Charles Louis Brown (August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012) was an American guitarist, bandleader and singer who has garnered the honorific nickname "The Godfather of Go-Go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around the Washington metropolitan area in the mid-1970s. While its musical classification, influences, and origins are debated, Brown is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music.