It's raining men who want you to stand up

[bmack86]

RIP Bobby Byrd, one of the JBs and Famous Flames

Bobby Byrd-- singer, songwriter, and celebrated foil for the Hardest Working Man in Show Business-- died yesterday of complications from cancer in his Loganville, Georgia home, RollingStone.com reports. He was 73.

Byrd worked with James Brown from 1953-1973, first in the Famous Flames and then the JBs. He is perhaps best known as a co-vocalist on some of Brown's most famous songs: You'll recognize him immediately as the source of all the "get on up!"s on "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine".

A solo artist in his own right as well, Byrd recorded several albums and numerous singles, most famously the oft-sampled "I Know You Got Soul".

Brown and Byrd reunited in the years before their deaths, and Byrd performed at Brown's memorial service in Augusta, Georgia in December 2006.

(from Pitchfork)

[dorkfish]

I thought this said Bobby Bare, at first.

[rage patton]

I thought this was going to be about Eminem...

[J~$$$]

-5.

[sydaud]

RIP indeed.

"Sex Machine" to me is the funk equal to Miles Davis' "So What", Nearly 11 minutes in A# and the piece never gets even remotely tired. Brown got all the credit and that's cool, but damn, the Famous Flames were the best backing band in rock & roll history and Byrd was extremely instrumental in Brown's ascension to the top of the R & B world.

[bmack86]

Where's Jeff? He would care about this.

[gaypalmsprings]