Chuck Brown: We're About the Business

CML call number: CD R&B Brown
Jon Pareles wrote in the New York Times: "In a sharp suit, black fedora and sunglasses, with a gold tooth glinting and a well-traveled guitar in his hands, Chuck Brown, 72, was the image of a classic bluesman leading his band at Joe’s Pub on Thursday night. But he wasn’t playing the blues: he was playing go-go, the dance-club music from Washington that has survived long enough to be a tradition of its own. Mr. Brown was a pioneer of go-go in the 1970s. In marathon live sets, he used a midtempo, Latin-tinged beat to string together old and new songs, merging the variety of a disc-jockey set with the sweaty teamwork of a funk band. Not too fast but deeply funky, the go-go beat was made for dancing all night long. Go-go was going to be the next big thing in the ’80s. … But despite a movie about the music … go-go couldn’t translate its live pleasures into radio hits. It’s still a regional phenomenon, and with Mr. Brown’s band, it’s still a delight. … Mr. Brown brought on his daughter KK to rap on 'Chucky Baby,' a song from his new album, 'We’re About the Business' (Raw Venture)" ("Still Soulful, Still Swinging, Still Ready to Bust Loose," 4/21/07).