Widely considered a turning point in Brown's music as well as the first true "funk" song, "Cold Sweat" was released in 1967. At over seven minutes long, it was innovative in elaborating an extremely simple harmonic structure with intense rhythmic interest and virtuosic solos. Pee Wee Ellis, the cowriter of the song and Brown's bandleader and saxophonist, stated that the horn part to the song was highly influenced by Miles Davis' "So What." Brown would continue to develop the rhythmically intense, harmonically static template pioneered on "Cold Sweat" in later recordings such as "I Got the Feelin'", "Mother Popcorn", "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", and "Super Bad". Like many of Brown's funk hits, "Cold Sweat" has been extensively sampled by hip hop DJs and producers.