ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

‘Super Bad’: Soul Food And Super Heavy Funk From Godfather James Brown

The Godfather of Soul had somethin’ that made him wanna shout, as he entered the Hot 100 on October 3, 1970.

Published on

James Brown 'Super Bad' artwork - Courtesy: UMG
James Brown 'Super Bad' artwork - Courtesy: UMG

The Godfather of Soul had somethin’ that made him wanna shout, he announced. He had somethin’ that told him what it was all about. “I got soul,” he announced with his trademark braggadocio, “and I’m super bad.” Who were we to argue with James Brown?

So it was that the Billboard Hot 100 for October 3, 1970 played host to a new entry by the hardest-working man in show business. Incredibly, it was already his 61st entry onto that chart. “Super Bad (Part 1 & Part 2),” written and produced as ever by Mr. Brown himself, had been recorded at the end of June in Nashville and was a prime example of the “new, new super heavy funk” of which he was the self-ordained minister.

Super Bad (Pt. 1)

Click to load video

The track had something to live up to, as the follow-up to one of the Godfather’s cast-iron greats, “Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine (Part 1).” But “Super Bad” was well up to the task. Whereas most Brown singles featured Part 1 on the A-side and Part 2 on the flip, this time the nine-minute groove was divided differently, with two parts on the top side and a Part 3 on the reverse.

Listen to the best of James Brown on Apple Music and Spotify. 

The first pressings of the King single had the song named as “Call Me Super Bad,” before it adopted its more familiar title. Bass-playing prodigy William “Bootsy” Collins was among the star band, with the star’s right-hand-man Bobby Byrd on organ, and John “Jabo” Sparks on drums.

“Super Bad” climbed to No.13 on the Hot 100 and, entering the R&B chart a week after its pop debut, rose to the very top, spending two weeks at the soul summit in November. When Mr. Brown played the stately surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall in London the following March, emerging for the second half in a grey and black catsuit, the song was part of a typically high-energy set by Soul Brother No.1.

Buy or stream “Super Bad” on the album of the same name.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. merle walker

    October 27, 2015 at 12:52 am

    great nrws

  2. CINDIE MARIE HARRIS

    September 15, 2021 at 11:32 pm

    Hon! Know you didn’t ask how I Look these days yet that Satanist colony Drugged me beyond recognitions! Plus age is setting in 2021 A.D.! Hope you will consider being my King husband although. Due season Due me anyways!!!!!!!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Billy Idol - Rebel Yell LP
Rebel Yell (40th Expanded Edition) (Marbled Limited Edition) 2LP
ORDER NOW
Def Leppard - Pyromania 2LP
Def Leppard
Pyromania 2LP
ORDER NOW
The Who - Live At Shea Stadium 1982 3LP
The Who
Live At Shea Stadium 1982 3LP
ORDER NOW
Keane - Hopes And Fears 20th Limited Edition 2LP
Keane
Hopes And Fears 20th Limited Edition 2LP
ORDER NOW
Abba - Waterloo 50th Anniversary
Abba - Waterloo 50th Anniversary (Limited Edition 3 x 7" Box Set)
ORDER NOW
Bob Marley - Songs Of Freedom Limited Edition 6LP Box Set
Bob Marley - Songs Of Freedom Limited Edition 6LP Box Set
ORDER NOW
uDiscover Music - Back To Top
uDiscover Music - Back To Top