Papa's Got a Brand New Bag

"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" is a song written and recorded by James Brown. Released as a two-part single in 1965, it was Brown's first song to reach the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten, peaking at number seven. It was also a number-one R&B hit, topping the charts for eight weeks.

"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" is widely considered the first recording to showcase what later became Brown's signature musical style, and marks the beginning of the development of the musical genre of funk. As Brown sings the praises of an old man brave enough to get out on the dance floor of a nightclub, Brown's band provides a horn-heavy backdrop with a prominent rhythm and an electric guitar riff for a hook. It is considered one of Brown's signature songs, and has been covered by many artists, both within the R&B genre and outside of it.

In 2004, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" was ranked number 72 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Brown recorded a big band jazz arrangement of "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" with the Louie Bellson Orchestra for his 1970 LP Soul on Top.

1 Personnel
2 Similarly named songs
3 Cultural references
4 Sample
5 References

[edit] Personnel

James Brown - lead vocal

with the James Brown Band:

Joe Dupars - trumpet
Ron Tooley - trumpet
Levi Rasbury - trumpet
Wilmer Milton - trombone
Nat Jones - alto saxophone
Maceo Parker - tenor and baritone saxophones
St. Clair Pinckney - tenor saxophone
Eldee Williams - tenor saxophone
Al "Brisco" Clark - tenor saxophone
Nat Jones - organ
Jimmy Nolen - guitar
Sam Thomas or Bernard Odum - bass
Melvin Parker - drums

[edit] Similarly named songs

A song recorded by the band Pigbag, "Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag", was a worldwide hit in 1979.
In 1995 Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto Allstarz project recorded "Reach Up (Papa's Got A Brand New Bag)", which peaked at #6 in the UK Singles Chart.
The Capitol Steps recorded the parody "Papa's Got A Brand New Baghdad" for their 2004 album of the same name.

[edit] Cultural references

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The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The title of The Simpsons episode "Papa's Got a Brand New Badge" is a play on the name of the song.
British comedy duo Peter Cook and Dudley Moore performed a satirical skit "Mama's Got a Brand New Bag" deconstructing the lyrics of contemporary black popular music.
An episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is titled "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse". The story revolves around Will Smith's father coming back into his life after fourteen years and walking out on him again.

[edit] Sample

"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"

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[edit] References

Leeds, Alan M., and Harry Weinger (1991). Star Time: Song by Song. In Star Time (pp. 46-53) [CD liner notes]. London: Polydor Records.
White, Cliff (1991). Discography. In Star Time (pp. 54-59) [CD liner notes]. London: Polydor Records.