Mr. Dynamite, the Godfather of Soul, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, am I missing anything? I saw him live a few years ago and he was still getting it done. Sure the hits had stopped, but there ain't a funk band on the road today that isn't lifting moves from Soul Brother No. 1's show. He was a messed up train wreck of a person, but if that is your criteria for judging music, you're going to be listening to a lot of Andy Williams records, and maybe the odd Allison Kraus disc.

Classic case of I-can't-stand-the-person but damn if he wasn't a talented artist. Very underrated musical mind- his shows (and musicians) were talented as they were complex. Brown treated women the way dubya treats the English language- with severe abuse and stupidity. But his '20 greatest hits' is a must-own.

James Brown somehow got the cream de la creme of musicians to work with him,and inspired them into some of their best performances.No doubt about it,his catalogue abounds with great cuts and muscular funk.That said,his voice is not the greatest,and although he is an extremely energetic and entertaining performer,he is also an egotistical,woman beating jerk.I think the man worked hard at his career,but I give most of the credit to the musicians in his bands for the "magic".

Putting his personal life to one side, JB is as important as Hendrix, Elvis and the Beatles in the history of pop music in its widest sense. He is the root of 70s funk and therefore disco, rap, house and r n' b.

Best drug-addicted, wife beater that ever lived!I give him 2 stars because he did have talent.

Greatest entertainer of all time!...TEN STARS!!!

Best rhythms of the 20th century!

A couple of really good songs, but he's a complete a*sehole!

This bumbling retard needs to hurry up and have his fried chicken heart attack and put himself out of our misery.

I happen to be partial to his very early recordings, going as far back as 1956 to his Famous Flames. His group was unique, different from the other r&b vocal groups of that time. The music wasn't quite soul but it had the roots of soul. When you listen to the recordings you will hear him already doing some of the vocal techniques that would later make him legendary.

The Godfather had "the Show" of all time. If you couldn't dance to this, you couldn't dance. The great R&B shows of the day almost paled in comparison. James Brown had it; the fine band, the excellent background vocals, production and my man James Brown. He influenced ALL that followed including Funkadelic, etc. to Jaco Pastorius. And Miles Davis. I'm sorry about his personal problems. Long live James Brown.

He was a powerful vocalist for civil rights and is the godfather of soul. He is a legendary performer. I Feel Good is one of the most well-known songs ever. He was a good artist, not great in my estimation, though.

A true legend.

let me get this right. James Browns career spans now 6 decades. James Brown is second to Elvis with the number of hit record on the top 100. 98 to be exact. He is no 1 on the R&B charts with 116 hits. OVer 40 gold records, the most sampled man in music history and arguably the most influential performer in music history. (Micheal Jackson, Mick Jagger, Hammer the whole rap industry, Tina Turner,) James shouldalways be in the top 5 of any legends list concerning music. His career speaks for itself.

James Brown- Godfather of soul, commercial classics mixed with more deep rooted songs from his albums. "A mans world" one of the greatest songs ever written!!

Just came back from seeing James at Konocti Harbor in CA, he was terrific. James you've still got it!!

The Godfather of soul. He is black and he is proud. Enough said.

Papa don't take no mess! Hell Yea!