Bobby Byrd | Soul musician, 73

Bobby Byrd, 73, longtime collaborator with the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, and cofounder of the Famous Flames, died Wednesday at his home in Loganville, Ga., near Atlanta. News accounts attributed his death to cancer.

Mr. Byrd was one of the chief architects of Brown's trademark sound, and his contributions can be heard on early Brown soul tracks and on hits that laid the foundations of funk, such as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine." Byrd sang the punctuating imperative "Get on up," which repeats throughout that song.

Brown, who was born and raised in poverty, was serving a sentence in a north Georgia reform school for breaking into cars when he met Mr. Byrd, and Mr. Byrd's family arranged to take Brown into its home. Mr. Byrd also took Brown into his gospel group. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B.

Mr. Byrd stayed with the Famous Flames, and the JBs after that, until 1973. Later, he had a string of modest R&B hits. Mr. Byrd performed at the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Ga., for Brown's memorial service in December. - AP