# 3 James Brown Songs That Are Still Universally Known Today (Although They Weren’t All Big Hits)

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/3-james-brown-songs-that-are-still-universally-known-today-although-they-werent-all-big-hits/
- Published: 2026-08-05T21:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-05T21:14:57+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/3-james-brown-songs-that-are-still-universally-known-today-although-they-werent-all-big-hits/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Article names three enduring James Brown songs, not all chart hits.
- "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (1966) was covered by Etta James and Cher.
- "Try Me" never reached the Top 30 but is still widely known.

## Summary

Almost everyone can hum a handful of James Brown tunes, but not every song that became a cultural touchstone was a chart-topping hit at the time of its release. An American Songwriter feature highlights three tracks that remain widely recognisable today despite mixed commercial success, underlining how a song's lasting cultural resonance doesn't always match its original chart performance.

The three songs are "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (1966), the title track of a compilation album co-written with Betty Jean Newsome, which despite its title actually celebrates women's importance and has since been covered by artists including Etta James and Cher; "The Payback" (1974), a revenge-themed track co-written with Fred Wesley and John Starks; and "Try Me", a solely Brown-written single that never reached the Top 30 but remains one of his best-known songs.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.