Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine

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Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine - Wikipedia

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"Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine (Part 1)"

King label with variant title wording

Single by James Brown

B-side

"Get Up I Feel Like Being Like a Sex Machine (Part 2)"

Released

July 1970

Recorded

April 25, 1970

Studio

Starday-King Sound (Nashville)

Genre

Funk^[1]

Length

2:49 (single part 1)
2:33 (single part 2)
5:15 (complete original version)
10:48 (album version)

Label

King

Songwriter(s)

James Brown
Bobby Byrd
Ron Lenhoff

Producer(s)

James Brown

James Brown charting singles chronology

"Brother Rapp (Part 1) & (Part 2)"
(1970)

"Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine (Part 1)"
(1970)

"Super Bad (Part 1 & Part 2)"
(1970)

Audio sample

Audio video

"Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" on YouTube

"Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" is a funk song recorded by James Brown with Bobby Byrd on backing vocals. Released as a two-part single in 1970, it was a no. 2 R&B hit and reached no. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[2]

In 2004, "Sex Machine" was ranked number 326 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.^[3] In the 2021 update of the list it had risen to 196.^[4]

In 2014, the original 1970 recording of "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" on the King Records label was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[5]

Analysis

"Sex Machine" was one of the first songs Brown recorded with his new band, The J.B.'s. In comparison with Brown's 1960s solo funk hits such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", the band's inexperienced horn section plays a relatively minor part. Instead, the song centers on the insistent riff played by brothers Bootsy and Catfish Collins on bass and guitar and Jabo Starks on drums, along with the call and response interplay between Brown and Byrd's vocals, which consist mostly of exhortations to "get up / stay on the scene / like a sex machine". During the song's final vocal passages Brown and Byrd started to sing the main hook of Elmore James' blues classic "Shake Your Moneymaker."

The original single version of "Sex Machine"—recorded, like many of Brown's hits, in just two takes^[6]—begins with a spoken dialogue between Brown and his band which was recreated with minor variations in live performances:

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!

Personnel

James Brown – lead vocal, piano

with The J.B.'s:

Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells – trumpet
Darryl "Hassan" Jamison – trumpet
Robert McCollough – tenor saxophone
Bobby Byrd – Hammond organ, vocal
Phelps "Catfish" Collins – guitar
William "Bootsy" Collins – bass guitar
John "Jabo" Starks – drums^[7]

Chart positions

Chart (1970)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[8]	4
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[9]	8
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[10]	7
UK Singles (OCC)^[11]	32
US Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles^[2]	2
US Billboard Hot 100^[2]	15
US Cash Box^[12]	17
US Record World^[13]	17
West Germany (GfK)^[14]	29

Other recordings

"Sex Machine Part I"

Single by James Brown

from the album Sex Machine Today

B-side

"Sex Machine Part II"

Released

1975

Length

5:45 (Part I)
5:09 (Part II)

Label

Polydor 14270

Songwriter(s)

James Brown
Bobby Byrd
Ron Lenhoff

James Brown charting singles chronology

"Reality"
(1975)

"Sex Machine Part I"
(1975)

"Hustle!!! (Dead on It)"
(1975)

Brown would go on to re-record "Sex Machine" several times in addition to the original single version:

One was made in 1970 for his ostensibly all-live Sex Machine album. It is over 10 minutes long and includes added reverb and overdubbed audience noise intended to conceal its studio origins. (A version of this recording without overdubs appears on the 1996 compilation Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang.)
Another, which was released in 1975, features a new instrumental arrangement and lyrics aimed at disco audiences. Nearly 12 minutes long, it was released as a two-part single and appeared on the album Sex Machine Today. Though it was poorly reviewed — Robert Christgau wrote that "if you own another version of 'Sex Machine' you own a better one"^[15] — it charted no. 16 on the R&B charts.
In 1993, Brown sang another version that was released in collaboration with his sponsorship of Nissin's Miso Soup.^[16]

"Sex Machine" remained a staple of Brown's concert repertoire until the end of his career. Live performances of the song appear on the albums Revolution of the Mind: Live at the Apollo, Volume III (1971), Hot on the One (1980), Live in New York (1981), Love, Power, Peace: Live at the Olympia, Paris, 1971 (1992), and Live at the Apollo 1995.

Chart (1975)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100^[2]	61
US Billboard Hot Soul Singles^[2]	16

Chart (1985)	Peak position
UK Singles (OCC)^[17]	47

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[18]	34
UK Singles (OCC)^[19]	46

Chart (1991)	Peak position
UK Singles (OCC)^[20]	69

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Germany (GfK)^[21] 2007 remix	83

References

^ "R&B » Soul » Funk". AllMusic. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "James Brown – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1-500)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 20, 2006.
^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
^ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com.
^ Smith, R.J. (2012). The One: The Life and Music of James Brown. Gotham Books. p. 241.
^ Leeds, Alan; Weinger, Harry (1991). "Star Time: Song by Song". Star Time (CD booklet). New York: PolyGram Records. pp. 46–53.
^ "James Brown – Sex Machine" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 40, 1970" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
^ "James Brown – Sex Machine" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending AUGUST 15, 1970". Cash Box. Archived from the original on September 22, 2012.
^ "100 Top Pops" (PDF). Record World. August 22, 1970. p. 23. ISSN 0034-1622. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – James Brown – Sex Machine" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 19, 2019. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON James Brown"
^ Christgau, Robert. "James Brown". Retrieved June 12, 2014.
^ Schneider, Martin (May 8, 2015). "James Brown stars in the greatest miso soup commercial of all time, 1992". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
^ "James Brown – Sex Machine" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
^ "James Brown – Sex Machine Remix" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 19, 2019.

External links

James Brown singles

Billboard charting singles (R&B and Pop)

1950s

1956	"Please, Please, Please"
1958	"Try Me"
1959	"I Want You So Bad"

1960s

1960	"I'll Go Crazy" "Think" "You've Got the Power" "This Old Heart" "The Bells"
1961	"Bewildered" "I Don't Mind" "Baby, You're Right" "Just You and Me, Darling" "Lost Someone"
1962	"Night Train" "Shout and Shimmy" "Mashed Potatoes U.S.A." "Three Hearts in a Tangle" "I've Got Money"
1963	"Like a Baby" "Every Beat of My Heart" "Prisoner of Love" "These Foolish Things" "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered"
1964	"Oh Baby Don't You Weep" "Please, Please, Please" "Caldonia" "The Things That I Used to Do" "Out of Sight" "Have Mercy Baby"
1965	"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" "Try Me" "I Got You (I Feel Good)"
1966	"Lost Someone" "I'll Go Crazy" "Ain't That a Groove" "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" "Money Won't Change You" "Don't Be a Drop-Out" "Sweet Little Baby Boy"
1967	"Bring It Up" "Kansas City" "Think" "Let Yourself Go" "Cold Sweat" "Get It Together" "I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)" "There Was a Time"
1968	"You've Got to Change Your Mind" "I Got the Feelin'" "Licking Stick – Licking Stick" "America Is My Home" "I Guess I'll Have to Cry, Cry, Cry" "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud" "Goodbye My Love" "Tit for Tat (Ain't No Taking Back)"
1969	"Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" "Soul Pride" "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself)" "The Popcorn" "Mother Popcorn (You Got to Have a Mother for Me)" "Lowdown Popcorn" "World" "Let a Man Come In and Do the Popcorn" "Ain't It Funky Now"

1970s

1970	"It's a New Day" "Funky Drummer" "Brother Rapp" "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" "Super Bad" "Santa Claus Is Definitely Here to Stay" "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved"
1971	"Spinning Wheel" "Soul Power" "I Cried" "Escape-ism" "Hot Pants" "Make It Funky" "I'm a Greedy Man"
1972	"Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" "King Heroin" "There It Is" "Honky Tonk" "Get on the Good Foot" "I Got a Bag of My Own" "What My Baby Needs Now Is a Little More Lovin'"
1973	"I Got Ants In My Pants (And I Want to Dance)" "Down and Out in New York City" "Think" "Sexy, Sexy, Sexy" "Stoned to the Bone"
1974	"The Payback" "My Thang" "Papa Don't Take No Mess" "Funky President (People It's Bad)" "Coldblooded"
1975	"Reality" "Sex Machine" "Hustle!!! (Dead on It)" "Superbad, Superslick" "Hot (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved)"
1976	"(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" "Get Up Offa That Thing" "I Refuse to Lose" "Bodyheat"
1977	"Kiss in 77" "Give Me Some Skin" "If You Don't Give a Doggone About It"
1978	"Eyesight" "The Spank" "For Goodness Sakes, Look at Those Cakes"
1979	"It's Too Funky in Here" "Star Generation"

1980s

1980	"Regrets" "Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses)"
1981	"Stay with Me"
1983	"The Night Time Is the Right Time (To Be With the One That You Love)"
1984	"Unity"
1985	"Living in America"
1986	"Gravity"
1987	"How Do You Stop"
1988	"I'm Real" "Static"
1989	"Gimme Your Love"

1990s

1991	"(So Tired of Standing Still We Got to) Move On"
1993	"Can't Get Any Harder"

UK-only
charting
singles

"Hey America" (1970)
"Bring It On...Bring It On" (1983)
"Froggy Mix" (1985)
"She's the One" (1988)
"The Payback Mix" (1988)
"I Got You (I Feel Good) [James Brown v. Dakeyne]" (1992)
"Funk on Ah Roll" (1999)

Notable
productions

"The Grunt" (1970)
"Gimme Some More" (1971)
"I Know You Got Soul" (1971)
"Pass the Peas" (1972)
"Think (About It)" (1972)
"Doing It to Death" (1973)
"Soul Power 74" (1973)

Other
songs