The guitarist who created the "chicken scratch". Jimmy Nolen was James Brown's key player for the sound of his band from 1965-83 (although absent from 1970-72) and virtually invented the "funk" rhythm style influential to many of the groups that followed. Much sampled by rap producers in the late 80's and 90's his sound has been heard by millions, yet Jimmy Nolen is still largely unknown by the wider audience. Always standing to the edge or with the back line of Brown's tight bands and only occasionally heard to take a solo during a set. On stage he appeared modest, unassuming and serious. Have no doubt Jimmy Nolen is one of the great guitarists of that era. Jimmy died on December 18th. 1983 aged 49.
"His guitar style was affected not only by Nolen’s choice of two and three note chord voicing of augmented 7th and 9th chords, but also by his strumming straight 16th note patterns.
Gibson ES-175 and an ES-5 switch master, both hollow body jazz guitars equipped with single coil P-90s. He also relied on a Gibson Les Paul Recording model with single coil pickups, an Acoustic Black Widow, and a Fresher Straighter, which were also single coil instruments. 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 of these factors 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."
Sadly there is little clear video footage of Jimmy Nolen but this is possibly the best. That great rhythm guitar style putting the funk into James Brown's "Rapp Payback" live in 1980.
