"Time Is Running Out Fast" - Fred Wesley

SONG: “Time Is Running Out Fast” (PDF)
ALBUM: The Payback
ARTIST: James Brown
YEAR: 1973
LABEL: Polydor Records

Despite 1974 being one of the most prolific years for Mr. Brown, musical director Fred Wesley had already been planning his final exit from the band. In his autobiography, Fred recollects events from this period in which he was a witness and bystander to the abuse handed out by Mr. Brown, regretfully not speaking out because, in Fred’s opinion at the time, the personal benefits of fame, performance, and production credits outweighed the violence established within the system. Perhaps the writing was already on the wall as Fred Wesley relentlessly played on “Time Is Running Out Fast” as if trombone solos were going out of style with the popularity of disco music on the horizon.

Recommended Reading: Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Sideman by Fred Wesley Jr. Published by Duke University Press.