{Note: I got ta, got ta, got ta get some neon lights for his propers!}
From one of many of James Brown's online biographies:
"Mr. Brown became an icon of the music industry. With his signature one-three beat, James Brown directly influenced the evolutionary beat of soul music in the Sixties, funk music in the Seventies and rap music in the Eighties."
http://www.godfatherofsoul.com/mind/biography_3/index.htm
"The gospel and blues structure of his early records gave way to rhythmic vocals and a complex funk sound. His innovations during this period had a profound influence on popular music styles around the world, including funk, rock, Afro-pop, disco and eventually rap."
http://www.godfatherofsoul.com/mind/biography_5/index.htm
From the Godfather of Soul, himself:
"'Funky' is about the injustices, the things that go wrong, the hungry kids going to school trying to learn. 'Funky' is about what it takes to make people move - take it from the gospel, from the jazz."
http://www.godfatherofsoul.com/mind/relections/index.htm
From the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum:
"Under the guiding hand of mastermind George Clinton, the affiliated groups Parliament and Funkadelic established funk as an heir to and outgrowth of soul. If James Brown is funk's founding father, Clinton has been its chief architect and tactician."
http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=163
