Search - Nappy Brown :: I'm a Wild Man

He was born Napoleon Brown Culp in North Carolina in 1929, but by 1955 he was New York City's Nappy Brown and had the number-two R&B record in the whole country, "Don't Be Angry." Brown also recorded the original version of Ray Charles's "(The Night Time Is) The Right Time"; he claims he's the uncredited composer as well. After the R&B hits dried up, he went back to gospel music only to reemerge on the blues-revival circuit in 1984. "I'm a Wild Man," released in 1997, was recorded in 1994. His voice is in good shape on the tongue-in-cheek swagger of uptempo blues such as the title track and the seductive purr of soul ballads such as "Sittin' in the Dark." The arrangements are generic blues-revival formulas, but Brown's big voice comes booming through in any case. --Geoffrey Himes