The Famous Flames

The Famous Flames
The Famous Flames (L–R: Bobby Bennett, Lloyd Stallworth, Bobby Byrd and James Brown) performing at the Apollo Theater in New York, 1964. Brown's band is on the right.
The Famous Flames (L–R: Bobby Bennett, Lloyd Stallworth, Bobby Byrd and James Brown) performing at the Apollo Theater in New York, 1964. Brown's band is on the right.
Background information
Also known asThe Avons, The Toccoa Band, The Flames, James Brown and The Famous Flames, James Brown and His Famous Flames, The Fabulous Flames
OriginToccoa, Georgia, U.S.
GenresRhythm and blues, soul, funk
Years active1953–1968
LabelsFederal, King, Smash
Past membersJames Brown
Bobby Byrd
Johnny Terry
Sylvester Keels
Nash Knox
Nafloyd Scott
Bobby Bennett
Baby Lloyd Stallworth
Troy Collins
Fred Pulliam
Roy Scott
Doyle Oglesby
Robert Gram
JW Archer
Louis Madison
Bill Hollings
Willie Johnson

The Famous Flames were an American rhythm and blues, soul vocal group[1] founded in Toccoa, Georgia, in 1953 by Bobby Byrd. James Brown first began his career as a member of the Famous Flames, emerging as the lead singer by the time of their first appearance in a professional recording, "Please, Please, Please", in 1956.

On hit songs such as "Try Me", "Bewildered", "Think", "I Don't Mind", and "I'll Go Crazy", the Flames' smooth backing harmonies contrasted strikingly with Brown's raw, impassioned singing, and their synchronized dance steps were a prominent feature of their live shows. Altogether, James Brown and the Famous Flames numerous R&B hit songs reached the Top 40 on the R&B and pop charts.They also appeared in the Hollywood films T.A.M.I. Show[2] (1964) and Ski Party.[3] Members of the Flames also contributed as songwriters and choreographers. In 2012 the Flames were retroactively inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside Brown.[4] On their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame page, they are described as "a group of singers, performers and dancers that created the complementary elements of one of the greatest stage shows of all time."[5] As of 2020, The Famous Flames were also inducted into The National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame.[6][7]

The Famous Flames are sometimes erroneously identified as James Brown's "band",[8] a confusion partly fostered by their record companies' inconsistent labeling credit practices. Although members of the group did play instruments in some of their earliest shows and recordings, by 1959 Brown had hired a touring band and from that point on, the Flames contributed primarily as backing vocalists and dancers.[9] The band was billed separately as the James Brown Band, and later as the James Brown Orchestra.[10]

  1. ^ "Bobby Bennett, the last of the Famous Flames, speaks of James Brown & more". August 3, 2012.
  2. ^ "BBC Arts - BBC Arts, James Brown: Dynamite Soul". BBC.
  3. ^ ""I Feel Good" | James Brown & The Famous Flames (1965)". YouTube. September 5, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  4. ^ "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Adds Six Backing Groups to the Class of 2012". Rolling Stone. February 9, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  5. ^ "The Famous Flames Biography". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  6. ^ "Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  8. ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  9. ^ Wolk, Douglas. (2004) Live at the Apollo, 35. New York: Continuum.
  10. ^ Leeds, Alan, and Harry Weinger (1991). "Star Time: Song by Song". In Star Time (pp. 46–53) [CD booklet]. New York: PolyGram Records.