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James Brown/Sly Robbie

DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
edited December 2006 in Strut Central
"Happy Christmas, **** - oh, by the way, James Brown's dead."Those were the first words I heard from my brother on Christmas Day. I've been away from a computer for over a week, so I've spent a little time catching up on the many JB-related threads of the last few days. Little I can add, other than to say that, with James' passing and that of Ahmet Ertegun, music has lost two major figures within weeks. RIP.Anyway, does anyone know anything about (or, better still, has even heard) James' sessions with Sly & Robbie in the early 80's? My memory of this episode in the Godfather's career is a little sketchy, but I'm fairly certain he recorded something with them around '81. I think he was just out of his Polydor contract, and seemed to be releasing one-off singles on a bunch of different labels - "Rapp Payback" and "Funky Men" came out on RCA in the UK, and "Bring It On" surfaced on a Sonet 12". The story was that Chris Blackwell tried to sign him to Island, and put him in Compass Point with the same Sly & Robbie band that played on the early '80's Grace Jones & Gwen Guthrie albums. All I remember is that a single was supposedly scheduled but, for whatever reason, the deal never went ahead, and nothing was ever officially released. There were rumours of a bootleg (which reportedly originated from Scotland, of all places), but I've certainly never heard it.Break out your graemlins, people.

  Comments

  • joaobossajoaobossa 128 Posts
    "Happy Christmas, **** - oh, by the way, James Brown's dead."

    Those were the first words I heard from my brother on Christmas Day.

    I've been away from a computer for over a week, so I've spent a little time catching up on the many JB-related threads of the last few days. Little I can add, other than to say that, with James' passing and that of Ahmet Ertegun, music has lost two major figures within weeks. RIP.

    Anyway, does anyone know anything about (or, better still, has even heard) James' sessions with Sly & Robbie in the early 80's? My memory of this episode in the Godfather's career is a little sketchy, but I'm fairly certain he recorded something with them around '81. I think he was just out of his Polydor contract, and seemed to be releasing one-off singles on a bunch of different labels - "Rapp Payback" and "Funky Men" came out on RCA in the UK, and "Bring It On" surfaced on a Sonet 12". The story was that Chris Blackwell tried to sign him to Island, and put him in Compass Point with the same Sly & Robbie band that played on the early '80's Grace Jones & Gwen Guthrie albums. All I remember is that a single was supposedly scheduled but, for whatever reason, the deal never went ahead, and nothing was ever officially released. There were rumours of a bootleg (which reportedly originated from Scotland, of all places), but I've certainly never heard it.

    Break out your graemlins, people.

    i worked at Island and was told that James treated Sly & Robbie badly, so the whole thing was scrapped pretty early. possibly after one session. Blackwell supported his guys (S&R) and dropped the project.
  • coffinjoecoffinjoe 1,743 Posts


    i worked at Island and was told that James treated Sly & Robbie badly, so the whole thing was scrapped pretty early. possibly after one session. Blackwell supported his guys (S&R) and dropped the project.

    yeah, sounded like a frusrating session, jb was having some issues & they just
    couldn't get a groove going

    jb later accused them of being on drugs (they weren't)
  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
    "Happy Christmas, **** - oh, by the way, James Brown's dead."

    Those were the first words I heard from my brother on Christmas Day.

    I've been away from a computer for over a week, so I've spent a little time catching up on the many JB-related threads of the last few days. Little I can add, other than to say that, with James' passing and that of Ahmet Ertegun, music has lost two major figures within weeks. RIP.

    Anyway, does anyone know anything about (or, better still, has even heard) James' sessions with Sly & Robbie in the early 80's? My memory of this episode in the Godfather's career is a little sketchy, but I'm fairly certain he recorded something with them around '81. I think he was just out of his Polydor contract, and seemed to be releasing one-off singles on a bunch of different labels - "Rapp Payback" and "Funky Men" came out on RCA in the UK, and "Bring It On" surfaced on a Sonet 12". The story was that Chris Blackwell tried to sign him to Island, and put him in Compass Point with the same Sly & Robbie band that played on the early '80's Grace Jones & Gwen Guthrie albums. All I remember is that a single was supposedly scheduled but, for whatever reason, the deal never went ahead, and nothing was ever officially released. There were rumours of a bootleg (which reportedly originated from Scotland, of all places), but I've certainly never heard it.

    Break out your graemlins, people.

    i worked at Island and was told that James treated Sly & Robbie badly, so the whole thing was scrapped pretty early. possibly after one session. Blackwell supported his guys (S&R) and dropped the project.



    Did you work there at that time, or did you hear the story later? That early-to-mid 80's period was a pretty interesting time in terms of their output.
  • joaobossajoaobossa 128 Posts
    Did you work there at that time, or did you hear the story later? That early-to-mid 80's period was a pretty interesting time in terms of their output.

    i worked there in the 70's and left, then returned in '82 and worked with them through the 80's. i produced a session in '75 that Robbie played bass on (Heptones "Night Food" lp) and went with him to the grammys in '84, i think.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    i worked (at Island Records) in the 70's

    Did you ever meet Swamp Dogg? (One album on Island around 1975.)
  • joaobossajoaobossa 128 Posts
    i worked (at Island Records) in the 70's

    Did you ever meet Swamp Dogg? (One album on Island around 1975.)

    yeh, met Swamp Dogg (jerry williams) in the mid-70's. when he got his advance from island he wired every room in his house for sound, so he could bump music through the entire house. that was unusual in '75.
  • ChequeDaEditChequeDaEdit 135 Posts
    The 1980s will see Sly and Robbie burst onto the international scene with everyone from Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones to Carly Simon and Joe Cocker queuing up for their services. There is even an ill pairing with James Brown where the godfather of soul gets bluntly scolded by Robbie, irate over Brown???s megalomaniacal behaviour.

    ???I told James to fuck off because James was handling people like dog,??? the gregarious Robbie would later say. ???He was a bully. We were supposed to reach the studio for a 2 o???clock session but James never come til 6 or 7 in the evening. And when he come he want everything to be now, now, now. So when I tell him ???look James, I don???t know how you handle people in the States but fuck you don???t come and handle us like this. I tell him he must have respect for people. I stop the session and tell we play no more.???


    http://exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid1=5646
  • joaobossajoaobossa 128 Posts
    The 1980s will see Sly and Robbie burst onto the international scene with everyone from Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones to Carly Simon and Joe Cocker queuing up for their services. There is even an ill pairing with James Brown where the godfather of soul gets bluntly scolded by Robbie, irate over Brown???s megalomaniacal behaviour.

    ???I told James to fuck off because James was handling people like dog,??? the gregarious Robbie would later say. ???He was a bully. We were supposed to reach the studio for a 2 o???clock session but James never come til 6 or 7 in the evening. And when he come he want everything to be now, now, now. So when I tell him ???look James, I don???t know how you handle people in the States but fuck you don???t come and handle us like this. I tell him he must have respect for people. I stop the session and tell we play no more.???


    http://exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid1=5646

    Robbie handled that like a man. JB may be better known + sold more records, but nobody should accept being treated like a punk, and especially not giants like Sly & Robbie.
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