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.