Nappy Brown
Encyclopedia
Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp (October 12, 1929 – September 20, 2008) better known by his stage name Nappy Brown, was an American
R&B
singer. His hits
include the 1955 Billboard
chart
#2, "Don't Be Angry
" and "Night Time Is the Right Time". His style is instantly recognizable; Brown used a wide vibrato
, melisma
, and distinctive extra syllables, in particular, "li-li-li-li-li."
.
before switching to R&B. In 1954 he won a recording contract with Savoy Records
, which yielded a series of hits, including "Don't Be Angry" (#2 R&B, #25 pop, 1955), "Pitter Patter" (#10 R&B, 1955), and "It Don't Hurt No More" (#8 R&B, #89 pop, 1958). Brown was among the biggest stars in R&B, frequently touring with the revues of Alan Freed
.
His songs, along with those of his peers and contemporaries (such as Little Richard
, Chuck Berry
, and Fats Domino
), were among the first wave of African-American pop music to become noticed and popular with white audiences. Elvis Presley
reportedly used to see Brown perform whenever he appeared in Memphis
. In addition to Brown's influence on blues music, and 1950s R&B and pop, Brown's powerful and protean voice, combined with his distinctive emotive style, is widely viewed as a key link in the development of soul music
.
, former guitarist for Muddy Waters
's band and a fan
of Brown, Brown returned to the music industry, beginning with a successful tour of Scandinavia
in 1983. In 1984, 14 years since his last recording, Brown signed with Landslide Records and released the album
Tore Up with The Heartfixers. Other recordings followed.
Brown's Savoy Records
hit, Piddly Patter was featured in the John Waters
film, Cry-Baby
, starring Johnny Depp
.
by Scott Cable, featured the guitarists Sean Costello
, Bob Margolin
, Junior Watson
, and other special guests performing Brown's hits and several new songs. In the fall of 2007, Nappy Brown was Living Blues Magazine's September cover artist, and followed that honor with a Europe
an tour. Brown was a musical guest on Garrison Keillor
's Prairie Home Companion on October 20, 2007.
At the ceremony for the Blues Music Awards in May 2008, Brown gave one last electrifying performance, capping an incredible comeback year.
On June 1, 2008 following a performance at the Crawfish Festival in Augusta, New Jersey
, Brown fell ill due to series of ailments and was hospitalized. He died in his sleep on September 20, 2008 at Mercy Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Brown was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame
on August 24, 2002.
guitar. Hot Club Records
/Jon Larsen
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer. His hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
include the 1955 Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
#2, "Don't Be Angry
Don't Be Angry
"Don't Be Angry" is a popular song written by Nappy Brown, Rose Marie McCoy, and Fred Mendelsohn and published in 1955. Brown released it in 1955, reaching #2 in the Billboard charts....
" and "Night Time Is the Right Time". His style is instantly recognizable; Brown used a wide vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
, melisma
Melisma
Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.-History:Music of ancient cultures used...
, and distinctive extra syllables, in particular, "li-li-li-li-li."
Biography
Brown was the son of Kathryn Culp and Sammie Lee Brown. After his mother died he was brought up by Fred and Maggie Culp. They attended Gethsemane AME Zion Church and he attended school in Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
.
Early career
He began his career singing gospel musicGospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
before switching to R&B. In 1954 he won a recording contract with Savoy Records
Savoy Records
Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
, which yielded a series of hits, including "Don't Be Angry" (#2 R&B, #25 pop, 1955), "Pitter Patter" (#10 R&B, 1955), and "It Don't Hurt No More" (#8 R&B, #89 pop, 1958). Brown was among the biggest stars in R&B, frequently touring with the revues of Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
.
His songs, along with those of his peers and contemporaries (such as Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, and Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
), were among the first wave of African-American pop music to become noticed and popular with white audiences. Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
reportedly used to see Brown perform whenever he appeared in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. In addition to Brown's influence on blues music, and 1950s R&B and pop, Brown's powerful and protean voice, combined with his distinctive emotive style, is widely viewed as a key link in the development of soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
.
1980s comeback
In the early 1980s, a renewed interest in R&B led to some of Brown's early songs being released on European albums. At the urging of Bob MargolinBob Margolin
Bob Margolin is an American electric blues guitarist. His nickname is "Steady Rollin'".-Biography:Bob Margolin was born and raised in Brookline...
, former guitarist for Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
's band and a fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
of Brown, Brown returned to the music industry, beginning with a successful tour of Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
in 1983. In 1984, 14 years since his last recording, Brown signed with Landslide Records and released the album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Tore Up with The Heartfixers. Other recordings followed.
Brown's Savoy Records
Savoy Records
Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
hit, Piddly Patter was featured in the John Waters
John Waters (filmmaker)
John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
film, Cry-Baby
Cry-Baby
Cry-Baby is a 1990 American teen musical film written and directed by John Waters. It stars Johnny Depp as 1950s teen rebel "Cry-Baby" Wade Walker, and also features an expansive ensemble cast that includes Amy Locane, Iggy Pop, Traci Lords, Ricki Lake, Kim McGuire, David Nelson, Susan Tyrrell, and...
, starring Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
.
Later life
Nappy Brown's final album, Long Time Coming, recorded in May 2007, on Blind Pig Records, was released on September 25, 2007. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive ([ 4-1/2 stars from Allmusic]); the album and Brown were each nominated for a Blues Music Award (the genre's highest honor). The album, producedRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Scott Cable, featured the guitarists Sean Costello
Sean Costello
Sean Costello was an American blues musician, renowned for his fiery guitar playing and soulful singing. He released five critically acclaimed albums before his career was cut short by his sudden death at the age of 28. Tinsley Ellis called him ‘the most gifted young blues guitarist on the scene.....
, Bob Margolin
Bob Margolin
Bob Margolin is an American electric blues guitarist. His nickname is "Steady Rollin'".-Biography:Bob Margolin was born and raised in Brookline...
, Junior Watson
Junior Watson
Junior Watson is an American jump blues guitarist and singer.-Career:Watson is regarded as an influential West Coast blues player. He was a founding member of the blues band The Mighty Flyers and, starting in the early 1980s, he performed with the band for a decade. He also performed with Canned...
, and other special guests performing Brown's hits and several new songs. In the fall of 2007, Nappy Brown was Living Blues Magazine's September cover artist, and followed that honor with a Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an tour. Brown was a musical guest on Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
's Prairie Home Companion on October 20, 2007.
At the ceremony for the Blues Music Awards in May 2008, Brown gave one last electrifying performance, capping an incredible comeback year.
On June 1, 2008 following a performance at the Crawfish Festival in Augusta, New Jersey
Augusta, New Jersey
Augusta is an unincorporated area located within Frankford Township, Sussex County, New Jersey.Augusta is the home of the New Jersey State Fair and the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show....
, Brown fell ill due to series of ailments and was hospitalized. He died in his sleep on September 20, 2008 at Mercy Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Brown was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame
Blues Hall of Fame
The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
on August 24, 2002.
Recordings
Roots To Scandinavian Blues (LP 1983/remastred 2009) with Knut ReiersrudKnut Reiersrud
Knut Reiersrud is a Norwegian blues guitarist. His work also incorporates elements of Norwegian traditional music and African music. He lives in Oslo...
guitar. Hot Club Records
Hot Club Records
Hot Club Records is a Record company established 1982, by guitar player Jon Larsen. More than 350 released CDs, DVDs and books, mostly jazz related.Some artists on Hot Club Records: Chet Baker, Philip Catherine, Warne Marsh, and the poet Jan Erik Vold....
/Jon Larsen
Jon Larsen
Jon Larsen is an autodidact guitarist, composer, surrealistic painter, and record producer with heavy influence on the revival of Gypsy jazz worldwide...
External links
- The new album: Long Time Coming
- [ The album's 4-1/2 star review from Allmusic]
- Prairie Home Companion, Oct 20, 2007 -- with Nappy Brown
- Nappy Brown's Myspace page
- An audio review of the new album, Long Time Coming from the WXPN blues show podcast
- Some reviews ofLong Time Coming
- Blind Pig Records news
- Artist profile, from Piedmont Talent
- Blues Hall of Fame