Nappy Brown

Nappy Brown was the stage name of Napoleon Brown Culp (born October 12, 1929). Brown is a gospel-influenced blues singer, whose hits include the 1955 Billboard Chart No 2, Don't Be Angry. His style is readily recognisable; Brown uses a wide vibrato, stutters, melisma and a distinctive "li-li-li-li-li".
As a youth, Brown was a member of several Gospel groups, including the Heavenly Lights. His gospel singing attracted the interest of Savoy Records, who signed him as an R&B artist in 1954. At his first recording session, Brown's unique delivery featuring rolled consonants allegedly led Savoy president Herman Lubinsky to exclaim, "Well, what do you know, a colored guy who sings Yiddish! This must be my lucky day."

Brown's breakthrough came with the 1955 release of Don't Be Angry, which reached No. 2 in the Billboard Charts. In the following four years he released hits including Pitter Patter in 1955, It Don't Hurt No More in 1958, and I Cried Like A Baby in 1959. Notably, he wrote and recorded Night Time Is the Right Time in 1954; the song was to be a hit for Ray Charles in 1958-59.

Nappy toured in the 1960s, and released the album Thanks for Nothing in 1969, after a recording gap of some years. He spent much of the 1960s and 1970s concentrating on Gospel music.
In the early 1980s, a renewed interest in R&B led to some of Brown's early songs being released on European albums. Brown was, as a result, able to conduct a successful tour of Scandinavia in 1983. In 1984, 14 years since his last recording, Brown signed with Landslide Records and released an album called Tore Up with The Heartfixers. Other recordings followed.

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