"Mind Power" - Fred Wesley

“Mind Power” (PDF) from the James Brown album, The Payback.

The final track on The Payback, the last James Brown album to feature Fred Wesley as an active member of the organization, was a fitting send off for the musical director. The recording captured the improvisational working conditions of Mr. Brown: be given an idea for a song, rap about it over an established groove, and then dictate who should be playing. Over the course of the song, Mr. Brown calls out both the economic strife of unemployment and the malaise of a working class - “If you don’t work, you can’t eat.”

Fred must have taken these words to heart. Overworked and underpaid, he left the band in 1974, unceremoniously, for the last time. With previous offers on the table, Fred knew that he could find future work and make a career for himself beyond the shadow of Mr. Brown. He became an integral part to the creation of Parliament/Funkadelic, he then filled a seat in the Count Basie Orchestra, and he eventually launched his own solo career alongside the reformation of The J.B.’s. Fred Wesley’s mind power understood that there was no milk and honey under the servitude of the man, Mr. Brown - he knew that it was time to get to work.

Here is a YouTube video of Fred reflecting on his work with Mr. Brown:

Recommended Reading: Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Sideman by Fred Wesley Jr. Published by Duke University Press.