Chuck Brown, known as the “Godfather of Go-Go,” died Wednesday at 75 after being hospitalized for pneumonia earlier this month.
Go-go first became wildly popular in the Washington, D.C., area in the mid-1970s, and Brown is credited for creating the signature sound to compete with the dominance of disco. The sound became the most prominent genre of music identified with Blacks in the nation’s capital.
Go-go music blended R&B and Funk and used nonstop percussion to string songs together, which instantly became popular at parties and performances because it kept party-goers dancing all night. Brown said the style got its name because “the music just goes and goes.”
Born in Gaston, N.C., in 1936, Brown began performing with soul music singer Jerry Butler, but later formed the Soul Searchers.
The Soul Searchers’ biggest hit “Bustin’ Loose,” spent four weeks on top of the R&B singles chart in 1978. Other hits such as “We Need Some Money,” “Go-Go Swing” and “Run Joe” also achieved success. Although the popularity of Go-Go never successfully spread from too far from the D.C. area, rapper Nelly shone an even greater light on the music when he sampled “Bustin’ Loose” to make his 2002 hit “Hot in Here.” The popular party song gave him his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 4 in the United Kingdom. It later won Nelly a Grammy Award and in 2008. It was ranked No. 36 on VH-1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.
Brown was, however, recognized with a Grammy for his collaboration with singer Jill Scott, on “Love.”
