SoulManX
The Inspector!
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Memphis Slim said:
Died Christmas Day...........
I hope he makes to a better place. He was a voice for a lot of black people when they didn't have a voice.
"Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" is a 1968 recording by James Brown. The first half of the song was issued as a single. It is notable both as one of Brown's signature songs and one of the most popular "black power" anthems of the 1960s.
In the song, Brown addresses the prejudice towards blacks in America, and the need for black empowerment. He proclaims that "we done made us a chance to do for ourself/we're tired of beating our head against the wall/workin' for someone else". Several other Brown singles from the same era, most notably "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself)", explored similar themes.
The song's call-and-response chorus is performed by a group of young children, who respond to Brown's command of "Say it loud" with "I'm black and I'm proud!" Ironically, as the song was recorded in a Los Angeles area suburb, most of the children that Brown was able to recruit for the recording session were actually white and Asian children, with only a few black children included in the ensemble.[1]
The session was the first Brown recording to feature Fred Wesley, who went on to become the bandleader of the JBs, as well as the brass arranger for Parliament-Funkadelic.
"Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" (Part 1) was the anchor for the album of the same name, released in spring 1969. The single held the number-one spot on the R&B singles chart for six weeks, and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included "Say it Loud" as one of their 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
The song inspired the title of a VH1 television special and six-disc box set, Say It Loud! A Celebration of Black Music in America. Brown's song is included on disc four of the collection.
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