by Adam Bernstein, Washington Post September 16, 2007
Bobby Byrd, 73, a singer, pianist, and songwriter credited with discovering James Brown and who was one of his most important collaborators for two decades, died Wednesday at his home in Loganville, Ga. He had lung cancer.
Without Mr. Byrd, it has been asserted by some music scholars, Brown might not have become famous beyond the walls of a Georgia youth detention facility, much less become the "godfather of soul." Mr. Byrd was dubbed by some "the godfather's godfather." In the early 1950s, Mr. Byrd's family helped secure Brown's early release from a juvenile detention facility in Georgia. The Byrds provided a home for Brown, who hitched himself to Mr. Byrd's gospel group, which morphed into a much more secular vocal band. The Famous Flames were led by Brown, who strutted his way to international funk stardom as the "hardest-working man in show business." Mr. Byrd remained with the Famous Flames, and subsequently the JBs, for 20 years. During that time, he energized crowds before the cape-sporting superstar appeared. He participated with Brown on records such as Brown's "Live at the Apollo" on
several television appearances. As a composer, Mr. Byrd received coauthorship billing on songs including "Talkin' Loud & Sayin' Nothin'," "Licking Stick," "Get Up, Get into It and Get Involved," and "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine." For the
last, he was heard on the recording shouting the famous refrain, "Get on up!" But he and Brown had strong disagreements about royalties, mostly regarding Mr. Byrd's authorship of songs that Brown attributed to himself and various relatives. Brown
had produced many of Mr. Byrd's early solo recordings, including his greatest hit, "I Know You Got Soul" (1971), a fast-paced R&B number attributed to Mr. Byrd, Brown, and Charles Bobbit.
Starting in 1973, Mr. Byrd embarked on what would become a modestly successful three-decade solo career. He continued to think that his contribution to R&B was overlooked when many younger entertainers - including Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy, Jay-Z, and Ice Cube - covered or sampled Mr. Byrd's singles but rarely paid for the music.
