Jimmy Nolen

Jimmy Nolen (April 3, 1934 – December 18, 1983) was an American guitarist, known for his distinctive "chicken scratch" lead guitar playing in James Brown's bands. In its survey of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," the English magazine Mojo ranks Nolen number twelve. Rolling Stone named Nolen the 12th greatest guitarist of all time in 2023.

Career Early life and career Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, Nolen was "discovered" in a club in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Jimmy Wilson, a blues singer famous for his 1953 hit "Tin Pan Alley." The Jimmy Nolen band was popular but never released any records since their primary purpose was to work as live backup for more famous acts. In the early 1960s Nolen began playing with the backing band for harmonica player George "Harmonica" Smith.

The J.B.'s/Maceo and All the King's Men era (1970–1972) During this time Nolen began to tour with Maceo Parker's group Maceo & All the King's Men. James replied to the mass resignation of his musicians by hiring a then-juvenile band called the Pacemakers from Cincinnati, Ohio. This band was composed of the young Bootsy Collins on bass, his brother Catfish Collins on guitar, Robert McCullough on saxophone, Clayton Gunnels on trumpet, and Frank Waddy on drums. The new band was named The J.B.'s and marked a new era for James Brown. Months after this new band was formed Starks and Stubblefield returned. Despite this band's undeniable talent for playing breakneck funk, it was relatively short-lived as a group, as the Collins brothers soon left to join George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic organization. In 1972, Nolen returned to play with The J.B.'s. New guitar style was affected not only by Nolen's choice of two and three note chord voicings of augmented 7th and 9th chords.

In his recordings with James Brown, Jimmy Nolen used a Gibson ES-175 and an ES-5 switchmaster. He also relied on a Gibson Les Paul Recording model with single coil pickups, an Acoustic Black Widow, and a Fresher Straighter. The single coil pickups on these guitars produced a thin "chanky" sound; Nolen ran these guitars through a Fender Twin Reverb with the treble set at 8 out of 10. The result was a rhythm guitar sound that seemed to float somewhere between the low-end thump of the electric bass and the cutting tone of the snare and hi-hats, with a rhythmically melodic feel that fell deep in the pocket. A good example of such tone would be in James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "I Got The Feeling." Nolen had been experimenting with the sound prior to his joining James Brown: it can be heard on the Johnny Otis song "Willie and the Hand Jive" "Cold Sweat", "Funky Drummer," and "The Boss" have been sampled, utilized by countless producers, DJs, and MCs. Funky Drummer was sampled by many rap acts such as Public Enemy, N.W.A., LL Cool J and Run-DMC. "The Boss" were sampled by Ice T, De La Soul, and Nas. Snoop Doggy Dogg, Coolio, and Black Street used 1973 funky song "Blind Man Can See it". Boogie Boys used "The Payback" in 1988. Nolen’s step son is hip hop producer Dallas Austin.