In 1952, James Brown was released from a youth detention center in Toccoa, Georgia after Bobby Byrd and his family sponsored him.[1] Brown's warden agreed to the release on the condition that Brown not return to Augusta. After his release, Brown briefly pursued a career in sports before starting his musical career as a gospel vocalist with the group the Ever-Ready Gospel Singers.[2] When a member of Bobby Byrd's vocal group, the Avons, died in 1954, Byrd asked Brown to join his group. A year later, after performing as the Five Royals, they became the Flames, playing all over Georgia and South Carolina.[1][3]
According to Etta James, Brown and his group came up with the idea for their first song, because Brown "used to carry around an old tattered napkin with him, because Little Richard had written the words, 'please, please, please' on it and James was determined to make a song out of it".[4]
Reception
"Please, Please, Please" was released on February 26, 1956. Though it sold slowly at first, the record reached the top ten of the R&B charts by late summer, eventually peaking at No. 6, selling between one and three million copies.[5][6]
The song was ranked number 272 among the greatest singles ever made in Dave Marsh's 1989 book The Heart of Rock & Soul.[8] In 2011, "Please, Please, Please" was ranked No. 143 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[9]
Live performances
The initial performances of the song were subpar though the group itself was received well. It took a number of years until the Flames developed a routine for the performance. Starting in 1959, Brown would perform the song to the point of feigned exhaustion, when he would drop to his knees and collapse on the stage. Meanwhile, a fellow Flame (sometimes Bobby Byrd and at other times Bobby Bennett) would drop either a blanket or big towel around Brown's back and help him offstage. Before completely exiting, Brown would rip the towel off and return to his microphone, adding to the excitement of his audience.[10]
Influenced by Little Richard and professional wrestler Gorgeous George, who both wore capes, Brown began wearing capes in his act.[11]
In 1964, during a contract dispute between Brown and King Records head Syd Nathan, the label reissued the original 1956 performance of "Please, Please, Please" with overdubbed crowd noise in an attempt to pass it off as a live recording. The reissue reached No. 95 on the Billboard Hot 100.[14]
Brown also re-recorded the song several times later in his career. On his 1972 album Get on the Good Foot, he did an upbeat long version, which lasted over twelve minutes. 1974's Hell included a salsa version of the song that featured Brown speaking in Spanish. For Brown's 1976 album Hot, he recorded a more solemn, ballad rendition, which featured male background vocalists in the quiet storm style of Barry White's music.
In February 1967, Swedish band the Maniacs, featuring a young Tommy Körberg, recorded the song as a single.[18] Released as a single in March of that year, backed by Paul Ferris "Visions",[19] it became the group's breakthrough hit, reaching No. 5 on Tio i Topp and No. 12 on sales chart Kvällstoppen that year.[20][21]
