Chuck Brown, The Godfather of Go-Go, Is Dead
The Washington Post reports that Chuck Brown, the so-called "godfather of go-go," died today in Baltimore. He was 75 and had been hospitalized for pneumonia earlier this month.
It's strange, we were just talking about go-go last week in reference to a new compilation of the D.C.-based funk offshoot, on which Brown appears. Today, Brown and his genre trended on Twitter. These musical-comebacks-by-death are the most bittersweet musical comebacks of all.
That said, Brown, like many musical godfathers, will probably be remembered mostly via the songs that sampled his originals. Nelly's "Hot in Herre" tapped Brown's 1979 hit "Bustin' Loose," for example. But perhaps his most influential contribution was that of the Soul Seekers' "Ashley's Roachclip," which sported a break that reverberated through hip-hop, R&B, and eventually pop in the '80s and early '90s. You've heard it before (it sounds like clouds). Page through this list to see over 100 songs the break kissed. My favorite (and probably yours, too) is Eric B. and Rakim's "Paid in Full."
