Rock 'n' Roll Community on Instagram: "🎸 Follow @rocknroll_legends___ for more… James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by various nicknames, among them « Mr. Dynamite », « the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business », « Minister of New Super Heavy Funk », « Godfather of Soul », « King of Soul », and « Soul Brother