The big music news this week is the release of a previously unheard song from the late James Brown. Timed to hit with a new documentary on The Godfather of Soul, this is one essential bit of funk.
The press material provides details on the origins of the track, released today in a three-song EP:
Brown quickly assembled a new group anchored by guitarist Phelps "Catfish" Collins and bassist William "Bootsy" Collins, two young brothers from Cincinnati. They brought a harder edge and a fresh identity to Brown's music on such singles as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being) a Sex Machine""We Got To Change" was recorded August 16, 1970, at Criteria Studios in Miami, during a pivotal period in the world of James Brown, as longtime members of his famed James Brown Orchestra had walked out a few months earlier.
, "Super Bad", and "Soul Power". Brown called them The J.B.'s.
Their Criteria session featured a reunion with one of Brown's 1960s sidemen: the great Clyde Stubblefield. "The Funky Drummer," as he was known, would grace several of Brown's subsequent hits, and would become one of the most sampled drummers of the hip-hop era. Also on the track is James Brown's longtime no. 2, Bobby Byrd, who is heard alongside Brown on the chorus.
We Got to Change by James Brown is out today.