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Eddie Brown (musician)

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Edward James "Bongo" Brown (September 13, 1932 – December 28, 1984)[1] was an American percussionist known for his work with The Funk Brothers, Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 to 1972.

Eddie Brown
Background information
Birth nameEdward James Brown
Born(1932-09-13)September 13, 1932
Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedDecember 28, 1984(1984-12-28) (aged 52)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
  • R&B
  • soul
OccupationMusician
InstrumentPercussion
Years active1962–1984
LabelsMotown
Formerly ofThe Funk Brothers

Biography

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Brown was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi on September 13, 1932.[1] He was raised in Memphis, Tennessee.[2] He later moved to Detroit and in 1962 he joined The Funk Brothers, Motown Records' in-house session musicians. According to Jack Ashford, Brown started out as a valet for Marvin Gaye and played bongos once Gaye began performing on-stage.[2] Brown played congas, bongos, the gourd and claves. Brown became Motown's leading percussionist and for a decade was on almost every key release from the label.[3] He was known for his sense of humor and for being the "studio clown".[4] Despite being an excellent musician, he could not read music and when handed sheet music by the producers, he would replace it with an adult magazine. When Motown moved to Los Angeles in 1972, Brown came along. His credits there included Gaye's 1973 album Let's Get It On and Stevie Wonder's 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life.[3] He later toured with both Gaye and Liza Minnelli.[5] One of his musical influences was Chano Pozo.

Motown recordings on which Brown played include "(I Know) I'm Losing You" by The Temptations, "I Second That Emotion" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye, and "If I Were Your Woman" by Gladys Knight & the Pips.

Brown died from heart disease in Los Angeles, California, on December 28, 1984. He was 52.[3]

Discography

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As sideman

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With The Brothers Johnson

With Peabo Bryson and Natalie Cole

With G. C. Cameron

  • You're What's Missing in My Life (Motown, 1977)

With Clarence Carter

  • Real (ABC, 1974)

With Randy Crawford

With Commodores

With Priscilla Coolidge

  • Flying (Capricorn, 1979)

With The 5th Dimension

  • High on Sunshine (Motown, 1979)

With Yvonne Fair

  • The Bitch Is Black (Motown, 1975)

With Brass Fever

With Four Tops

With Marvin Gaye

With Gloria Gaynor

With Lesley Gore

  • Love Me By Name (A&M, 1976)

With Kathe Green

  • Kathe Green (Motown, 1976)

With John Handy

With High Inergy

  • Steppin' Out (Gordy, 1978)
  • Hold On (Gordy, 1980)
  • High Inergy (Gordy, 1981)
  • So Right (Gordy, 1982)

With Thelma Houston

  • Ready to Roll (Motown Records, 1978)
  • Ride to the Rainbow (Motown Records, 1979)

With Thelma Houston and Jerry Butler

With Chuck Jackson

  • I Wanna Give You Some Love (EMI, 1980)

With La Toya Jackson

With Al Johnson

  • Back for More (Columbia, 1980)

With Gloria Jones

With Margie Joseph

  • Hear the Words, Feel the Feeling (Cotillon, 1976)

With Eddie Kendricks

With B.B. King

With Ben E. King

With The Miracles

With Barbara Morrison

  • Love Is a Four-Letter Word (Esoteric, 1984)

With The Originals

  • California Street (Motown, 1975)
  • Communique (Soul, 1976)
  • Down to Love Town (Soul, 1978)

With Ray Parker Jr.

With Peaches & Herb

  • Worth the Wait (Polydor, 1980)

With Wilson Pickett

  • Don't Knock My Love (Atlantic Records, 1971)

With Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright

With Helen Reddy

With Martha Reeves

  • Gotta Keep Moving (Fantasy Records, 1980)

With Rockie Robbins

  • You and Me (A&M, 1980)

With Smokey Robinson

With Kenny Rogers

With David Ruffin

With Jimmy Ruffin

  • Jimmy Ruffin (Polydor, 1973)
  • Love Is All We Need (Polydor, 1975)

With Patrice Rushen

  • Posh (Elektra Records, 1980)

With Lara Saint Paul

  • Saffo Music (Lasapa, 1977)

With Bob Seger

With Marlena Shaw

  • Sweet Beginnings (Columbia, 1977)

With Carly Simon

With Candi Staton

  • Young Hearts Run Free (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)
  • House of Love (Warner Bros. Records, 1978)

With The Supremes

With Tavares

With The Temptations

With Tower of Power

With The Undisputed Truth

With Leon Ware

With Deniece Williams

With Lenny Williams

  • Spark of Love (ABC, 1978)

With Stevie Wonder

With Syreeta Wright

  • One to One (Motown Records, 1977)
  • The Spell (Tamla Records, 1983)

With Michael Wycoff

With Richard "Popcorn" Wylie

  • Extrasensory Percepition (ABC, 1974)

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Funk Brothers Page". Soulwalking.co.uk. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Dahl, Bill (2011). Motown: The Golden Years: More than 100 rare photographs. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-4402-2557-4.
  3. ^ a b c Betts, Graham (2014). Motown Encyclopedia. AC Publishing. ISBN 978-1-311-44154-6.
  4. ^ Coffey, Dennis (2004). Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars. University of Michigan Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-472-11399-6.
  5. ^ "Eddie "Bongo" Brown biography". AllMusic. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
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