The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music , he is referred to by various nicknames , among them "Mr.
His music has been heavily sampled by hip-hop musicians and other artists. Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia. During the late s, Brown moved from a continuum of blues and gospel -based forms and styles to a new approach to music-making, emphasizing stripped-down interlocking rhythms that influenced the development of funk music.
Brown continued to perform and record until his death from pneumonia in Brown recorded and released 17 singles that reached No. The Brown family lived in poverty in Elko, South Carolina , which was an impoverished town in They later moved into a house shared with another aunt. He began singing in talent shows as a young child, first appearing at Augusta's Lenox Theater in , winning the show after singing the ballad "So Long". He became inspired to become an entertainer after hearing " Caldonia " by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five.
At the age of 16, he was convicted of robbery and sent to a juvenile detention center in Toccoa. Brown met singer Bobby Byrd when the two played against each other in a baseball game outside the detention center. Byrd discovered that Brown could sing after hearing of "a guy called Music Box", which was Brown's nickname at the prison. Byrd has since said he and his family helped to secure an early release, which led to Brown promising the court he would "sing for the Lord".
Brown was released on a work sponsorship with Toccoa business owner S. Lawson was impressed with Brown's work ethic and secured his release with a promise to keep him employed for two years.
