Songoftheday 8/21/14 - superhighways coast to coast easy to get anywhere, on the transcontinental overload just slide behind the wheel how does it feel...

James Brown - "Living In America"
from the albums Rocky IV (Original Soundtrack) and Gravity (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 11

Today's Song of the Day comes from the Godfather of Soul himself, the hardest-working man in show business, the late James Brown, who's legacy in the history of R&B music is quite secure, with over a hundred charting singles on the soul and pop charts in Billboard magazine, as well as a string of classic album still being used as samples today.

Born in South Carolina, Brown's first appearance on the charts came back in 1956, with his ballad "Please Please Please" which climbed to #5 on the R&B chart. Two years later, he put his next big hit "Try Me" on the pop chart at #48, while the record topped the soul chart. James started the next decade with his first top-40 hit, "Think" (#33), but it wouldn't be until 1965, when his breakthrough pop hit "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" went to #8, that Brown became a mainstream singing star. He would go on to have five more single make the pop top-ten in the 60s, and a truckload of moderate and minor hits, but as the 70s dragged on and disco took over the R&B world, Brown's radio fortunes dimmed a bit.

The 80's found a resurgence of interest in the artist, with Brown appearing in movies like The Blues Brothers. When it came time for Sylvester Stallone to film his fourth Rocky movie, Brown was included in the soundtrack with a song written by rock singer turned disco star Dan Hartman. "Living In America" seemed as big as the image Brown presented, and after the Rocky vets Survivor scored a top-ten hit with "Burning Heart" from the movie, James quickly followed suit...

"Living In America" became Brown's seventh and final top-10 hit on the American pop chart in March of 1986. The single also climbed in the top-10 on Billboard's R&B (#10) and dance club play (#3) lists as well. It also made the top of the charts all over the world, reaching the top ten in Britain, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and more. Brown won the Grammy for R&B male performance, while Hartman was nominated for the song.

Brown would go on to put "Living In America" on to his next studio album, Gravity, but the momentum didn't continue, as the title track just nicked the pop chart at #93. He would land a few more R&B hits, with "Static" going to #5 as late as 1988. But by that time, he was better known for his jail time and police chases than his music. His last charting single came in 1993 with "Can't Get Any Harder", which stopped at #76 on the soul list...

Although he would continue to perform live, his hard years caught up with him, and Brown passed away on Christmas of 2006. However, his status as the "Godfather" hasn't been even threatened.

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


 Here's James performing live (with a little "Papa" to boot)...

...while this is the remixed version that made the top-3 on the club chart...

Finally, here's the song's writer, the late great Dan Hartman, with his recording (possibly a demo) of the song...

Up tomorrow:  A Norwegian trio gives a bright weather forecast.