Bobby Byrd Got Soul (The Best of Bobby Byrd)

        If Bobby Byrd hadn’t been playing basketball against a prison team in Georgia one day in 1952, the history of soul music might have been very different. The pitcher on the prison side was a 19-year-old delinquent serving a stretch of hard labour for burglary. His name was James Brown.

Byrd, who came from a law-abiding and churchgoing family, befriended him and helped to broker Brown’s parole – his family acted as guarantors for his future good behaviour and offered him a home. A talented pianist and singer who had learnt his music in a gospel choir, Byrd then helped Brown to form his first group and went on to serve as right-hand man to the “Godfather of Soul” for more than 20 years, co-writing and singing backing vocals on such Brown hits as Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine.

He also enjoyed a successful career as a solo singer in his own right and scored several chart hits in the 1960s. After leaving Brown’s employment in 1973, he continued to tour with his wife, the singer Vicki Anderson, and returned to prominence in the 1990s when his solo work was sampled by a number of rap and hip-hop artists.

Tracklisting:

1. Bobby Byrd - When Something Is Wrong With My Baby
2. Bobby Byrd - I'm Lonely
3. Bobby Byrd - We're in Love
4. Bobby Byrd - Funky Soul, Pts. 1-2
5. Bobby Byrd - No One Like My Baby
6. Bobby Byrd - Baby Baby Baby (with Anna King)
7. Bobby Byrd - I Love You So
8. Bobby Byrd - Hang Ups We Don't Need (The Hungry We Got to Feed)
9. Bobby Byrd - Signed, Sealed & Delivered
10. Bobby Byrd - If You Don't Work You Can't Eat
11. Bobby Byrd - Fight Against Drug Abuse
12. Bobby Byrd - I'm Just a Nobody, Pts. 1 & 2
13. Bobby Byrd - Never Get Enough
14. Bobby Byrd - I Need Help (I Can't Do It Alone) [Live in Paris]
15. Bobby Byrd - I Know You Got Soul
16. Bobby Byrd - Keep On Doin' What Your Doin'
17. Bobby Byrd - I Need Help (I Can't Do It Alone), Pts. 1 & 2
18. Bobby Byrd - If You Got a Love You Better (Hold on to It)
19. Bobby Byrd - I'm Not to Blame
20. Bobby Byrd - Hot Pants - I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming
21. Bobby Byrd - Sayin' It and Doin' It Are Two Different Things
22. Bobby Byrd - You've Got To Change Your Mind (with James Brown)


Bobby Byrd - I Need Help (I Can't Do It Alone)