Date: August 1963 – August 15, 1972 (recording)
Release: Polydor #79872
Cover Art: view / download
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Without Bobby Byrd, the world might never have known James Brown. It was Byrd and Byrd alone who persuaded his family to sponsor Brown’s parole from the Georgia penal system in 1952, rescuing the troubled but talented singer from a life of bad breaks by launching his music career. Sensing a huge talent, Byrd brought Brown into his well-established vocal group, the Flames. Under Byrd’s brotherly guidance, Brown got his act together and turned it loose, taking over the Flames (which he would later rename James Brown And The Famous Flames) and eventually conquering the world.

Until the early ’70s, Byrd was Brown’s right-hand man, not only serving as his arranger and bandleader, but also singing, playing organ, warming up crowds, and co-writing many of JB’s biggest hits, including “Licking Stick” and “Sex Machine.” Byrd’s deep and gritty vocals provided the perfect counterpoint to Browns’ raucous shouts, and their strong call-and-response dynamics and soulful harmonies defined such classics as “Get Up, Get Into It, And Get Involved,” “Talkin’ Loud & Sayin’ Nothing,” and “Soul Power.” The Godfather’s Godfather, Byrd has been described by JB’s trombonist (and bandleader) Fred Wesley as “Soul Brother One And-A-Half,” a half-step closer than second to the unbeatable Brown.

Unfortunately, Byrd never received the proper recognition he was due (he remains uncredited on many of the 40+ James Brown hits he helped pen), explaining why he’s largely remembered as just another James Brown sideman. But as this 22-track collection demonstrates, he was far more than just a sideman. From the early ’60s to the early ’70s, Byrd recorded and released a whole slew of heavy soul and hard funk singles, the majority of which are included here.

A few of these records charted—1965′s “We’re In Love” and 1970′s “I Need Help (I Can’t Do It Alone)” both hit the R&B Top 20. These super bad records continued to be cut right up until 1973, when the Byrd / Brown partnership finally came to an end, with the original founder of the Flames cutting out to make it on his own. Byrd’s promising solo career never materialized, and the singer released a few singles before sinking into obscurity (though he continued to tour, particularly in Europe). Until the release of Bobby Byrd Got Soul: The Best of Bobby Byrd in 1995, his entire ’60s and ’70s recorded output remained out-of-print and impossible to find. For the few years that it was available(it’s now out-of-print), this CD offered a consolidated chunk of Byrd’s best stuff—a stylishly packaged and start-to-finish charge of raw soul power.

Living up to the promise of its title, this collection of singles and unreleased gems establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bobby Byrd has indeed got soul. A towering figure of a man, Byrd was an absolute powerhouse vocalist, equally capable of singing the hell out of a soul ballad (“When Something Is Wrong With My Baby”) or tearing it up on a super-heated JB’s funk workout (“Hot Pants—I’m Coming, Coming, I’m Coming”). Confident in his talents, Byrd opens the disc paying respect to the listener by proclaiming:

“I Know you got soul
If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be in here
I know you got soul
If you didn’t, the beat wouldn’t move you
I know you got the feeling
If you didn’t, you wouldn’t shake that thing.”

Just as a lot of Ann Peebles‘ recordings musically sound like Al Green albums with a different vocalist, most of these songs are little more than James Brown grooves with Byrd simply standing in on lead vocals (and, in a complete role reversal, JB singing back-up). As is the case with the JB’s and other James Brown-produced side-projects (compiled in Polydor’s excellent Funky People series), Byrd’s music bears the unmistakable mark of Soul Brother Number One. These are only Bobby Byrd records in so far as he is the featured vocalist and songwriter. James Brown does just about everything else—playing organ, singing back-up and harmony, co-writing, arranging, and producing—making this disc a JB affair through and through.

Spanning the soul-funk golden years and featuring some of its tightest players, Bobby Byrd Got Soul: The Best of Bobby Byrd is a definite must hear for fans of The Godfather and all his legitimate musical offspring. I strongly recommend searching it out now, as this disc only recently went out-of-print.