Without Bobby Byrd, the world might never have known James Brown. It was Byrd and Byrd alone who persuaded his family to sponsor Brown's parole from the Georgia penal system in 1952, rescuing the troubled but talented singer from a life of bad breaks by launching his music career. Byrd was leader of a vocal group called The Avons when Brown joined in the mid-1950s. The Avons later became The Flames. Sensing a huge talent, Byrd brought Brown into his well-established vocal group, the Flames.
Under Byrd's brotherly guidance, Brown got his act together and turned it loose, taking over the Flames (which he would later rename James Brown And The Famous Flames) and eventually conquering the world. Until the early '70s, Byrd was Brown's right-hand man, not only serving as his arranger and bandleader, but also singing, playing organ, warming up crowds, and co-writing many of JB's biggest hits, including "Licking Stick" and "Sex Machine." Byrd's deep and gritty vocals provided the perfect counterpoint to Browns' raucous shouts, and their strong call-and-response dynamics and soulful harmonies defined such classics as "Get Up, Get Into It, And Get Involved," "Talkin' Loud & Sayin' Nothing," and "Soul Power." The Godfather's Godfather, Byrd has been described by JB's trombonist (and bandleader) Fred Wesley as "Soul Brother One And-A-Half," a half-step closer than second to the unbeatable Brown.
Unfortunately, Byrd never received the proper recognition he was due (he remains uncredited on many of the 40+ James Brown hits he helped pen), explaining why he's largely remembered as just another James Brown sideman. Byrd sued Brown a couple of years ago to get royalties for songs for songs he said he wrote but for which he was never paid. The lawsuit was thrown out for a lack of timeliness, Byrd said in an interview with the AJC earlier this year
From the early '60s to the early '70s, Byrd recorded and released a whole slew of heavy soul and hard funk singles, the majority of which are included here. A few of these records charted—1965's "We're In Love" and 1970's "I Need Help (I Can't Do It Alone)" both hit the R&B Top 20. These super bad records continued to be cut right up until 1973, when the Byrd / Brown partnership finally came to an end, with the original founder of the Flames cutting out to make it on his own. Byrd's promising solo career never materialized, and the singer released a few singles before sinking into obscurity (though he continued to tour, particularly in Europe). Until the release of Bobby Byrd Got Soul: The Best of Bobby Byrd in 1995, his entire '60s and '70s recorded output remained out-of-print and impossible to find. For the few years that it was available(it's now out-of-print), this CD offered a consolidated chunk of Byrd's best stuff—a stylishly packaged and start-to-finish charge of raw soul power.
He was married to soul singer Vicki Anderson, another James Brown collaborator. His step-daughter is Carleen Anderson.
In October 2004 Bobby Byrd's songs I Know You Got Soul and Hot Pants were featured on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack, playing on fictional radio station Master Sounds 98.3. Also, in September 2005 his song Try It Again appeared on the soundtrack of Indigo Prophecy.
On September 12th 2007, comforted by Vicki Anderson and a large, close family, Byrd died of cancer, he was 73.
BOBBY BYRD - I Know You Got Soul
*******BONUS VIDEO********
RAKIM - I Know You Got Soul
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