Solid Gold: 30 Golden Hits
Encyclopedia
Solid Gold: 30 Golden Hits, also called 30 Golden Hits/21 Golden Years, is a greatest hits
compilation album
by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
r James Brown
. The double album
set was initially released in 1977 on Polydor
, and was re-released by the label in 1986. According to Allmusic reviewer William Ruhlman, the collection was "state-of-the-art", an influential model "not only...for the many Brown compilations that would follow in later years, but also for the compilation boom in general". In 1981, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau
described it as "an essential collection." Allmusic indicates that it supplies "the essence of James Brown", but also states "[i]t has since been superseded by the 1991 four-disc Star Time
boxed set".
Side B
Side C
Side D
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
r James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
. The double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
set was initially released in 1977 on Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
, and was re-released by the label in 1986. According to Allmusic reviewer William Ruhlman, the collection was "state-of-the-art", an influential model "not only...for the many Brown compilations that would follow in later years, but also for the compilation boom in general". In 1981, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
described it as "an essential collection." Allmusic indicates that it supplies "the essence of James Brown", but also states "[i]t has since been superseded by the 1991 four-disc Star Time
Star Time
Star Time is a 1991 71-track, 4-CD box set by James Brown. Its contents span most of the length of his career up to the time of its release, starting in 1956 with his first hit record, "Please, Please, Please", and ending with "Unity, Pt. 1", his 1984 collaboration with Afrika Bambaataa...
boxed set".
Track listing
Side A- "Please, Please, PleasePlease, Please, Please"Please, Please, Please" is an R&B song written by James Brown and Johnny Terry and recorded by Brown and The Flames. Released in 1956 as a single on the Cincinnati, Ohio-based label Federal Records, it was Brown's first professional recording and his first hit, eventually selling over a million...
" (James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, Johnny Terry)- #5 Black SinglesHot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
(1956) / #95 Black Singles (1964) / #95 Pop SinglesBillboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
(1964)
- #5 Black Singles
- "Try MeTry Me (song)"Try Me" is a song written and performed by James Brown. He recorded it with his singing group The Famous Flames in 1958. A plaintive ballad, it was the group's second R&B hit , and early in 1959 it became their first song to reach #1 on the R&B chart and was also the first time the group hit the...
" (Brown)- #1 Black Singles (1959) / #48 Pop Singles (1959) / #34 Black Singles (1965) / #63 Pop Singles (1965)
- "Good Good Lovin'" (Brown, Albert Shubert)
- "I'll Go Crazy" (Brown)
- #15 Black Singles (1960) / #38 Black Singles (1966) / #73 Pop Singles (1966)
- "Think" (Lowman Pauling)
- #7 Black Singles (1960) / #33 Pop Singles (1960) / #100 Pop Singles (1967) / #15 Black Singles (1973) / #77 Pop Singles (1973)
- "Night TrainNight Train (song)"Night Train" is a twelve bar blues instrumental standard first recorded by Jimmy Forrest in 1951.-Origins and development:"Night Train" has a long and complicated history. The piece's opening riff was first recorded in 1940 by a small group led by Duke Ellington sideman Johnny Hodges under the...
" (Jimmy ForrestJimmy ForrestJimmy Forrest was an African American jazz musician, who played tenor saxophone throughout his career....
, Lewis Simpkins, Oscar Washington- #5 Black Singles (1962) / #35 Pop Singles (1962)
- "Out of SightOut of Sight (song)"Out of Sight" is an Rhythm and blues song recorded by James Brown in 1964. A twelve-bar blues written by Brown under the pseudonym "Ted Wright", the stuttering, staccato dance rhythms and blasting horn section riffs of its instrumental arrangement were an important evolutionary step in the...
" (Ted Wright)- #24 Black Singles (1964) / #24 Pop Singles (1964)
- "Papa's Got a Brand New BagPapa's Got a Brand New Bag"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" is a song written and recorded by James Brown. It was released as a two-part single in 1965, and is considered seminal in the musical genre of funk.-The hit single:...
" (Brown)- #1 Black Singles (1965) / #8 Pop Singles (1965) / #25 UK SinglesUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
(1965)
- #1 Black Singles (1965) / #8 Pop Singles (1965) / #25 UK Singles
- "I Got You (I Feel Good)I Got You (I Feel Good)"I Got You " is a hit song by James Brown. Released as a single in 1965, it was one of Brown's signature songs, and is arguably his most widely-known recording.-Description:...
" (Brown)- #1 Black Singles (1965) / #3 Pop Singles (1965) / #29 UK Singles (1966)
Side B
- "It's a Man's Man's Man's WorldIt's a Man's Man's Man's World"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966 in a New York studio and released it as a single later that year. It reached #1 on the Billboard Top R&B Singles charts and #8 in the Billboard Hot 100...
" (Brown, Betty Jean Newsome)- #1 Black Singles (1966) / #8 Pop Singles (1966) / #13 UK Singles (1966)
- "Cold SweatCold Sweat"Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written by his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a #1 R&B hit, and reached number seven on the Pop Singles chart...
" (Brown, Pee Wee EllisPee Wee EllisAlfred "Pee Wee" Ellis is an American saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was an important member of James Brown's band in the 1960s and appeared on many of Brown's most notable recordings...
)- #1 Black Singles (1967) / #7 Pop Singles (1967)
- "There Was a Time" (Brown, Bud Hobgood)
- #3 Black Singles (1968) / #36 Pop Singles (1968)
- "I Got the Feelin'I Got the Feelin'"I Got the Feelin" is a funk song by James Brown. Released as a single in 1968, it reached #1 on the R&B charts and #6 on the pop charts. It also appeared on a 1968 album of the same name....
(Brown)- #1 Black Singles (1968) / #6 Pop Singles (1968)
- "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)" (Brown, Ellis)
- #1 Black Singles (1968) / #10 Pop Singles (1968)
- "Give It Up or Turnit a LooseGive It Up or Turnit a Loose"Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" is a funk song recorded by James Brown. Released as a single in 1969, it was a #1 R&B hit and also made the top 20 pop singles chart...
" (Charles Bobbit)- #1 Black Singles (1969) / #15 Pop Singles (1969)
- "Mother PopcornMother Popcorn"Mother Popcorn ", is a song recorded by James Brown and released as a two-part single in 1969. A #1 R&B and #11 Pop hit,. It was the highest-charting of a series of recordings inspired by the popular dance The Popcorn which Brown made that year...
" (Brown, Ellis)- #1 Black Singles (1969) / #11 Pop Singles (1969)
- "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex MachineGet Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine"Get Up Sex Machine" is a funk song recorded by James Brown in 1970 and released as a two-part single on King Records....
" (Brown, Bobby ByrdBobby ByrdBobby Byrd born Robert Howard Byrd was an American funk/soul/R&B/gospel musician, songwriter and record producer. He was born in Toccoa, Georgia, and is a 1998 winner of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's prestigious Pioneer Award...
, Ron Lenhoff)- #2 Black Singles (1970) / #15 Pop Singles (1970) / #61 Pop Singles (1975) / #32 UK Singles (1970)
Side C
- "Super BadSuper Bad (song)"Super Bad" is a 1970 James Brown song. Originally released as a three-part single, it went to number one on the soul singles chart and number 13 on the Hot 100....
" (Brown)- #1 Black Singles (1970) / #13 Pop Singles (1970)
- "Soul PowerSoul Power"Soul Power" is a song by James Brown. Recorded in 1971 with the original J.B.'s and released as a three-part single, it was a Top Ten R&B hit. The song also appeared on the 1972 album Soul Classics...
" (Brown)- #3 Black Singles (1971) / #29 Pop Singles (1971)
- "Hot PantsHot Pants (song)"Hot Pants " is a song by James Brown. Brown recorded the song in 1971 and released it that year as a three-part single on his People Records label, which was then distributed by his primary label King. It was a number-one R&B hit and reached number fifteen on the pop chart in the U.S...
" (Brown, Fred WesleyFred WesleyFred Wesley is an American jazz and funk trombonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
)- #1 Black Singles (1971) / #15 Pop Singles (1971)
- "Make It FunkyMake It Funky"Make It Funky" is a song recorded by James Brown with The J.B.'s. It was released as a two-part single in 1971, which reached #1 on the U.S. R&B chart and #22 on the U.S. Pop chart.. The song features the band members chanting the song's title and a prominent organ part played by Brown himself...
" (Bobbit, Brown)- #1 Black Singles (1971) / #22 Pop Singles (1971)
- "Talking Loud and Saying Nothing" (Brown, Byrd)
- #1 Black Singles (1972) / #27 Pop Singles (1972)
- "Honky TonkHonky Tonk (song)Honky Tonk is an instrumental written by Billy Butler, Bill Doggett, Clifford Scott and Shep Shepherd. In 1956, Doggett released it on a two-part single. On the Billboard pop charts, it peaked at number two for three weeks....
" (Billy ButlerBilly ButlerWilliam Butler was an English professional footballer who was most famously a winger for Bolton Wanderers in the 1920s....
, Bill DoggettBill DoggettBill Doggett was an American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and organist. He is best known for his tracks, "Honky Tonk" and "Hippy Dippy", and variously working with The Ink Spots, Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Jordan.-Biography:William Ballard Doggett was born in...
, Clifford Scott, Berisford "Shep" Shepherd) - "Get on the Good FootGet on the Good Foot"Get on the Good Foot" is a funk song performed by James Brown. It was released in 1972 as a two-part single and became a number one R&B hit and also peaked at number eighteen on the Hot 100..The song was also included on the double album of the same name released that year.The song's co-writer...
" (Brown, Joe Mims, Wesley)- #1 Black Singles (1972) / #18 Pop Singles (1972)
Side D
- "The PaybackThe Payback (song)"The Payback" is a funk song by James Brown, the title track from his 1973 album of the same name. The song's lyrics, originally written by trombonist and bandleader Fred Wesley but heavily revised by Brown himself soon before it was recorded, concern the revenge he plans to take against the man...
" - "My ThangMy Thang"My Thang" is a funk hit song written and recorded by James Brown. It was released as a two-part single which spent two weeks at number one on the R&B singles chart and reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1974. The song also appeared on Brown's 1974 double album Hell....
" (Brown)- #1 Black Singles (1974) / #29 Pop Singles (1974)
- "Papa Don't Take No MessPapa Don't Take No Mess"Papa Don't Take No Mess" is a funk song performed by James Brown. An edited version of the song released as a two-part single in 1974 was Brown's final number one R&B hit and peaked at number thirty-one on the Hot 100...
" (Bobbit, Brown, Starks, Wesley- #1 Black Singles (1974) / #331 Pop Singles (1974)
- "Funky President (People It's Bad)" (Brown)
- #4 Black Singles (1975)
- "Hot (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved)Hot (I Need to Be Loved, Loved, Loved)"Hot " is a funk song by James Brown. Released as a single in 1976, it reached #31 on the R&B chart. The song is primarily memorable because its main riff is lifted directly from the song "Fame" by David Bowie, which was recorded in January, 1975, and released as a single in July...
" (Brown)- #31 Black Singles (1976)
- "Get Up Offa That ThingGet Up Offa That Thing"Get Up Offa That Thing", sometimes subtitled "'", is a song performed by James Brown. It was released as a two-part single in 1976 and also appeared on an album of the same name...
" (Brown)- #4 Black Singles (1976) / #45 Pop Singles / #22 UK Singles (1976)