Guitarist and Singer. Respectfully known as the Godfather of Go-Go a subgenre of funk music with an emphasis on specific rhythmic patterns that he is credited with founding and developing in the Washington, D.C. area. He formed the group the Soul Searchers cutting their first record, "We the People," for Sussex Records in 1972, followed by "Salt of the Earth" in 1974. It wasn't until 1979's "Bustin' Loose" that helped define the sound of Go-Go and it spent several weeks at the top of the R&B chart. He recorded numerous live and studio records on a variety of labels and appeared on Soul Train twice. In 1992 he released an album with then little known soulful singer Eva Cassidy, her only studio release. The album "The Other Side" was released on Brown's label Liaison Records, consisting of jazz, blues and soul standards and contained a mixture of solos and duets. In 2005, he was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts. He received his first Grammy nomination in 2010. He exclusively played a blonde Gibson ES-335, affectionately referring to it as Blondie. His legendary live concerts called for a spirited call-and-response audience participation. In 2011 during the Labor Day weekend Chuck Brown, Duke Ellington and Francis Scott Key were honored by The National Symphony Orchestra at the foot of the stairs of The United States Capitol. His music spawned many Go-Go bands and he has been sampled by numerous musicians including Eve, Nelly, LL Cool J, and countless others. On his last album he recorded a song with Neo-Soul artist Jill Scott. He actively performed until a month before his death. Chuck was so beloved by the DMV that his funeral was held at the Washington DC Civic Center and lasted for 4 hours.
Guitarist and Singer. Respectfully known as the Godfather of Go-Go a subgenre of funk music with an emphasis on specific rhythmic patterns that he is credited with founding and developing in the Washington, D.C. area. He formed the group the Soul Searchers cutting their first record, "We the People," for Sussex Records in 1972, followed by "Salt of the Earth" in 1974. It wasn't until 1979's "Bustin' Loose" that helped define the sound of Go-Go and it spent several weeks at the top of the R&B chart. He recorded numerous live and studio records on a variety of labels and appeared on Soul Train twice. In 1992 he released an album with then little known soulful singer Eva Cassidy, her only studio release. The album "The Other Side" was released on Brown's label Liaison Records, consisting of jazz, blues and soul standards and contained a mixture of solos and duets. In 2005, he was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts. He received his first Grammy nomination in 2010. He exclusively played a blonde Gibson ES-335, affectionately referring to it as Blondie. His legendary live concerts called for a spirited call-and-response audience participation. In 2011 during the Labor Day weekend Chuck Brown, Duke Ellington and Francis Scott Key were honored by The National Symphony Orchestra at the foot of the stairs of The United States Capitol. His music spawned many Go-Go bands and he has been sampled by numerous musicians including Eve, Nelly, LL Cool J, and countless others. On his last album he recorded a song with Neo-Soul artist Jill Scott. He actively performed until a month before his death. Chuck was so beloved by the DMV that his funeral was held at the Washington DC Civic Center and lasted for 4 hours.
Bio by: A. L. Parrish
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Godfather of Go-Go
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