Biography
Nobody sounded much like Nappy Brown amid the mid-'50s. With consonants that rolled in exotic, sing-song fashion—he once prompted Savoy Records boss Herman Lubinsky to assume the singer was performing in Yiddish—Brown delivered blues shouts steeped in gospel fervor and rode the initial crest of rock & roll for several memorable years until sales declined. By the early '80s, however, he had seemingly returned from obscurity to mount another campaign, settling back into the role of a respected blues elder who spared no effort, even simulating sexual acts while rolling across the stage, in captivating listeners.
Napoleon Brown's fervent, sanctified vocal attacks arose organically; he had grown up in Charlotte, NC, immersed in both gospel and blues. Leading the gospel group the Heavenly Lights, already signed to Newark, NJ's Savoy Records, he yielded to Lubinsky's persuasion and stepped into secular territory in 1954, thereby establishing Nappy Brown as an R&B performer.
Brown infused his blues-laden Savoy debut, "Is It True," with unrelenting intensity, yet it was the following year's "Don't Be Angry" that propelled his career upward. That incendiary rocker showcased his singular vocal flourishes alongside a piercing tenor saxophone break from Sam "The Man" Taylor and became his initial national hit. The same New York session musicians enriched subsequent Savoy recordings—Taylor's fiery horn ignited "Open Up That Door," while Budd Johnson or Al Sears handled other boisterous tracks. Although novelty-tinged numbers such as "Little by Little" and "Piddily Patter Patter" characterized much of his output, his visceral 1957 rendition of the blues piece "The Right Time," soon adopted by Ray Charles, stands among the peaks of his early period.
Following a long absence from prominence, Brown reemerged in 1984 with the solid Landslide Records album Tore Up, backed by guitarist Tinsley Ellis and his band the Heartfixers. He later cut the strong Black Top set Something Gonna Jump Out the Bushes, featuring guitar contributions from Anson Funderburgh, Ronnie Earl, and Earl King, along with several weaker discs for additional imprints.
Napoleon Brown's fervent, sanctified vocal attacks arose organically; he had grown up in Charlotte, NC, immersed in both gospel and blues. Leading the gospel group the Heavenly Lights, already signed to Newark, NJ's Savoy Records, he yielded to Lubinsky's persuasion and stepped into secular territory in 1954, thereby establishing Nappy Brown as an R&B performer.
Brown infused his blues-laden Savoy debut, "Is It True," with unrelenting intensity, yet it was the following year's "Don't Be Angry" that propelled his career upward. That incendiary rocker showcased his singular vocal flourishes alongside a piercing tenor saxophone break from Sam "The Man" Taylor and became his initial national hit. The same New York session musicians enriched subsequent Savoy recordings—Taylor's fiery horn ignited "Open Up That Door," while Budd Johnson or Al Sears handled other boisterous tracks. Although novelty-tinged numbers such as "Little by Little" and "Piddily Patter Patter" characterized much of his output, his visceral 1957 rendition of the blues piece "The Right Time," soon adopted by Ray Charles, stands among the peaks of his early period.
Following a long absence from prominence, Brown reemerged in 1984 with the solid Landslide Records album Tore Up, backed by guitarist Tinsley Ellis and his band the Heartfixers. He later cut the strong Black Top set Something Gonna Jump Out the Bushes, featuring guitar contributions from Anson Funderburgh, Ronnie Earl, and Earl King, along with several weaker discs for additional imprints.
Albums
