Think (About It)

"Think (About It)" was written and produced by James Brown, with the J.B.'s as the band and Jabo Starks on drums. It came out in June 1972 as People Records PE 608, with "Ain't No Sunshine" on the other side, and ran 3:18. The soul chart entry came on July 15, and it peaked at number 9; on the Hot 100 it debuted at number 90 in September and peaked at number 66. The lyric closes by quoting "Think," a 1957 song by The "5" Royales that Brown had himself recorded in 1960.

In the record's second half Starks plays a drum break, with a short ad-libbed "Yeah! Woo!" shout near it, that became known as the Think break. It arrives at about 1:22. The record was forgotten until London rare-groove DJs found it in the mid-1980s, and it appeared on James Brown's Funky People (Polydor, 1986) and on Ultimate Breaks and Beats volume 16.

WhoSampled counts have been quoted at roughly three thousand uses, behind only "Amen, Brother," though the figure varies by source and date. Early users include Cookie Crew's "Females (Get On Up)" and Latee's "The Cut's Got Flavor" in 1987, and Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two" (1988) is the best known. Janet Jackson's "Alright" (1989), Roni Size's "It's a Jazz Thing" (1994) and a long run of house, jungle and techno records followed.

Collins performed on a 1993 remake by Patra, and Barbara Tucker's 2017 cover reached number one on the U.S. dance club chart. The song is also on the radio station Master Sounds 98.3 in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Collins was a salaried member of the Revue and, according to one account, saw little of the money the record made.