Maceo Parker, "98% Funky Stuff: My Life in Music"

[mjzee]

"Maceo! I want you to blow!" So James Brown began chanting to his new saxophonist, Maceo Parker, shortly after the 21-year-old musician joined Brown's band in 1964. By regularly calling out his name on records and in live performances, Brown made Mr. Parker the band's most popular member after the star himself. It's impossible to imagine Brown's soul and funk hits, like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "I've Got You (I Feel Good)," without Mr. Parker's distinctive solos: His tightly focused yet ebullient sound became synonymous with the soul music of an era. In 1968, when the Brown troupe arrived in Africa for the first time, the crowds at the Abidjan airport in Ivory Coast began chanting "MA-CE-O, MA-CE-O!" as the band disembarked.

Mr. Parker has long had a reputation as one of the most dependable men in the music business, a player who made it a point to avoid drugs, alcohol and the other craziness that affected so many of his friends. His memoir, "98% Funky Stuff: My Life in Music," helps explain how he got that way.

More here:

WSJ

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Must get this. The Fred Wesley bio - 'Hit me, Fred' - is a very interesting read, too.

Wonder when Pee Wee Ellis with write one?

MG