Waddell Falland (April 28, 1937 – May 29, 2018) – Stand Up And Be Counted (1971)

The onetime member of the Famous Flames co-wrote and sang on this powerful, socially conscious funk anthem, produced by James Brown.

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Waddell Falland was a singer/songwriter and member of James Brown’s former group the Famous Flames for a brief period in the early 1970s.

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Falland joined the group Bobby & The Expressions in the mid-sixties, formerly known as just the Expressions, led by James Brown collaborator Robert Davis. He sang with them on their 1966 single “Everywhere I Go” b/w the funky, humorous attempt to coin a new dance craze “Slooptime U.S.A.” In a 2007 interview with Cincinnati Public Radio, Falland explained, “We wrote that song after we had done “Sloop and Slide” by Hank Ballard (on) which we were the background singers.”

In 1970, Brown put together an all-new lineup of his backing group the Famous Flames. Falland and Davis joined fellow singers Delbert Gilliam and James Railey to round out the group. They initially changed their name to the Solars before reverting to the Famous Flames on the superb single “Who Am I” with the heartfelt "Nobody Knows But My Baby And Me” on the flip, released on King Records.

The following year, they released a powerful, socially conscious funk anthem on Brown’s People Records label. “Stand Up And Be Counted” (1971) was recorded that June at Bobby Smith Studios in Macon, GA. It was co-written by Falland, Davis, and the rest of the new Flames, and produced by Brown (a “Right On James Brown Production”). But it failed to take off. As Falland recalled years later:

“We thought (it) was going to be a big hit. Everybody in the studio thought so. Even James thought it was going to be a big hit. But for some reason, the government came in. And when they came in, they shut everybody down. Therefore, I don't know what happened to the record.”

Its B-side was the superb jam “My Lonely Hour,” also co-written by the entire group and produced by Brown. Both sides were backed by Fred Wesley on trombone, Bobby Byrd on organ, and the J.B.’s, which at that moment included Jimmy Parker on alto sax, St. Clair Pinckney on tenor sax, bassist Fred Thomas, Robert Coleman & Hearlon “Cheese” Martin on guitars, trumpet players Jerome “Jassan” Sanford, Russel Crimes, and Ike Oakley, percussionist Johnny Griggs, and John “Jabo” Starks on drums.

Rest in Power, Waddell Falland.

Further info:

“James Brown Productions, Part Two,” interview from 2007, 91.7 WVXU / Cincinnati Public Radio, September 13, 2018.

#soul #funk #JamesBrown #FamousFlames #WaddellFalland