Living in America - James Brown (1985) 7/4/23

Happy Independence Day!

I didn't have to look too far to find a Patriotic Great Song of the '80s to highlight. In fact, there were a couple to choose from.

I chose 1985's "Living in America" by James Brown for a number of reasons--most of them, I felt, were interesting.

#1: At this point in his career, James hadn't had a hit record in 8 years, and this turned out to be his LAST Top 40 hit.

#2: Sylvester Stallone was looking for a song to highlight in "Rocky IV." That's the one where a Russian fighter (played by Dolph Lundgrin) kills Apollo Creed in the ring and Rocky is out to avenge his death. Basically it was a metaphor for the Cold War.

#3: James was not used to singing someone else's songs. It was co-written Dan Hartman, who had a hit in 1984 with "I Can Dream About You" (which we will eventually highlight), and in the '70s, was a member of the Edgar Winter Group ("Frankenstein").

#4: Singing on a Soundtrack for a mainstream movie was not something James did either, but Sly somehow convinced him to give it all a try. Did anyone in those days ever say "no" to Stallone?

James was joined on the track by Dan who tackled keyboards and background vocals,

and Stevie Ray Vaughn who played guitar.

Interestingly, "Living in America" was a Top 10 hit throughout most of Europe. In North America, it reached #5 in Canada, and here in the US, it made the Top 10 on FOUR Billboard Charts: #10 on the Black Singles Chart, #4 on the Hot 100, #3 on the Dance CLUB Chart, and #1 on the Dance SALES Chart.

James also scored a Grammy for Best Male Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance.

Oh yeah, and "Rocky IV" was a hit at the box office, grossing 300 Million Dollars worldwide.

"Living in America" was James Brown at his best...and in effect, he saved one of his best for last: "Living in America:" A Great Patriotic Song of 1985! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwcT2gjQB-4

Tomorrow: Bob's on Fire.