WIND ME UP, CHUCK! Godfather of go-go gets a shout-out from the National Endowment for the Arts

Chuck Brown, the "Godfather of Go-Go," was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) 'National Heritage Fellowhip' last week. You may not have heard about this if you don't live in Washington, D.C., where go-go music was born and has thrived since the 1970's.

Go-go was Brown's answer to disco: a butt-shaking, slow-groove blend of funk, jazz, latin beats, and African call-and-response chants. Brown called the creation go-go because the music never stops. During live performances, the beat carries on between songs, and fans pass sheets of paper to Brown, who delivers shout-outs to girlfriends, boyfriends, and most anybody else.

"I got sick and tired of watching people sitting around," Brown explains on his website. "Disco was too fast. People didn't want to get all sweaty, and they just sat down. So, we cut the beat in half."

Working with his band, the Soul Searchers, Brown spawned a go-go scene that still thrives in D.C., if nowhere else. Bands like Trouble Funk, Experience Unlimited (E.U.) and Rare Essence have carried the go-go torch over the years with their own signature touches. Newer go-go acts such as 911 Entertainment and the Back Yard Band have also kept the scene burning. Depending on the band, you might hear a little more jazz, funk, or hip-hop slip its way into the beat. It all depends on who's delivering the music.

Despite go-go music's regionality, Brown, who's 70, had a hit with the song 'Bustin' Loose.' Of course, that was twenty-seven years ago. Nelly sampled from the song in his own 2002 hit 'Hot in Herre.'

When Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals played their home opener this April, Brown came out with his Gibson during the seventh-inning stretch to play 'Bustin' Loose' and 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame.' On a night saturated with the politicians and media personalities that most people think of when Washington, D.C. is mentioned, Brown gave the local fans and their new team a real taste of home.

The National Heritage Award was established in 1982 to honor American folk artists. The NEA, quoting ethnomusicologist Kip Lornell, notes that Brown "remains among the few 20th-Century American vernacular musicians who clearly developed and shaped a musical genre from its infancy to a more mature state."

Lornell is also the author of "The Beat: Go-Go's Fusion of Funk and Hip-Hop." The book charts the history of go-go, focusing on the D.C. artists, DJ's, and producers who've helped go-go thrive. Liaison Records, home to Chuck Brown, also released a CD to accompany the book.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any Chuck Brown on Rhapsody. So, no playlist for this. But some of the links above, including the NEA page and Chuck Brown's website offer samples of Mr. Brown's work. If you visit Liaison Records, check out "The Other Side," a CD of jazz and pop standards that Brown recorded with the late vocalist Eva Cassidy.