Bobby Byrd

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Bobby Byrd (born August 15, 1934 in South Carolina , † September 12, 2007 in Loganville) was an American singer , musician , songwriter and record producer in the funk and soul . As a band leader , he founded the Gospel Starlighters and was also a long-time sideman of James Brown . Together with Brown he wrote the hit Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine , Byrd was the soloist with the single I Know You Got Soul (1971) successful.

biography

Byrd was the head of the group The Avons, which James Brown joined in the mid-1950s after being released from prison thanks to financial support from the Byrd family. The Avons were later renamed The Flames and then The Famous Flames, which later became the star of Brown. Byrd appeared on many of Brown's recordings, such as the songs Please, Please, Please (1956) and Try Me (1958). In addition, Byrd also released records under his own name, which, however, were similar to the Brown recordings, as they were recorded with his accompanying band. In 1973, Byrd and Brown separated. Byrd's songs were sampled by many black artists in the years that followed, including A Tribe Called Quest , Ice Cube , LL Cool J, and Public Enemy .

Byrd was the husband of soul singer Vicki Anderson , who was also a singer with James Brown for many years. After Byrd developed throat cancer in 1996 and ran into financial difficulties due to high treatment costs, his stepdaughter Carleen Anderson founded the Bobby Byrd Fund . In addition, a benefit concert for Byrd took place at Popkomm 1996.

Bobby Byrd died on 12 September 2007 at the age of 73 years to cancer .

Quote

  • "Meanwhile, Bobby still had his little musical group going. They didn't have any instruments, just voices, and originally they started out as a gospel group. About the time I got to town they had switched to rhythm and blues, and they had started calling themselves the Avons. "(James Brown & Bruce Tucker: The Godfather of Soul, 1988, p. 50)

Discography (selection)

Studio albums

  • 1988: Finally Getting Paid
  • 1993: On the Move (I Can't Get Enough)
  • 2006: How Will We Know When We're Dead (collaboration with Jim Ward (musician) )

Live albums

  • 1970: I Need Help (Live on Stage)
  • 1991: Live in the step construction

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US
1964 Baby baby baby
 US52 (6 weeks)
US
with Anna King
1970 I Need Help (I Can't Do It Alone) Pt. 1
 US69 (5 weeks)
US
1971 Hot Pants - I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming
 US85 (4 weeks)
US
1972 Keep On Doin 'What You're Doin'
 US88 (3 weeks)
US

More singles

  • 1963: I Found Out
  • 1963: I'm Just a Nobody (Part 1)
  • 1970: Hang Ups We Don't Need (The Hungry We Got to Feed)
  • 1970: If You Don't Work You Can't Eat
  • 1971: I Know You Got Soul
  • 1972: If You Got a Love You Better (Hold on to It)
  • 1974: Back from the Dead
  • 1979: Gasoline

Web links

obituary

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://schallplattenmann.de/a101150-Various-Bobby-Byrd-Tribute-1996.htm
  2. ↑ Chart sources: US
personal data
SURNAME Byrd, Bobby
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Day, Bobby (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician
DATE OF BIRTH August 15, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH South carolina
DATE OF DEATH September 12, 2007
Place of death Loganville