It’s time to “bust loose” and ring in both Father’s Day and Juneteenth with some go-go music!
This Saturday, the Chuck Brown Band headlines a free concert at Watkins Regional Park in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on a lineup that includes Trouble Funk, the Luther Relives Tribute and the Brencore All Stars, along with an array of art exhibits, food trucks and activities.
WTOP caught up with Wiley Brown, who took over as lead singer for his late father, “The Godfather of Go-Go.”
“We’re definitely looking forward to having a good old time outside in the sun and getting our party on for sure,” Brown told WTOP. “This will be my first time performing at Watkins Park with the band. I know my father probably did it years ago plenty of times, but this will be my first time. … We’re definitely looking forward to bringing the people some good summertime vibes. … There’s no better way than with the Chuck Brown Band!”
Born in North Carolina in 1936, Chuck Brown moved to D.C. at age six. By age 15, he was living in the streets before spending time in prison for a deadly beating incident that he always claimed to be self-defense. After paying his debt to society, Brown would go on to pioneer go-go music to create the city’s signature sound.
“He was always singing with my grandmother in the church since he was 7,” Brown said. “The pivotal moment for him was when he was 24, during the time he was incarcerated, he learned how to play the guitar. Once he got out, there was no looking back. He began performing in people’s backyards, then he was able to perform in clubs. … After being with the Earls of Rhythm and Los Latinos, he had the insight and the drive to create his own band.”
That band was, of course, The Soul Searchers, whose first album “We the People” (1972) had a hit title track. They followed up with the successful second album “Salt of the Earth” (1974) with hits like “Blow Your Whistle” and “Ashley’s Roachclip,” which has been sampled by Eric B. & Rakim, Slick Rick, Run-DMC, Milli Vanilli and EMF.
Still, it was their third album “Bustin’ Loose” (1979) that became iconic with its catchy title track that topped the R&B charts for over a dozen weeks and has since been sampled by the likes of Nelly in “Hot in Herre.”
“When he put it out, he knew that he had something, but he didn’t know that it would take off the way it did; it took off all over the world,” Brown said. “To this day, we have people in Japan still contacting my manager and family letting us know how much they love the music. When ‘Bustin’ Loose’ hit, that really set the tone for go-go music and plenty of bands ended up popping up all over the city following my father’s foundation that he laid.”
In 1984, they dropped another hit “We Need Some Money,” sampled by Kid ‘n Play and Wreckx-n-Effect.
“He wrote it in less than 10 minutes because he needed some money; it’s the fastest song he ever wrote,” Brown said. “A lot of music artists have these moments when you’re feeling something, you’ve gotta hurry up and get it out because there’s nothing like capturing something in the moment. … There’s a chant when we perform it where he said, ‘Masterclass, Visa, American Express, I ain’t got nothin’ against no credit cards, but the cash is the best.'”
Shortly after, Wiley was born in 1989, admitting it was unique growing up watching strangers praise his dad.
“It took me until about 6 years old to understand what type of impact my father had,” Brown said. “We’d get stopped at a red light, people yelling out the car: ‘Hey, Chuck!’ … He’d get out of the car and the next thing you know, there’s a whole mob of people, honking horns. … He remembered a point in time that the only people wanting to take a picture of him were the police and he said, ‘Now the police want to take a picture with me!'”
While he began rapping at his father’s concerts at a young age, Wiley’s dream was to become a professional football player, proving to be a standout at Thomas Stone High School in Waldorf, Maryland, before playing at Duquesne and Virginia Tech.
While Wiley was balling out on the gridiron, his father was delivering late-in-life hits like “Block Party” (featuring DJ Kool) in 2007 and “LOVE” (featuring Jill Scott and Marcus Miller) in 2010.
After Chuck Brown sadly died in 2012, Wiley joined the Chuck Brown Band full-time in 2016.
“Being in the band started with Chuck Brown Mondays when I might come in and do a song or two, but then my dad came to me one day in a dream saying, ‘What you gonna do, son? If you gonna do something, don’t play around with it, go full force,'” Brown said. “It’s funny for some (bandmates) who have seen me grow up over the years like, ‘Man, I remember when you were a little shorty, a little guy coming to band rehearsals and look at you now!'”
Today, his father’s name still graces signs reading “Chuck Brown Way” along 7th Street between T Street and Florida Avenue in Northwest D.C. If you live in that general area, head just over the D.C.-Maryland border to Prince George’s County to enjoy this weekend’s concert at Watkins Regional Park.
Just as his father’s fans chanted, “Wind me up, Chuck,” today’s fans have a similar request:
Wind us up, Wiley!
Listen to our full conversation on the podcast below:
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
