THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

88-James Brown-Get Up (I Feel Like Being a ) Sex Machine.

1970-Number 32 single.

Best Bit-At 2.12. If you Google sex machine it brings up some very weird results, so my advice is to add the words James Brown song, because this is a family friendly music countdown.

In March 1970 most of James Brown’s (see also best songs 880-349 and 270) mid to late 1960’s backing band of musicians who were known as ‘The James Brown Band, and The James Brown Orchestra,’ had walked out on him due to money disputes, although his longtime collaborator Bobby Byrd, (1934-2007) (see also best songs 561) and the drummer John ‘Jabo’ Starks (1937-2018) remained. James Brown set about organising a new backing band which included William ‘Bootsy’ Collins and his brother, guitarist Phelps “Catfish” Collins, (1943-2010) (see also best songs 850-612-340-143 and 26) formerly of the obscure funk band ‘The Pacemakers.’ Also added were three inexperienced horn players, who were Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells, Darryl “Hasaan” Jamison, and Robert McCollough, Brown also added the conga player Johnny Griggs. It was this line up that recorded ‘Sex Machine,’ thus proving that James Brown could still be successful without the majority of his old band.

The new line up were called ‘The J.B.’s,’ and with a total of 34 different members coming and going, they would remain active until 2006. As well as backing James Brown, in the studio and on tour, the ‘J.B.’s’ would also be used as the in house band at ‘People Records,’ which was the label owned by James Brown to record artists such as Lynn Collins, (1948-2005) and Vicki Anderson. The ‘J.B.’s’ also issued 13 Albums between 1972-2014, and 25 singles between 1970-1978.

‘Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine’ was co-written by James Brown, Bobby Byrd, and Ron Lenoff, (1931-2006) with the production credited to Brown. The song is considered to be another important step in the development of ‘Funk’ music, the genre that Brown and Byrd had already had a big say in, with some music critics pointing to Brown’s 1967 song ‘Cold Sweat’ as the first ‘Funk’ record. ‘Sex Machine’ is a call and response song, Brown would sing his line, and Byrd would respond. Towards the end of the song Brown starts singing ‘Shake Your Moneymaker,’ this is a tribute to the American Blues singer Elmore James, (1918-1963) who had recorded the Blues song ‘Shake Your Money Maker’ in 1961. Elmore James wasn’t credited as one of ‘Sex Machine’s’ writers, so it is highly unlikely that his estate received any of the songs royalties.

In 1970, using the word ‘sex’ in a songs title was brave, with no track up until then ever having charted on Billboard with the word ‘sex’ in the title. The song would peak at Number 15 on Billboard, and it would be a further four years until the ‘Moments’ (see also best songs 466) would reach Number 17 with ‘Sexy Mama.’ In the UK, ‘You Sexy Thing’ by ‘Hot Chocolate’ (see also best songs 864) was one of the first songs to get the ball rolling, when it reached Number 2 in 1975.

As for the songs meaning, ‘Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine’ is probably not about sex, but more to do with motivation, and channelling all your energy into being the best at what you attempt to do.

‘Fellas, I’m ready to get up and do my thing! (Yeah! That’s right! Do it!) I want to get into it, man, you know? (Go ahead! Yeah!) Like a, like a sex machine, man, (Yeah!) movin’, groovin’, doin’ it, y’know? (Yeah!) Can I count it off? (Okay! Alright!) One, two, three, four!’