Go-Go music founder succumbs at 75
Chuck Brown credited with creating the sound
Chuck Brown, known as the “Godfather of Go-Go,” died Wednesday at 75 after being hospitalized for pneumonia earlier this month.
Go-go first became wildly popular in the Washington, D.C., area in the mid-1970s, and Brown is credited for creating the signature sound to compete with the dominance of disco. The sound became the most prominent genre of music identified with Blacks in the nation’s capital.
Go-go music blended R&B and Funk and used nonstop percussion to string songs together, which instantly became popular at parties and performances because it kept party-goers dancing all night. Brown said the style got its name because “the music just goes and goes.”
Born in Gaston, N.C., in 1936, Brown began performing with soul music singer Jerry Butler, but later formed the Soul Searchers.
The Soul Searchers’ biggest hit “Bustin’ Loose,” spent four weeks on top of the R&B singles chart in 1978. Other hits such as “We Need Some Money,” “Go-Go Swing” and “Run Joe” also achieved success. Although the popularity of Go-Go never successfully spread from too far from the D.C. area, rapper Nelly shone an even greater light on the music when he sampled “Bustin’ Loose” to make his 2002 hit “Hot in Here.” The popular party song gave him his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 4 in the United Kingdom. It later won Nelly a Grammy Award and in 2008. It was ranked No. 36 on VH-1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.
Brown was, however, recognized with a Grammy for his collaboration with singer Jill Scott, on “Love.”
Jimmy Castor, a New York-born musician known as “The Everything Man” because of his ability to write, produce, perform and transcend music genres from Doo Wop to Hip Hop, died Jan. 17 of apparent heart failure in a Las Vegas hospital. He was 71 years old.
Castor began his music career as a Doo Wop singer in 1956. The following year he replaced Frankie Lymon in the group the Teenagers and wrote and recorded a song the group sang called “I Promise to Remember.” It would be his first million-selling single.
Gil Scott-Heron the seminal author, poet, and musician died at the age of 62 on May 27 of undisclosed causes at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York’s Manhattan borough. A funeral service was scheduled for 8:30 am, at the Riverside Church, with a public viewing in the evening from 6 to 9 pm at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home at Madison Avenue and 81st Street. Scott-Heron is survived by his wife, Blaxploitation actress Brenda Sykes, and their daughter Gia Scott-Heron.
Daniel Lee Jones, a native of Dekalb, Texas, passed away on Thursday, May 2, in Inglewood. He was 71.
He was born to Leonard Clevland Jones and Ida Mae Bailey on Jan. 17, 1942, the third of seven children.
Jones attended Booker T. Washington elementary and high schools. He was active in the high school band and choir.
After graduation, Jones moved to Los Angeles and attended Los Angeles City College and UCLA.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Jeanne Cooper, who portrayed Katherine Chandler on “The Young and the Restless” for 40 years, died today of an undisclosed illness at age 84.
Her death was announced on Twitter and Facebook by her son, actor Corbin Bernsen, who is best known for his work on “L.A. Law” and has been providing his online followers with updates on his mother’s health for weeks.
Funeral services will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at First A.M.E. Church of Los Angeles for Lois Bernardine Murray, wife of former FAME pastor the Rev. Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray.
She died April 27 from complications of a stroke. Murray was 83.
Entombment will take place at Inglewood Park Cemetery, 720 E. Florence Ave., Inglewood, and the repast will follow at the church, 2270 S. Harvard Blvd., Los Angeles.
