James Brown
James Brown (May 3, 1933 - December 25, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter, eventually referred to as "The Godfather of Soul"(GFOS). Brown started singing in gospel groups and worked his way on up. He has been recognized as one of the most iconic figures in the 20th century popular music and was renowned for his vocals and feverish dancing. He was also called "the hardest-working man in show business".
Brown began his professional music career in 1956 and rose to fame during the late 1950s and early 1960s on the strength of his thrilling live performances and string of smash hits. In spite of various personal problems and setbacks he continued to score hits in every decade through the 1980s. In addition to his acclaim in music, Brown was also a presence in American political affairs during the 1960s and 1970s.
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 1.0151 |
| Birthday | 1933-05-03 |
| Place of Birth | Barnwell, South Carolina, USA |
| Also Known As | The Godfather of Soul, The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business, Mr. Dynamite, Soul Brother No. 1, James Joseph Brown, |
1980
The Blues Brothers
7.716/4664
Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.
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The Blues Brothers
1985
Rocky IV
7.095/4955
Rocky Balboa holds the world heavyweight championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the...
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Rocky IV
1996
When We Were Kings
7.573/260
It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world....
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When We Were Kings
1998
Blues Brothers 2000
5.284/757
Finally released from prison, Elwood Blues is once again enlisted by Sister Mary Stigmata in her latest crusade to raise funds for a children's hospit...
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Blues Brothers 2000
2021
Best of the 60s: The Story of Ready, Steady, Go!
0/0
Best of the 60s is a documentary and a compilation from across the years of the iconic music series. More More. Best of the 60s is a compilation from...
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Best of the 60s: The Story of Ready, Steady, Go!
2009
Soul Power
6.529/17
Soul Power is a 2008 documentary film about the Zaire 74 music festival in Kinshasa which accompanied the Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight boxing cham...
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Soul Power
2004
James Brown: Body Heat
8/2
In 1969 at a concert in Monterey James Brown announced his intention to retire from touring but it wasn't until 1975 that he finally stopped. Then in...
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James Brown: Body Heat
2005
Live 8
7.4/27
On 2 July 2005 an estimated 3 billion people came together in the fight against extreme poverty. LIVE 8 - 10 concerts featuring over 1000 musicians fr...
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Live 8
1983
When the Music's Over
0/0
Rare clips of performance and interviews by a multiple of stars, all prematurely lost.
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When the Music's Over
1991
The Lost James Brown Tapes
0/0
In 1979, James Brown flew to Santa Cruz, California to make a comeback performance. The filmed tapes of that show were locked away for 12 years, until...
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The Lost James Brown Tapes
1970
The Phynx
3.583/12
A rock band is invented by the government as a cover to find hostages in a remote castle in Albania held by communist enemies of the USA.
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The Phynx
2013
Fathers and Songs: Music for Father's Day
0/0
Fatherhood has proved a great subject for a variety of artists - some celebratory, some conflicted, but all inspired by what dad does and doesn't do....
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Fathers and Songs: Music for Father's Day
2021
Nueva York: A Musical History of Latin New York
8/1
When the film West Side Story was released in 1961, New York's reviled Puerto Rican community gained some visibility and, over time, both in Spanish H...
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Nueva York: A Musical History of Latin New York
2002
Beat the Devil
7.158/101
The Driver drag-races the Devil, in order to earn James Brown his soul.
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Beat the Devil
1964
The T.A.M.I. Show
7.9/19
Hailed by one music reviewer as "the grooviest, wildest, slickest hit ever to pound the screen," "The T.A.M.I. Show" is an unrelenting rock spectacula...
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The T.A.M.I. Show
2008
James Brown - The Night James Brown Saved Boston
6.667/6
On April 5, 1968, soul legend James Brown performed a concert in Boston that many say shielded that city from the kinds of devastating riots that ripp...
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James Brown - The Night James Brown Saved Boston
1985
James Brown - Live At Chastain Park
5.5/2
The hardest working man in show business is back--and some say better than ever--in this live concert filmed in 1985 at Georgia's famed Chastain Park....
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James Brown - Live At Chastain Park
2008
James Brown Live At The Apollo '68
5.3/3
This was one of a series of concerts James Brown gave at the Apollo in Harlem in March 1968. This performance was broadcast on television as James Bro...
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James Brown Live At The Apollo '68
2003
Paper Chasers
7/1
Paper Chasers is a feature length documentary about the impact of hip hop entrepreneurs who have built successful businesses in music, film, fashion,...
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Paper Chasers
2005
Robots
6.504/5057
Rodney Copperbottom is a young robot inventor who dreams of making the world a better place, until the evil Ratchet takes over Bigweld Industries. Now...
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Robots
2011
The Real Rocky
6.152/23
Chuck Wepner is a liquor salesman from Bayonne, N.J., who drives a Cadillac with “Champ” vanity plates. A former New Jersey State Heavyweight Boxing...
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The Real Rocky
1981
James Brown: Live at Montreux
8/1
"Soul Brother No.1", "The Godfather Of Soul", "Mr Dynamite" are all titles that have been applied to James Brown over the years. A hugely influential...
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James Brown: Live at Montreux
2021
Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage
6.5/101
Explore Woodstock 99, a three-day music festival promoted to echo unity and counterculture idealism of the original 1969 concert but instead devolved...
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Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage
2014
James Brown - The Man, The Music & The Message
8/1
The Godfather of Soul tells his life story and features his greatest live performances.
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James Brown - The Man, The Music & The Message
1971
James Brown: Love Power Peace
0/0
Live at the Olympia, Paris, 1971 is the only recording that documents one of his live performances with the original J.B.'s lineup featuring Bootsy an...
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James Brown: Love Power Peace
2014
Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown
6.902/41
James Brown changed the face of American music forever. Abandoned by his parents at an early age, James Brown was a self-made man who became one of t...
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Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown
1974
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances 1974
0/0
The Midnight Special is an American late-night musical variety series that aired on NBC during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt...
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The Midnight Special Legendary Performances 1974
1965
Ski Party
6/12
Two college boys from SoCal attend a spring break vacation at a ski lodge in Idaho to get insider tips on how the president of the ski club manages to...
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Ski Party
1993
RapLine
10/1
Between 1990 and 1993, at a time when rap was not yet on the radio in France, Olivier Cachin hosted a musical TV show on M6 called "RapLine". The show...
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RapLine
1989
Legends of Rock 'n' Roll
9/2
Are you ready for some old-time rock and roll?! Then you are ready for the masters, the originators, the men who made the music, the "Legends of Rock...
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Legends of Rock 'n' Roll
2012
Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
5/2
A provocative look into the seven-year history of the series that gave hip hop a voice and broke color barriers, integrating MTV with rap. "Yo! MTV Ra...
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Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
2004
James Brown: Live
0/0
For one special night back in the mid '80s, the air in Atlanta, Georgia heated up a few degrees. With over 100 hits under his belt by the time this st...
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James Brown: Live
2004
Casey Kasem's Rock 'n' Roll Goldmine: The Soul Years
9.8/5
Radio disc jockey legend Casey Kasem presents this collection featuring momentous occasions in music history. This installment delves into the mid-196...
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Casey Kasem's Rock 'n' Roll Goldmine: The Soul Years
2003
The Giants of Black Music
0/0
Mother Popcorn - James Brown What's The Use Of Breaking Up - Jerry Butler MacArthur Park - Della Reese Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday - Stevie Wo...
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The Giants of Black Music
2003
James Brown: Soul Survivor
7.714/7
James Brown's legacy has influenced rap, soul, funk and R&B. But along with his huge talent, there's a dark side to Brown's success that includes stin...
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James Brown: Soul Survivor
2022
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
6.694/31
Never-before-heard personal recordings and archival footage tell the story of Louis Armstrong's life from his perspective. From musical phenom to civi...
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Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
1991
James Brown Live in Berlin
7/1
The great James Brown and his band in concert, with a young Maceo Parker on saxophone. A live recording in Berlin, Germany 1988 features performances...
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James Brown Live in Berlin
2006
Frankie Laine: An American Dreamer
5/1
"Frankie Laine: An American Dreamer" is a feature-length documentary. In this entertaining look at the legendary singer's life, hosted by two-time Gra...
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Frankie Laine: An American Dreamer
1978
James Brown Soul Brother No. 1
8/1
The James Brown Story
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James Brown Soul Brother No. 1
2014
The Story of Funk: One Nation Under a Groove
7/1
A documentary on funk and P-funk and the bands and artists that made it all happen: James Brown, Sly Stone, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Maurice Wh...
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The Story of Funk: One Nation Under a Groove
2006
George Clinton: Tales of Dr Funkenstein
7.5/2
Don Letts's hilarious and colourful profile of the godfather of funk, whose 50-year career has defined the genre. From his 1950s days running a doo-wo...
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George Clinton: Tales of Dr Funkenstein
2016
A Tale of James Brown
0/0
Comedian/filmmaker Camille Solari spends the last year interviewing the legendary musical icon James Brown before his untimely death on Christmas 2006...
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A Tale of James Brown
2008
James Brown Live At The Boston Garden - April 5, 1968
4/2
Live at the Boston Garden: April 5, 1968 is a concert film starring James Brown. Recorded at the Boston Garden by WGBH-TV the night after the assassin...
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James Brown Live At The Boston Garden - April 5, 1968
2001
The UB40: Story of Reggae
0/0
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The UB40: Story of Reggae
1983
Doctor Detroit
5.09/78
A shy but gentle man named Clifford Skridlow is a professor of comparative literature at the financially-strapped fictional Monroe College in Chicago....
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Doctor Detroit
1995
Cincinnati's Rock 'N Roll Legends
5.6/20
An excellent comprehensive look at all the music that came out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati "Rock Legends" "James Brown" "King Records" "Pure Prai...
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Cincinnati's Rock 'N Roll Legends
2002
Undercover Brother
5.937/454
An Afro-American organization, the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., is in permanent fight against a white organization "The Man" defending the values of the bl...
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Undercover Brother
2001
Rhythm and Blues 40: A Soul Spectacular
10/1
This show brings together legendary artists of the 1960s and 1970s for a once-in-a-lifetime event: Ben E. King and The Drifters, Jerry Butler reunitin...
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Rhythm and Blues 40: A Soul Spectacular
2004
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
5.333/3
Discover how television has reflected the African American experience in this retrospective of the medium's first half-century. Actors, writers and hi...
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TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
2002
The Tuxedo
5.737/2236
Cabbie-turned-chauffeur Jimmy Tong learns there is really only one rule when you work for playboy millionaire Clark Devlin : Never touch Devlin's priz...
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The Tuxedo
2014
Finding the Funk
7.2/5
Finding the Funk is a road trip in search of the past, present and future of Funk music. Starting with Funk's roots in Jazz and the James Brown bands...
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Finding the Funk
1974
James Brown: Soul Train 1973-1974
0/0
All of James Brown's performances on Soul Train from 1973 to 1974.
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James Brown: Soul Train 1973-1974
2019
Africa Rising
7.5/2
How African artists have spread African culture all over the world, especially music, since the harsh years of decolonization, trying to offer a nicer...
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Africa Rising
2002
It's Black Entertainment
8.667/3
A star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa Willi...
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It's Black Entertainment
2018
1968: A Year of War, Turmoil and Beyond
8/4
The Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the May events in France, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F....
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1968: A Year of War, Turmoil and Beyond
1987
James Brown & Friends: A Night of Super Soul
0/0
Godfather of soul James Brown performs with Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Billy Vera, Joe Cocker and Robert Palmer in this live concert. Lively int...
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James Brown & Friends: A Night of Super Soul
2019
The Apollo
6.4/19
The history of New York City's Apollo Theater in Harlem is given the full treatment.
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The Apollo
2008
Pavarotti The Duets
0/0
LUCIANO PAVAROTTI was the rare artist who could easily bridge the divide between classical and popular music. Together with an impressive roster of th...
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Pavarotti The Duets
2007
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: More 1977
7/1
These are live performances from a television music show that aired late night on the NBC-TV network the U.S., from 1973-1981.
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The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: More 1977
2009
Sex in '69: The Sexual Revolution in America
7/1
Documentary on the sexual revolution in America.
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Sex in '69: The Sexual Revolution in America
1999
James Brown: Live From The House Of Blues
0/0
The hardest working man in show business brings down the House of Blues with a live concert event in Las Vegas. Recorded with high definition equipmen...
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James Brown: Live From The House Of Blues
2019
Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast
5.286/7
In the late 1990s, iconic photographer Bruce Weber barely managed to convince legendary actor Robert Mitchum (1917-97) to let himself be filmed simply...
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Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast
2020
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault
0/0
THE AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE VAULT is a 2-disc, 500-minute odyssey that collects eight feature-length VHS mixtapes from the crackpots at AGFA—including tw...
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The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault
2023
Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan
6.864/11
Ed Sullivan broke barriers by booking Black artists on his Sunday night variety show. This documentary spotlights the TV pioneer's legacy of equality.
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Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan
2003
James Brown - Live at Chastain Park Atlanta 1980
0/0
Experience the explosive energy of the “Godfather of Soul” in this unforgettable 1980 performance at Atlanta’s Chastain Park. Backed by his powerhouse...
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James Brown - Live at Chastain Park Atlanta 1980
Say Hello to Our Good Friend Paul Shaffer
0/0
A feature documentary about Paul Shaffer, best known David Letterman’s longtime sidekick and Late Show bandleader.
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Say Hello to Our Good Friend Paul Shaffer
1998
Holy Man
5.227/471
In a world governed by commerce, Ricky and Kate, dedicated employees, find their lives forever changed when they encounter the enigmatic stranger G. A...
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Holy Man
2025
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
7.714/21
Untold stories behind the culture-defining and newsmaking musical performances, sketches and cameos of the past 50 years.
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Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
2007
James Brown: Living in America
0/0
Compilation of clips from various James Brown shows.
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James Brown: Living in America
2006
Full Length & Fabulous: The Beckhams' World Cup Party
0/0
Go behind the scenes as the Beckhams throw a star-studded World Cup send-off party. This 2002 ITV documentary showcases the preparations, including a...
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Full Length & Fabulous: The Beckhams' World Cup Party
2005
Rock 'N' Roll Forever: Ed Sullivan's Greatest Hits
0/0
15 complete performances that were filmed when these bands played live on The Ed Sullivan Show. Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and Papas narrates betw...
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Rock 'N' Roll Forever: Ed Sullivan's Greatest Hits
2026
The Godfather of Soul
0/0
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The Godfather of Soul
2016
Andy Warhol, Fluorescent
5/1
A documentary on the legendary creator and victim of pop art. Warhol, revolutionary and controversial, was never afraid to break the mold and reshape...
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Andy Warhol, Fluorescent
1997
Soulmates
9/1
1997 indie about friendship and soul music, starring Bill Cobbs, Zachary Throne, and Christine Cavanaugh.
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Soulmates
1985
Motown Returns to the Apollo
0/0
A primetime TV concert special celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Theater with Motown legends.
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