Chuck Brown Memorial Park

Chuck Brown, born Charles Louis Brown on August 22, 1936, in Gaston, North Carolina to Lila Louise Taylor and Albert Louis Moody, became the fundamental force behind Go-Go music, using music, storytelling, and rhythm to help create a culture of inclusion and participation in Washington, D.C., neighborhoods. He moved to Washington, D.C. in 1942 and worked as a shoe shine boy next to the Howard Theatre. While serving time at Lorton, he traded cigarettes for a homemade guitar, beginning his love of music and the instrument. In the 1960s he joined Los Latinos, which inspired the percussion focus he later wove into Go-Go. In the 1970s his composition "Bustin' Loose" reached number one on the Billboard charts, and he appeared on Soul Train and toured the United States. In the 1980s he and Go-Go music toured around the world with Go-Go Swing and other hits, and he became known as the "Godfather of Go-Go." In the 1990s he explored his jazz and blues roots in collaboration with Eva Cassidy and recorded an album of standards dedicated to her memory. In the 2000s he delivered five Billboard charting releases, a section of 7th Street, NW, was renamed "Chuck Brown Way" in his honor, the National Symphony Orchestra paid tribute with two commissioned orchestral arrangements and a joint performance on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, and he received his first Grammy nomination for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals for "Love." Brown died on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, surrounded by his wife Jocelyn and their children Takesa, Bill, Nekos, and Wiley. The renowned guitarist, singer, and music innovator helped create the signature sound of Washington, D.C. and the only form of expressive culture to originate in the District of Columbia.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States