S.O.D. "The Payback Part 1" by James Brown

11/3/2015     This was one of three #1 songs that topped the R&B charts one after the other and the last #1s of his career.  Music by Brown and drummer, John Starks and lyrics from trombonist Fred Wesley.  A 1974 release from the album of the same name, it was first written for the 1973 film "Hell Up in Harlem" which the movie producers declined.  "The Payback Part 2" followed, and also with a remix of the first version called "The Payback Mix (Part 1)" which went to #12 in the UK.

     Many artists have sampled the tune including En Vogue and LL Cool J.  Public media has  featured it in "The Wire" and 2012 Tarantino film, "Django Unchained",  to mention just a small fraction.  It was also used by many boxers during ring entrances, with heavyweight champ, Lennox Lewis using it just before knocking out Hasim Rahman in 2001.

     Brown started making music in Toccoa, Georgia in 1954 and kept going until his final days.  He is the most sampled artist in history and is ranked #1 in the Top 500 Artists List as the result of a Billboard R&B analysis from 1942-2010.  Drums, percussion, keyboards and organ are to his credit along with his unique vocal ability.  He is also referred to as the Godfather of Soul and Jimmy Page has commented that James Brown was a music genre all by himself.