Songfacts®:

• Lyrically, there's not much to this song, but the groove propelled it to #1 on the R&B chart, his eighth on the tally. Recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami on October 29, 1968, this version of Brown's band included Alphonso "Country" Kellum on guitar, Nate Jones on drums and Maceo Parker on saxophone.
• Brown replaced his band in March 1970, retaining only drummer Jabo Starks. With his new group, he reworked this song for the Sex Machine album, extending it to 6:26 - much longer than the 2:45 original. This new arrangement was a staple of their live shows, but the recording was done in the studio, with the crowd noise dubbed in.
• This song became a huge part of hip-hop culture. In the documentary Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown, Chuck D of Public Enemy calls this "the hip-hop, B-boy, breakdance anthem."
• A remixed version of this song appears on Brown's 1986 compilation album In the Jungle Groove.
• Writing credit on this song doesn't go to James Brown, but to his manager, Charles Bobbit. It's likely Bobbit had nothing to do with the song - Brown sometimes assigned writing credits in exchange for services.
• Many old-school hip-hop tracks sampled this song, often using the 1986 remix. Among the songs to use it:
  
  "100 Miles and Runnin'" by N.W.A
  "Loud and Hard to Hit" by YBT
  "Burn Hollywood Burn" and "Welcome to the Terrordome" by Public Enemy