Eddie Brown
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Edward James Brown |
| Born | (1932-09-13)September 13, 1932 Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | December 28, 1984(1984-12-28) (aged 52) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rhythm and blues |
| Occupation(s) | Session musician |
| Instrument(s) | Bongos, congas, claves |
| Years active | 1962–1984 |
| Labels | Motown |
| Formerly of | The Funk Brothers |
Edward James "Bongo" Brown (September 13, 1932 – December 28, 1984)[1] was an American percussionist known for his work with The Funk Brothers, Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 to 1972.
Brown was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi on September 13, 1932.[1] He was raised in Memphis, Tennessee.[2] He later moved to Detroit and in 1962 he joined The Funk Brothers, Motown Records' in-house session musicians. According to Jack Ashford, Brown started out as a valet for Marvin Gaye and played bongos once Gaye began performing on-stage.[2] Brown played congas, bongos, the gourd and claves. Brown became Motown's leading percussionist and for a decade was on almost every key release from the label.[3] He was known for his sense of humor and for being the "studio clown".[4] Despite being an excellent musician, he could not read music and when handed sheet music by the producers, he would replace it with an adult magazine. When Motown moved to Los Angeles in 1972, Brown came along. His credits there included Gaye's 1973 album Let's Get It On and Stevie Wonder's 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life.[3] He later toured with both Gaye and Liza Minnelli.[5] One of his musical influences was Chano Pozo.
Motown recordings on which Brown played include "(I Know) I'm Losing You" by The Temptations, "I Second That Emotion" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye, and "If I Were Your Woman" by Gladys Knight & the Pips.
Brown died from heart disease in Los Angeles, California, on December 28, 1984. He was 52.[3]
With The Brothers Johnson
With Peabo Bryson and Natalie Cole
With G. C. Cameron
With Clarence Carter
With Randy Crawford
With Commodores
With Priscilla Coolidge
With The 5th Dimension
With Yvonne Fair
With Brass Fever
With Marvin Gaye
With Gloria Gaynor
With Lesley Gore
With Kathe Green
With John Handy
With High Inergy
With Thelma Houston
With Thelma Houston and Jerry Butler
With Chuck Jackson
With La Toya Jackson
With Al Johnson
With Gloria Jones
With Margie Joseph
With Eddie Kendricks
With B.B. King
With Ben E. King
With Barbara Morrison
With The Originals
With Ray Parker Jr.
With Peaches & Herb
With Wilson Pickett
With Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright
With Helen Reddy
With Martha Reeves
With Rockie Robbins
With Smokey Robinson
With Kenny Rogers
With David Ruffin
With Jimmy Ruffin
With Patrice Rushen
With Lara Saint Paul
With Bob Seger
With Marlena Shaw
With Carly Simon
With Candi Staton
With The Supremes
With Tavares
With The Temptations
With Leon Ware
With Deniece Williams
With Lenny Williams
With Stevie Wonder
With Syreeta Wright
With Michael Wycoff
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