Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, he was named after his father Oscar Brown, Sr., a successful attorney and real estate broker. His singing debut was on the radio show Secret City at the age of 15. Brown attended Englewood High School in Chicago, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Lincoln University but did not obtain a degree. He also served a stint in the U.S. Army.
Brown's father had intended for him to follow in his footsteps and become a practicing lawyer. While he did help his father at his practice, he ventured off into other careers, such as advertising and serving in the army in the mid-1950s and writing songs. When Mahalia Jackson recorded one of his songs, he began to focus on a career in music. His first major contribution to a recorded work was a collaboration with Max Roach, We Insist!, which was an early record celebrating the black freedom movement in the United States. Columbia Records signed Brown as a solo artist, who was by now in his mid-thirties and married with five children.
In 1960, Brown released his first LP, Sin & Soul, recorded from June 20 to October 23, 1960. Printed on the cover of the album were personal reviews by well-known celebrities and jazz musicians of the time, including Steve Allen, Lorraine Hansberry, Nat Hentoff, Dorothy Killgallen, Max Roach and Nina Simone (Simone would later cover his "Work Song" and Steve Allen would later hire him for his Jazz Scene USA television program). The album is regarded as a "true classic" for openly tackling the experiences of African-Americans with songs such as "Bid 'Em In" and "Afro Blue".
Sin & Soul is also significant because Brown took several popular jazz instrumentals and combined them with self-penned lyrics on songs like "Dat Dere", "Afro Blue" and "Work Song". This began a trend that would continue with several other major jazz vocalists. Jon Hendricks, for example, three years later composed lyrics for the Mongo Santamaría song "Yeh Yeh" (later a hit for Georgie Fame). Bob Dorough similarly composed lyrics for Mel Tormé's version of "Comin' Home Baby!" and musicians Larry Williams and Johnny "Guitar" Watson would also go on to compose lyrics for Cannonball Adderley's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (the music composed by Joe Zawinul, Adderley's pianist) for Marlena Shaw. Several of the tracks from Sin & Soul were embraced by the 1960s Mod movement, such as "Humdrum Blues", "Work Song" and "Watermelon Man".
Sin & Soul was followed by Between Heaven and Hell (1962). The success of Sin & Soul meant that much more money was spent on production and Quincy Jones and Ralph Burns were bought in to handle the arrangements.
However, Brown was soon to fall down the pecking order at Columbia following a rearrangement of the management at the company. His third album was notable for the lack of any self-composed songs, and Columbia was having a hard time packaging Brown as an artist. They were unsure whether he was suited to middle-of-the-road/easy listening nightclubs or alternatively should be presented as a jazz artist.
He was given much more creative freedom for his fourth album, Tells It Like It Is (1963) and he was back to his creative best, composing songs such as "The Snake", which became a Northern Soul classic when it was covered by Al Wilson, and has featured on several adverts. Despite this return to form, and having been told by the new head of Columbia that he was high on the company's priorities, his contract at Columbia was not renewed.
He attempted to mount a major musical stage show in New York City called Kicks & Co. in 1961. Host Dave Garroway turned over an entire broadcast of the Today show to Brown to perform numbers from the show and try to raise the necessary funds to launch it on the stage. Kicks & Co. is set on an all-African-American college campus in the American South during the early days of attempted desegregation. The character Mr. Kicks is an emissary of Satan, sent to try to derail these efforts in which the play's protagonist, Ernest Black, has become involved.
This was the first of several theatrical endeavors by Brown, and like all of them, the public was not won over sufficiently to allow financial success, despite acclaim by some critics. His longest-running relative success, thanks to the participation of Muhammad Ali, was Big-Time Buck White. Another notable musical show, Joy, saw two incarnations (in 1966 and 1969) and again addressed social issues. Appearing with Brown were his wife, Jean Pace, and the Brazilian singer/accordionist Sivuca. RCA released the original cast recording around 1970; it is long out of print.
In 1962, he worked on the Westinghouse syndicated television program, Jazz Scene USA, produced by Steve Allen. Brown was he show's presenter and it featured a new musical guest each week.
Brown's son, Oscar "BoBo" Brown III, was an instrumental musician who tragically died in a car crash. His daughter, Maggie Brown, is a singer, songwriter, actress, educator and mom of three. Along with Africa Brown, these three out of seven children carry out his legacy in singing and acting. His other four childre are, David "Napoleon" Brown, Jone Brown, Donna Brown Kane, a mom of two, a grandmom of three and an educator, and Iantha Brown
He founded The Oscar Brown, Jr. H.I.P. Legacy Foundation to carry on his humanitarian work.
Brown died in Chicago, from complications of osteomyelitis in May 2005, aged 78.
Brown's lyrics and original compositions have been performed by a variety of other artists. "Somebody Buy Me a Drink", a track from Sin & Soul, was covered by David Johansen and the Harry Smiths on their eponymous first album. Pianist Wynton Kelly recorded "Strongman" with his trio in the late 1950s. Nina Simone popularized Brown's lyrics to "Work Song" and "Afro Blue," as well as his song "Bid 'Em In." Brown's "Afro Blue" lyrics have since been performed by numerous contemporary jazz vocalists, including Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Lizz Wright. Vocalist Karrin Allyson has cited Brown as a particular inspiration, and has performed his compositions on several of her albums. Brown was scheduled to contribute new lyrics to Allyson's 2006 album, Footprints, but died before the project was complete; Allyson instead recorded Brown's songs "A Tree and Me" and "But I Was Cool" as a tribute. Brown's work has also been the focus of full-length tribute albums by lesser-known jazz artists, including cabaret singer Linda Kosut and Brown's own daughter, Maggie Brown.
Somebody Buy Me a Drink
Oscar Brown Jr. Lyrics
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(Oscar Brown Jr.)
Oscar Peterson - 1960
The other night, I was on Skid Row
By a liquor store sign's garrish glow;
I saw a fellow I used to know a long, long time ago.
With rumpled clothes and a reeling head,
Reviewing the wasted life he'd lead, and as I passed he said,
"Let me tell you a story that's sad but true
About someone who just may remind you of you
Let me tell you a tale that may help you awake a woozy head -
Somebody buy me a drink.
"It begins long ago on a happy day,
With a fool who was loved, but threw it all away,
Who exchanged a good home for a flophouse, a bar and a plank -
Somebody buy me a drink.
(Bridge:)
"Well, to see me today, when I have hit the skids,
Who would think I once had a fine wife and kids?
Yes, I was that fool, after treasure and pleasure,
And love was just a game played with some other dame.
"Now there's only one thing I feel certain of:
The only true treasure in life is love.
Without someone to love and love you, see how low you can sink?
Somebody buy me a drink,
Somebody, somebody, buy me a drink."
The lyrics of Oscar Brown Jr.'s song 'Somebody Buy Me a Drink' narrate the story of a man who has hit rock bottom and looks back on his life with regret. The singer of the song finds himself on Skid Row, standing alongside the dispossessed and the living dead. As he laments his wasted life, he comes across an individual who tells him a tragic but true story that resonates with him. The tale is about a person who once enjoyed a happy life but chose to abandon it for fleeting pleasures, eventually losing everything he held dear. The song is a poignant reminder that true joy in life comes not from material possessions, but from the love and affection of those around us.
Line by Line Meaning
The other night, I was on Skid Row
Recently, I found myself in a destitute area
By a liquor store sign's garrish glow;
Near a garishly lit sign for a liquor store
I saw a fellow I used to know a long, long time ago.
I recognized a person I had known a long time ago
He stood with the lost, with the living dead,
He was standing with other people who are lost and struggling in life
With rumpled clothes and a reeling head,
He appears disheveled, possibly due to substance abuse
Reviewing the wasted life he'd lead, and as I passed he said,
He was reflecting on the life he had wasted and asked to share his story with me
Let me tell you a story that's sad but true
I want to share a true story with you that is quite sad
About someone who just may remind you of you
Perhaps this story will resonate with you and remind you of yourself
Let me tell you a tale that may help you awake a woozy head -
This story may help clear your head and give you perspective
Somebody buy me a drink.
Can someone please buy me a drink?
"It begins long ago on a happy day,
This story starts on a happy day long ago
With a fool who was loved, but threw it all away,
With a person who was once loved but made poor choices and lost it all
Who exchanged a good home for a flophouse, a bar and a plank -
This person gave up a comfortable home for a dingy room, a bar, and a cardboard bed
Somebody buy me a drink.
Can someone please buy me a drink?
"Well, to see me today, when I have hit the skids,
Looking at me now, it's clear that I have hit rock bottom
Who would think I once had a fine wife and kids?
It's hard to believe that I used to have a happy family
Yes, I was that fool, after treasure and pleasure,
I admit that I was foolish, chasing material possessions and temporary pleasure
And love was just a game played with some other dame.
I treated love as a game and cheated on my significant other
"Now there's only one thing I feel certain of:
But now, I am certain of one thing
The only true treasure in life is love.
Love is the most valuable thing in life
Without someone to love and love you, see how low you can sink?
Without love, it's easy to fall to rock bottom
Somebody buy me a drink,
Can someone please buy me a drink?
Somebody, somebody, buy me a drink.
Please, someone buy me a drink.
Contributed by Allison K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.