It's My Thing (You Can't Tell Me Who to Sock It To)

"It's My Thing" was released by King as K6229 in June 1969, with "Ball of Fire", not on an album, as its B-side. It answers the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing", which a fan blog called a so called answer. James Brown produced it and, according to KCUR, helped her write it, but no source we read gives a writer credit, so none is stated here. It was her first chart hit, reaching number 19 on the R&B chart and number 82 on the Hot 100. A fan blog hears the signature JB sound in its backbeat and horns, and she said it broke her through to national recognition. We found no recording date, studio, personnel, video, setlist history or covers.

It has been sampled in hip-hop: Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise" (released December 29, 1987) lists it among its samples, and Wikipedia cites it, from one source only, in N.W.A's "Fuck tha Police". Radio Milwaukee also reports uses by EPMD, Big Daddy Kane and Fatboy Slim, without tracks or years.