Chuck Brown

Credit: Landov

Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-Go, Dies at 75

Originally posted 05/17/2012 07:45AM

Chuck Brown, who fused funk, soul and Latin sounds into an entirely new party music called go-go in Washington, D.C., in the 1970s, has died at 75 after suffering pneumonia.

Brown, a guitarist, singer and songwriter affectionately dubbed the "godfather of go-go," died Wednesday from complications of sepsis at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, the Washington Post reports. He had been hospitalized since April 18.

Go-go music was a point of pride for black Washingtonians, and Brown – an ex-con who became one of the city's most beloved figures – remained its most charismatic performer. He performed less often but still regularly in his final years.