Bobby Byrd
Bobby Howard Byrd (August 15, 1934 – September 12, 2007) was an American rhythm and blues, soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, bandleader and talent dedicated, who played a part in the development of soul and funk music in association with James Brown.
Not to be confused with the R&B singer Bobby Day who also went by Bobby Byrd.
Bobby Byrd
Bobby Howard Byrd
"Byrd"
August 15, 1934
Toccoa, Georgia, U.S.
September 12, 2007 (aged 73)
Loganville, Georgia, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- musician
- talent scout
1952–1996
Byrd began his career in 1952 as member of the gospel group, the Gospel Starlighters,[1] who later changed their name to the Avons in 1953 and the Five Royals in 1954, before settling on the name the Flames in 1955 prior to Brown's joining the group; their agent later changed it to The Famous Flames. Byrd was the founder of "The Flames", is credited with the discovery of James Brown, and also claimed responsibility for writing most of James Brown's hits. As group founder, and one of the longest-serving members of the group, Byrd was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame posthumously in 2012 as a member of The Famous Flames . Byrd was also a 1998 recipient of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award, and was inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame with The Famous Flames in 2020.
Early life and career[edit]
Bobby Howard Byrd was born in Toccoa, Georgia, to a religiously devout family, where they were respected members of the church congregation and active in their neighborhood.[2] Byrd started being active in his local church choir with the gospel group, the Zioneers,[3] later making a name for himself as member of the Gospel Starlighters,[1] which included his sister Sarah. At a time when church elders disapproved secular singing, the band members would leave their home state and perform in South Carolina as the R&B group the Avons, leaving gospel behind. The original group consisted of Byrd, who played piano, organ and sang lead vocals, Nafloyd Scott, Fred Pulliam and Doyle Oglesby.
Solo career and continual work with Brown[edit]
After two years away, Byrd reunited with Brown in 1970. He hired, on the spot and without rehearsal, Bootsy Collins, Bootsy's brother Catfish, and their band to fill in for Brown's former band after they left him before a gig. After that performance, Byrd and Brown brought the band to a studio session where they recorded the famous funk hit "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine".[8]
When The Famous Flames were still together, Byrd and Brown co-formed the production company, Fair Deal, to distribute The Famous Flames' recordings—and Brown's own solo recordings—to mainstream markets after years solely on the rhythm and blues circuit. This led to both Byrd and Brown signing solo deals with Smash Records. In 1964, Byrd recorded his first solo hit, "Baby, Baby, Baby", with Anna King. A year later he had a bigger R&B hit with "We Are in Love", which reached #14. Later in the late 1960s, as Byrd and Brown together began working under the yet-to-be-named genre of funk, Byrd had a funk hit song with "I Need Help (I Can't Do It Alone)", which reached #14 R&B, (#79 Pop) in 1970.[9]
In 1971, when Brown signed with Polydor Records, he and Byrd formed the label People Records, and issued several records by other artists, including Byrd himself, who recorded the funk hit "I Know You Got Soul" (1971). Byrd appeared onstage with Brown from 1970 until leaving his band again in 1973 due to a combination of issues, including uncredited compositions on some Brown hits, Brown's issues with singer Vicki Anderson, whom Byrd eventually married and remained with until his death, and wanting to start a family with Anderson. Though he remained in contact with Brown following this final split, this departure ended Byrd's 21-year professional association with Brown, who now went by the nickname "Godfather of Soul", after composing the soundtrack to the film, Black Caesar (1973). Without Byrd's help, however, Brown began struggling with production of the music on People Records, and soon began experiencing financial troubles. Byrd recorded the song "Back From The Dead" in 1975.
In 1993, Byrd recorded a solo album, On the Move, on the German record Label, Soulciety Records. After a few more live performances, Byrd decided to retire in 1996, though he occasionally re-emerged with the assistance of Brown. Following Brown's parole from drug and weapons charges in 1991, he hired Byrd to join him on stage for his pay-per-view 1992 concert. Byrd would occasionally perform with Brown in some venues. They would also collaborate on the song "Killing Is Out, School Is In" from Brown's final studio album, 2002's The Next Step. At his funeral in December 2006, Byrd sang "Sex Machine" with Brown's other band mates paying homage to his late estranged friend and former performing partner.
In 2003, a few years before his death, Bobby, his wife Vicki, and Famous Flames Bobby Bennett and Lloyd Stallworth, sued lead singer James Brown and Universal Music for non-payment of royalties, stating that monies that rightfully belong to them for numerous Famous Flames hits, and Byrd's hit "I Know You Got Soul", which was sampled by numerous rappers, including Eric B. & Rakim, were sent by Universal to James Brown instead, who allegedly kept them.[10] The suit was dismissed due to the statute of limitations having run out. However, rapper Jay-Z, who sampled Byrd's song "I'm Not to Blame" for his recording "U Don't Know", on his 2001 multi million-selling The Blueprint, paid Byrd 65% of the royalties for the song, allowing Byrd and his family to secure a mortgage for their home, which was worth about $250,000.
Legacy[edit]
Numerous songs in hip hop music have sampled Byrd-associated songs such as "I Know You Got Soul", "Think (About It)", "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", "Soul Power", "Make It Funky" and "I'm Not to Blame". Byrd's music has had a lasting influence on numerous soul, R&B, and hip hop artists.
In the Famous Flames' Rock & Roll Hall of Fame page, Byrd is regarded as "one of the more important auxiliary figures in the career of a major artist in music history."[15]
In October 2004, 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. In September 2005, his song "Try It Again" appeared on the soundtrack of Indigo Prophecy.
Byrd was portrayed by actor Nelsan Ellis in the 2014 James Brown biopic Get on Up.[16]
Induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and initial controversy[edit]
In 1986 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame officials announced that James Brown would be included in a list of the first nine musicians to be inducted by the organization. However, James Brown did not meet the Hall of Fame's criteria for induction at that time which required an artist to have released their first single as a solo artist at least 25 years prior to induction. Brown's first solo release in 1965 was only 21 years before, although Brown had been active in the industry and released songs as part of The Famous Flames prior to 1965. For Brown to be inducted by the organization in 1986, inclusion of the other members of The Famous Flames was required. It is not known why this oversight occurred, but it has been surmised that the organization felt Brown's solo work warranted his induction at the Hall of Fame's initial ceremonies.
Brown's inclusion as a solo artist without the other Flames members was met with criticism but was not amended until years later.[17] In late 2011, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame formed a special committee to discuss several pioneering groups they felt deserved to be inducted but were initially excluded in error, due to the impact of their lead singers, who were incorrectly inducted as solo artists. This committee's decision led to the induction of The Famous Flames and its members. This was an amending gesture which did not require nomination or voting, under the premise that they should have been inducted with Brown back in 1986, since, according to Rock Hall CEO Terry Stewart, Brown's first solo recording missed the 25-year criterion for performing musicians. Brown, Byrd, Stallworth, and Terry had long been deceased by this point, and Bobby Bennett, the Flames' only surviving member, accepted the honor on behalf of the group in Cleveland, on April 14, 2012.[18][19][20][21] Less than one year after the induction, Bennett himself died on January 18, 2013.[22]
In 2015, Bobby Byrd was nominated for a second induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The J.B.'s, a group which he actually discovered in 1970 to replace the Original James Brown Band, who left Brown in 1970 (as the Famous Flames left him in 1968) due to salary disputes.[23]
In 2020, Bobby Byrd was posthumously inducted with the rest of The Famous Flames' members Baby Lloyd Stallworth, Bobby Bennett, and Johnny Terry into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, some seven years after the induction of Flames lead singer James Brown into the same organization.[24]