This Is A Man's Man's Man's World

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"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song written by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966, in a New York City studio, and released it as a single later that year; its title is a word play on the 1963 comedy film, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Residents covered the song in 1984 and, partly thanks to a single release and a music video produced in the early days of MTV, it has become one of the group's most widely-known recordings. Over 15 different recordings of the song have been officially released.

History

"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" became a staple of Brown's live shows for the rest of his career. Its slow, simmering groove and declamatory vocal line made it suitable for long, open-ended performances incorporating spoken ruminations on love and loss and sometimes interpolations from other songs.

In 2004, the song was ranked #123 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and in 2010, the 1966 James Brown recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It has been widely covered and interpolated by several artists, including Christina Aguilera, Ice Cube, and the cast of Glee.

The Residents' first take on the song was recorded early in 1984 and released as a stand-alone single in February of that year. They have since recorded many alternate versions, and performed the song live on many occasions, the first one being the 13th Anniversary Show from 1985 to 1987, in which this song closed the first act of the show. On August 1986, the group, along with tour mate Snakefinger, recorded the new arrangement of the song in an Australian studio and released it as a single (backed with their take on Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock") on Australian label AIM.

Later on, during a 1997 performance at the Fillmore celebrating the group's 25th Anniversary, Mr. Skull introduced their version of the song as "a hit around the world," and the group performed it as an encore following "Hello Skinny".

Because the song was promoted with a music video, The Residents got to re-record "Man's World" in 2000 for the Icky Flix video retrospective DVD, and it was subsequently performed live on the DVD's promotional tour in 2001. This version of the song features Molly Harvey on lead vocals, giving it a female perspective.

In 2010, this song was performed by Czech art rock band Už jsme doma with special guest Randy Rose — singer for The Residents — on vocals, during a special Residents tribute show.

Finally, the song was most recently performed on the 2017–2018 In Between Dreams tour.

Releases

• The White Single (1984)
• The Black Single (UK release) (1984)
• Ralph Before '84 (1984)
• George & James (UK cassette release) (1984)
• Memorial Hits (1985)
• Heaven? (1986)
• The Eyeball Show (Live in Japan) (1986)
• Live in the USA! 13th Anniversary Tour (1986)
• This is a Mans Mans Mans World / Jailhouse Rock (1986)
• Video Voodoo (1987)
• 13th Anniversary Show - Live in Holland (1987)
• Commercial Album — 1988 Classic Series CD (1988)
• Liver Music (1990)
• Stranger Than Supper (1990)
• Twenty Twisted Questions (1992)
• Louisiana's Lick (1995)
• Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses (1997)
• Twenty-Five Years of Eyeball Excellence (1998)
• Live at the Fillmore (1998)
• Icky Flix (2001)
• Live! ...on the Outskirts (2002)
• Kettles of Fish on the Outskirts of Town (2003)
• Cover Versions Series, Vol. 1 (2009)
• Icky Flix Live (2009)
• RMX (2009)
• 13th Anniversary Show - Ritz NY - Jan 16, 1986 (2010)
• The 13th Anniversary Show - Cleveland (2014)
• "Manz Whirled" (2014)
• 80 Aching Orphans (2017)
• Loss of the Lizard Lady (2018)
• In Between Dreams Live (2018)
• Icky Flix OST — Cherry Red LP (2020)
• Moravian Meeting (2020)
• American Composers Series 1982–1987 (2025)

See Also

• Safety Is A Cootie Wootie