, urging everyone to come together and join in the journey. It is a testament to the power of music to bring people together and transcend boundaries of race, class, and geography. In essence, Night Train is not just a song about a train journey but a metaphor for life itself - a journey full of twists and turns, highs and lows, hopes and dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
I said I lost someone
I'm searching for someone, and I'm determined to find them
But I know where I'm gonna find them
I have a plan in my head to locate the person I lost
All aboard
Get ready to go
All aboard
Get ready to go
All aboard for night train
Get on the train to journey through the night
Miami, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
Raleigh, North Carolina
The cities the train passes through during the journey
Miami, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
Raleigh, North Carolina
Washington D.C.
Oh, and Richmond, Virginia too
More places the night train stops at
Baltimore, Maryland
Philadelphia
New York City
Take it home
And don't forget New Orleans
The home of the blues
Even more places the train visits, and a reminder of New Orleans as the birthplace of the blues
Oh, yeah, night train
Expressing excitement for the night journey
All aboard to New York City
Reminding everyone the final destination is New York City
Are you ready for the night train
Asking excitedly if the listener is ready for the journey
Are you ready for the night train
Asking excitedly if the listener is ready for the journey
I believe in something I did not know, I'm coming home now
Expressing a sense of faith and comfort, even though the singer is on the train and hasn't reached home yet
Atlanta, Georgia
Raleigh, North Carolina
Washington D.C.
Oh, and Richmond, Virginia too
Reiterating the places the train stops at on the journey
Baltimore, Maryland
Philadelphia
New York City
Take me home, Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts
And don't forget New Orleans
The home of the blues
Asking the train to take the singer home to Boston, with a final reminder of New Orleans as the home of the blues
Lyrics Β© MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JIMMY FORREST, LEWIS C. SIMPKINS, OSCAR WASHINGTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marchill-uh3zh
Nobody knew that there was a little kid watching, learning, and absorbing all of this. He would become the King of pop.
@rainertrebbin-vf7nt
Michael Jackson
@coreybirdsong8055
The footwork, the timing, showmanship, everything was on point!
@raymondcuadrado4404
His band was working
@williamg2552
THE FAMOUS FLAMES were the Original Vocal Group that James Brown first began his career with.
The Funk Fans donβt want you to know this. They continue to spread and perpetuate the LIE that The FLAMES were his INSTRUMENTAL FUNK BAND.
***THIS IS NOT TRUE!,***
THE FAMOUS FLAMES are a SINGING GROUPβ¦.NOT A FUNK BAND
β¦and they are RIGHT HERE ON STAGE NEXT TO JAMES: BOBBY BENNETT, LLOYD STALLWORTH, and BOBBY BYRD. JAMES BROWN was the Lead Singer of THE FLAMES.
JAMES BROWN was inducted into the ROCK and ROLL HALL OF FAME in 1986
THE FAMOUS FLAMES were inducted in 2012.
His INSTRUMENTAL BAND/ JBs were NOMINATED, but NOT INDUCTED, in 2015.
@dominiquejones3805
And a pissed of James Brown
@donruiz4949
This is absolutely one of the most badass things I've ever seen.
@dominiquejones3805
Should of let James & The Famous Flames close
@user-pp9bl5gr1n
And it being in black & white makes itβs even better
@albertchin1050
A perfect example of why this man was regarded as "the hardest working man in show business " when he was alive.