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R&B;, blues singer started in a choir

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Nappy Brown, 78, a gospel-influenced R&B; and blues singer of such hits as “It Don’t Hurt No More,” “I Cried Like a Baby” and “Don’t Be Angry,” died Sept. 13 in Charlotte, N.C., after a lengthy hospitalization, according to his label, Blind Pig Records.

Brown built his reputation in the mid-1950s as a baritone blues shouter. He recorded “(Night Time Is) the Right Time,” which later became a hit for Ray Charles.

Born Napoleon Brown Culp in 1929 in Charlotte, the musician grew up singing in a church choir with his father. He also sang in a gospel group with his cousins.

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Last year, Brown returned to his musical roots with an album titled “Long Time Coming” and performed on Garrison Keillor’s radio show “A Prairie Home Companion.”

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