* En anglais uniquement
As a long-running right-hand man,
Bobby Byrd performed an invaluable function in the
James Brown show, warming up the crowds as a solo singer, then retreating to the sidelines as a member of
the Famous Flames,
Brown's backup vocal group. Indeed, without
Byrd,
James Brown may have never made it out of Georgia: in the early '50s,
Byrd and his family sponsored
Brown's parole from prison, and
Byrd gave
Brown a spot in his vocal group,
the Flames (which, of course,
Brown eventually took over and relegated to the background). Like many of
Brown's close associates and support musicians,
Byrd got a chance to record his own work under
Brown's direction, releasing numerous
Brown-produced singles between the early '60s and early '70s. Some of these were even modest R&B hits -- "We're in Love" (1965) and "I Need Help (I Can't Do It Alone)" (1970) were the biggest, making the R&B Top 20.
Brown's backing musicians (and sometimes
Brown himself) often figured heavily in the arrangements, and unsurprisingly the tracks often sounded like
James Brown records featuring a different vocalist. The unfortunate problem was that
Byrd was an average, even nondescript soul singer, sounding much more like a poor person's
Sam & Dave than a facsimile of Soul Brother Number One. The records were often fine, the early-'70s hard funk singles in particular (which usually featured
the J.B.'s cook), but you can't help wondering if they might sound a lot better with
J.B. himself on the front line. Still, fans of the
James Brown groove will find a lot to like in
Byrd's best recordings, in much the same way as they'll enjoy the James Brown's Funky People series of recordings that
J.B. oversaw (but did not sing lead on). Certainly
Eric B. & Rakim thought so, reworking one of
Byrd's best singles (1971's "I Know You Got Soul") so faithfully that legal action ensued. After splitting from
Brown in 1973,
Byrd recorded sporadically and performed often (particularly in Europe), releasing On the Move in 1994. He died of cancer in September 2007, but not before performing at the memorial service for
Brown, held just a few months earlier. ~ Richie Unterberger