James Brown Trivia

1. What chicken scratch guitarist played on the "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" single?

From Quiz Song by Song: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Answer: Jimmy Nolen

Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" number 34 on its 2021 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The magazine reported the song was "a bone" James Brown threw to the King label upon learning King was "nearly bankrupt." It was the first of Brown's songs on which Jimmy Nolen played guitar. Nolen was born on April 3, 1934 and was known for his distinctive "chicken scratch" guitar style (Rolling Stone refers to it as "ice-chipper scratch.") In 2009, Mojo magazine ranked him the twelfth greatest guitarist of all time.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: James Brown

Answer: South Carolina

James Brown was born in Barnwell, SC on May 3, 1933. He grew up in nearby Augusta, GA.

From Quiz Song by Song: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Answer: 1965

The single was released in June of 1965 with "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag Part II" on the B-side. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the number 34 greatest song of all time on its 2021 list. It was recorded at Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina and was both written and produced by James Brown himself.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: James Brown

Answer: The Famous Flames

The sixteen year old James Brown was arrested for robbery and sentenced to four years in jail. While in jail, Brown met Bobby Byrd, a man who performed at the jail for the inmates. After Brown's release, he and Byrd formed the Gospel Starlighters. After an attendance of a show featuring Fats Domino, the band knew they wanted to play R&B music. They changed their name to The Famous Flames and set out for music stardom.

From Quiz Song by Song: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Answer: Best Rhythm & Blues Recording

The song peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard R&B charts and was the first song to win Brown a Grammy, in the category of Best Rhythm & Blues Recording. That year, Herb Alpert won for "Record of the Year" for "A Taste of Honey" and Frank Sinatra won Best Male Vocal Performance for "It Was a Very Good Year." Meanwhile, Tom Jones was declared Best New Artist.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: James Brown

Answer: Baseball

As a young man, James Brown had set his sights on playing professional baseball or becoming a boxer. A leg injury sidelined his sports career just enough to force him to realize his potential as a full time musician.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: James Brown

Answer: King/Federal Records

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame producer Ralph Bass signed Brown to the King/Federal label on January 23, 1956. Leonard Chess of Chess Records had been trying to arrange a meeting with Brown so he could sign him, but the two never met before Bass scooped him up.

From Quiz The Godfather of Soul

Answer: soul

The correct word which finishes these lyrics is 'soul' from Brown's 1971 hit, "Soul Power Pt. 1".

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: James Brown

Answer: Try Me

Although "Please Please Please" was the first single recorded by Brown in 1956, it only reached number 5 on the R&B chart. "Try Me" was released in 1958 and goes on to become the highest selling single of that year. This becomes the first of seventeen number one singles that Brown records over the next two decades.

From Quiz Song by Song: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Answer: swing

James Brown released an instrumental version of this song as the B-side of his 1965 single "Try Me." The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band covered the song on their 1968 album titled "Together." In 1970, James Brown included a big band version of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" on his "Soul on Top" album. This version had a jazz arrangement and was performed with Louie Bellson's Orchestra.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: James Brown

Answer: The Original Disco Man

The album is a minor hit, peaking at number 152 on the album charts. The song "It's Too Funky in Here" was the lone highlight of this album. The great producer, Brad Shapiro, of the Muscle Shoals recording studio, worked with Brown on this album.

From Quiz Song by Song: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Answer: drag

Live performances of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" are included on five different James Brown albums, including "Live at the Apollo 1995." The Fabulous Echoes covered this song in 1965 on their album "Lovin' Feeling," while in 1999 the Sugarman 3 covered it on "Sugar's Boogaloo."

From Quiz The Godfather of Soul

Answer: 1986

Among the first group of people within the music industry to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1986, James Brown entered into the shrine along with a veritable 'Who's Who' of entertainers. This initial group included Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Every Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Little Richard. Also included in the group were Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmy Yancey and non-performers Alan Freed, Sam Phillips, and John Hammond.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: James Brown

Answer: The Blues Brothers

James Brown had a brief role as the Reverend Cleophus James in the Dan Akroyd/John Belushi classic "The Blues Brothers". The movie was directed by John Landis. Akroyd and Belushi also appeared together in the Steven Spielberg movie "1941".

From Quiz Song by Song: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Answer: clean

"Line" is a term that describes the outline of a dancer's body while performing steps or poses. "Clean" choreography is defined as movement with perfect legibility, and to have a line that is pretty clean suggests the singer is a good dancer. The Residents included a German version of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" on their 1974 album "Third Reich N Roll," and the song was covered in Arabic by the Moroccan musician Faddoul in 1971.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: James Brown

Answer: Afrika Bambaataa

The hugely successful "Unity" was released in 1984 and introduced James Brown to a whole new generation of music fans. The pairing with Afrika Bambaataa seems logical, he's sometimes referred to as "The Godfather of Hip-Hop".

From Quiz Song by Song: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Answer: Mashed Potatoes

James Brown was the first to popularize "the mashed potato" at his concerts beginning in 1959. The dance is similar to the twist. American R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp had a song called "Mashed Potato Time" and the dance is mentioned in the lyrics of "Do You Love Me," which was written by Berry Gordy, Jr. and popularized by The Contours in 1962, at which point the "mashed potato" became an international dance craze. To perform this dance move, one steps backward with one foot and tilts the heel of that foot inward and places it just behind the other foot. Then he uses the weight on the ball of the starting foot to swivel the heel outward. He repeats the process with the other foot, and on and on...

From Quiz The Godfather of Soul

Answer: The James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub

"The James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub" was a skit that poked fun at, not only Mr. Brown's singing and on-stage performances, but also many of the daytime talk shows that were extremely popular during the mid to late 1970s. In the skit, Murphy gives a dead-on impersonation of Brown's moves and his oftentimes indecipherable pronunciations of his musical lyrics. The 'talk show' was to have taken place inside a hot tub in the studio, but every time Murphy stuck his toe into the water he'd yell, "Heyyyyy! It's too hot in the hot tub!" Finally, he settled in just before the 'show' went to commercial break exhorting us to "stay tuned for more Celebrity Hot Tub!". His 'guest' was supposed to have been Dr. Joyce Brothers. If you've ever seen this skit, you'll never forget it.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: James Brown

Answer: Rocky IV

"Living in America" appeared on the 1985 soundtrack to "Rocky IV". The song won James Brown the R&B Male Vocal Grammy of 1986. The soundtrack also featured songs by Survivor, Go West, Gladys Knight and Kenny Loggins.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: James Brown

Answer: Aerosmith

Aerosmith recorded this version along with a cover of The Yardbird's "I Ain't Got You" in 1973, but they were not released until the album "Live Bootleg" was rleased in 1978.

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