Classic Pop Icons

James Brown’s 1966 hit “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” is Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons. “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” was released on single in April 1966, backed with “Is It Yes or Is It No?” The song was also the title track of an album released in August 1966.

“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” derived from a musical idea that James Brown had been messing around with for a few years, as evidenced by the striking similarity between the 1966 recording and the 1963 Tammy Montgomery single, “I Cried,” which Brown had written and produced. Montgomery would later find greater success as Tammi Terrell.

The full potential of Brown’s melody was only revealed when matched with new lyrics penned by Betty Jean Newsome, who was in a romantic relationship with Brown at the time. From a 2012 vantage point, the song’s lyrics might be interpreted as sexist, with the world’s great scientific and industrial achievements attributed to men, and women afforded a secondary, supporting role in society. However, the intention of the lyricist most certainly wasn’t to belittle women. Indeed, Newsome is keen to assert that even if men had historically led the way in these areas, the world would be “nothing without a woman or a girl.”

The song title was clearly inspired directly by the 1963 comedy movie “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”

James Brown first recorded the song as “It’s a Man’s World” in 1964, but legal problems meant that this version was shelved until 1985 when it appeared on the compilation “Sex Machine And Other Soul Classics.”

Although a strong performance by Brown, the overall production on the 1964 cut doesn’t match the brilliance of the later recording.

“It’s a Man’s World” (1964 version) – James Brown

The later, hit recording of “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” has one of the all time great intros. It begins with an ascending horns part, which is then cleverly contrasted by swooping strings that cut off before Brown’s opening “This is a man’s world”. The arrangement is very similar to the earlier recording, but Brown benefits greatly from the added finesse of Sammy Lowe, who conducted and arranged the sublime orchestration.

“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” – James Brown

“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” remained a crowd-pleasing part of Brown’s show for the rest of his career. He would also return to the song in the studio in 1970 with a big band arrangement for his album “Soul on Top.”

Authorship

The words and music to “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” were written by Betty Jean Newsome and James Brown, respectively.

Recording date/location

“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” was recorded on February 16, 1966 at Talent Masters Studios, New York, NY. The earlier version was recorded on June 6, 1964 at Universal Studios, Chicago, IL.

Musicians

The following musicians appear on “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”:

• James Brown – lead vocal
• Ernie Hayes – piano
• Billy Butler – guitar
• Bernard Purdie – drums
• Dud Bascomb – trumpet
• Waymon Reed – trumpet
• Lamarr Wright – trumpet
• Haywood Henry – baritone saxophone.

As noted above, the anonymous strings were conducted by Sammy Lowe.

The following played on the 1964 recording:

• James Brown – lead vocal
• Lucas “Fats” Gonder or Bobby Byrd – piano
• Les Buie – guitar
• Bernard Odum – bass
• Melvin Parker – drums.

Chart performance

“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” topped Billboard’s R&B chart in the US and peaked at number eight on the Hot 100 on June 29, 1966.

The song reached number 13 on the UK singles chart.

The “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” album reached number 11 on Billboard’s R&B album chart and number 90 on the pop chart.

Covers

“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” – Seal

Seal delivered a great performance on his cover of “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” which featured on his 2008 album “Soul.” As far as the arrangement goes, there isn’t much to differentiate it from the original, aside from opting to precede the opening vocal with an ascending, rather than descending strings part. This part is also incorporated into the song later on to good effect.

“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” – Cher

Cher featured “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” on her 1995 album “It’s a Man’s World.” The decision to abandon the dramatic intro sets the tone for what follows, as, rather unexpectedly, Cher takes an understated, low-key approach to the song.

There will be a new Song of the Week on July 9.

James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” is available on numerous compilations, including “James Brown: 50th Anniversary Collection.”

The 1964 and 1966 recordings of the song can both be found on the 4-CD “James Brown – Star Time” box set.

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