Throughout his lengthy musical career, James Brown was known by a number of self-created aliases, including “The Godfather of Soul,” “Mr. Dynamite” and, perhaps most appropriately, “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.”

His unending drive motivated Brown to use his talents to expand beyond his humble beginnings in Augusta, Ga., and become an international musical and cultural phenomenon.

Brown began his prolific career in the early 1950s as a member of an R ‘n’ B outfit named The Flames. After The Flames failed to garner any commercial success, Brown embarked on a solo career. Initially, Brown sang a mix of gospel and R ‘n’ B that was far from revolutionary.

The first hint of his potential came in 1962, with the release of his classic, self-financed Live at the Apollo album, which captured Brown wowing an appreciative crowd with his R ‘n’ B prowess. In a live setting, two-minute singles became full-length jams, with Brown’s able backing band topping their studio performances as they followed Brown’s lead and experimented with a more immediate, rhythmic and forceful sound.

Brown’s willingness to explore this new direction allowed him-along with Allen Toussaint, who pursued an independent but parallel track in New Orleans-to be recognized as one of the founders of the funk genre. Brown began to bring the energy that characterized his live shows into the studio. The first successful recording of Brown’s new style was “Outta Sight,” recorded in 1964. More importantly, his most popular singles “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” and “I Got You (I Feel Good),” both recorded in 1965, were funky enough to be consistent with his new style, but accessible enough to be played on the radio. These songs, which are current oldies staples, helped Brown gain mainstream recognition. As a sign of the growing admiration for Brown’s music, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” won the Grammy for Best R ‘n’ B Song in 1966.

As the ’70s arrived, Brown began to fine-tune his own funky style. The music took on a more experimental tone and Brown employed a half-speak, half-shout delivery style that many see as a forerunner for contemporary rappers. A great many artists–anyone from Motown pop singers to strict R ‘n’ B traditionalists-began to cite Brown as an influence during the ’70s as well.

True to his hard-working nature, Brown continued to release albums in the late ’70s and early ’80s to diminishing returns as disco gained prominence. In the mid- ’80s, Brown enjoyed a revival of sorts as his music was sampled to create beats for an expanding genre that would eventually be called hip-hop. To reflect this influence, a number of the founding fathers of hip-hop collaborated with Brown. In addition, Brown’s single “Living in America” from the Rocky IV soundtrack won a Grammy for Best Male R ‘n’ B Vocal Performance.

Aside from his musical performances, Brown had an interesting personal life, full of run-ins with the law and multiple marriages. Brown served three years in prison in late ’80s and early ’90s after leading police on a drug-fueled chase, and was accused of domestic abuse by both his third and alleged fourth wives. There is uncertainty in reference to Brown’s “fourth” wife, Tomi Rae Hynie. Hynie was married to another man at the time she married Brown, so the two never had a legal marriage. True to Brown’s turbulent personal legacy, a conflict continues between Hynie and the Brown estate, as Hynie and her son by Brown, James II, were left out of his will.

Brown passed away on Dec. 25, 2006, due to congestive heart failure. Through his music and his influence on subsequent generations of pop musicians, Brown will remain immortal. Even in today’s competitive musical market, The James Brown Revue, Brown’s touring show, had performances scheduled until February of this year. Music fans owe it to themselves to own some small part of Brown’s impressive oeuvre. Those looking for all the hits at a good price should consider the popular 20 All-Time Greatest Hits, those with a few more dollars might want to spring for the one-stop-shop that is Star Time, the James Brown box set.