James Brown is known for creating a thing called funk, but it was the song “Cold Sweat,” co-written with his bandleader Pee Wee Ellis and released in 1967, that truly encapsulated this new genre of music. The track exploded all kinds of boundaries. Without a distinct melody, it treated every piece as a rhythm instrument. In the two-part version lasting over seven minutes, Maceo Parker’s sax solo shines, and Brown yells, “Give the drummer some,” which leads into a solo by drummer Clyde Stubbefield. Over the years, DJs and producers have sampled “Cold Sweat” repeatedly, for good reason.
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