James Joseph Brown（1933年5月3日 - 2006年12月25日）是美国歌手，词曲作者，舞蹈家，音乐家，唱片制作人和乐队领队。作为放克音乐的先驱和20世纪流行音乐和舞蹈的主要人物，他经常被称为“灵魂教父”。在一个持续了50年的职业生涯中，他影响了几种音乐类型的发展。

布朗的职业生涯始于佐治亚州托科阿的福音歌手。他加入了由Bobby Byrd创立的R＆B声乐团体，即Gospel Starlighters（后来演变为Flames），他是该剧的主唱。 20世纪50年代末，作为唱歌集团The Famous Flames的成员首次引起全国公众的关注，其中有着热烈的民谣歌曲“请，请，请”和“试试我”，布朗凭借着名烈焰成为了不知疲倦的现场表演者的声誉和他的支持乐队，有时被称为詹姆斯布朗乐队或詹姆斯布朗管弦乐团。他的成功在20世纪60年代达到顶峰，现场专辑Live at the Apollo和热门单曲如“Papa's Got a Brand New Bag”，“I​​ Got You（I Feel Good）”和“This is a man's Man's Man's World”。在20世纪60年代后期，他从一连串的布鲁斯和福音形式和风格转变为深刻的“非洲化”音乐制作方法，影响了放克音乐的发展。到了20世纪70年代早期，布朗在J.B.s形成之后完全建立了放克声音，其中包括诸如“起床（我感觉像是性爱机器）”和“回报”等记录。他还因社交评论的歌曲而闻名，其中包括1968年的热门歌曲“Say It Loud - 我是黑人，我很骄傲”。布朗继续表演和记录，直到2006年他死于肺炎。

布朗在Billboard R＆B排行榜上创下了17首单曲，排名第一。他还保留了Billboard Hot 100排行榜上排名最高的单曲的记录。布朗获得了许多机构的荣誉，包括入选摇滚名人堂和歌曲创作者名人堂。在乔尔·惠特本对1942年至2010年的Billboard R＆B排行榜的分析中，詹姆斯·布朗在“500强艺术家”中排名第一。他在音乐杂志“滚石”（Rolling Stone）的有史以来最伟大的100位艺术家中排名第七。 “滚石”还引用布朗作为有史以来最具代表性的艺术家。

(May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. A progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century popular music and dance, he is often referred to as the "Godfather of Soul". In a career that lasted 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres.

Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia. He joined an R&B vocal group, the Gospel Starlighters (which later evolved into the Flames) founded by Bobby Byrd, in which he was the lead singer. First coming to national public attention in the late 1950s as a member of the singing group The Famous Flames with the hit ballads "Please, Please, Please" and "Try Me", Brown built a reputation as a tireless live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with the live album Live at the Apollo and hit singles such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World". During the late 1960s he moved from a continuum of blues and gospel-based forms and styles to a profoundly "Africanized" approach to music-making that influenced the development of funk music. By the early 1970s, Brown had fully established the funk sound after the formation of the J.B.s with records such as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and "The Payback". He also became noted for songs of social commentary, including the 1968 hit "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud". Brown continued to perform and record until his death from pneumonia in 2006.

Brown recorded 17 singles that reached number one on the Billboard R&B charts. He also holds the record for the most singles listed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart which did not reach number one. Brown has received honors from many institutions, including inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame.In Joel Whitburn's analysis of the Billboard R&B charts from 1942 to 2010, James Brown is ranked as number one in The Top 500 Artists. He is ranked seventh on the music magazine Rolling Stone's list of its 100 greatest artists of all time. Rolling Stone has also cited Brown as the most sampled artist of all time.