james brown soul

8/7/2019 James Brown Soul

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James Brown, who rose from shining Charles Bobbitt, Brown's managershoes for pennies to becoming the 89 years, told JET that the singer traworld-famous icon who had an almost eled to Atlanta over the Christmas hoimmeasurably profound impact on pop- day weekend to see a dentist and begular music with his extraordinary ener- coughing badly.gy level, choreography and vocal mas- "A doctor said we needed to get Mtery, has died. He was 73. Brown to the hospital because he didAnd he influenced a "Who's Who" of like the sound of his chest. He said,


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per-not bewithout

e display of hisfeverishfootwork-pirouettes, thewalk.Godfather ofwas knowntopping offlively act bya capeacross hisin a funkbut immedi-coming back toe crowd with more

he had congestive heart failure in addition tohealth issues that included diabetes and a bloodin his lungs.

"Mondaymorning at about 1:20 a.m. he start-'I can't breathe.' The nurse

him treatment. He laid down and satup. He prayed to God and h'Mr. Bobbitt, I'm going tohere tonight.' I said,

h man, you're kidding.not going any- .He sighed three

very softly. Hehis eyes, he

his eyes and hegone. He just slip-away."


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history.Brown, with his trademark pom-padour hairstyle, splits, twists, growlsand gyrations, was given the well-deserved monikers "Godfather ofSoul,""Soul Brother No. 1"and the even moreappropriate "Hardest Working Man inShow Business." He was scheduled toperform in New York City for New

Brown is ccompanied by his group, TFamous Flames, as they show off their faSstepping chorus line moves in 1961. With* ever having a music lesson, Brown playedSevery instrument inhis band.Year's Eve and had a full slate of daset for 2007 when he died.

In one of his final interviews, he tJET last year while celebrating his 5year in show business that he lives to pform. "If I can't work, I can't walk.still giving people something. I'll kplaying for as long as I can."

V His handprints were cemented when he was inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk in1992. Thatsame year he holds up the Award of Merit he was presented at the American Music Awards. A tarthe Hollywood Walk of Fame was given to him in1997.


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4 TheGodfather ofSoul receivesthe LifetimeAchievementAward from theKing of PopMichael Jacksorat the 3rdAnnual BETAwards 2003.

From his first hit Please,Please,Please in 1956,topped the charts in four different decades.had 60 Top 10 R&B hits, more than any

in history.White audiences joined the hordes ofBlack fans

4 Brown was recipient of aLifetime Achievement Award forPerforming Arts at the KennedyCenter Honors in2003.V Last year during Rev. AlSharpton's National ActionNetwork conference in NewYork, Brown received the MartinLuther King Jr. MemorialHumanitarian Award for his pub-lic service efforts as MartinLuther King III bserved. Soinfluenced by Brown, Sharpton(r) served as Brown's road man-ager earlier in his career.


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4 Brown stands in ront of one of his many bunesses, Man's World Enterprises. He also ownerecord label and several radio stations. He pose(c) in ront of his private plane. Boxing promoteButch Lewis (bottom, r) is responsible for helpiBrown earn his first million dollar concert.who packed Brown's concerts. Th(Whites) began flocking to his music in t1960s, making such songs as IFeel GoPapa's Got a BrandNew Bag and CSweat major crossover hits.

IFeel Good still gets tremendous aplay on pop and R&B stations. Even tpre-teen dominated Radio Disney plathe song. It has been used by seveNational Football League teams to get sout crowds pumped up.

He told JET that his hit It's a MaMan's,Man's Worldmight have been munderstood as somewhat chauvinist"The Black man lets the Black woman rthe business," he explained. If an insance man would come to the house a lotime ago, he would talk to the wife. Shspend all the money. People didn't getupset with the title because I capped itwhen I said, '...but it would be nothwithout a woman or a girL"'

Brown also used his music to masocial commentary. The hugely successSay It Loud,I'm Black and 'mProudhelpusher in a sense of Black pride. Until thBlacks were called Negroes.

He recalled that the song actuawas met with tremendous resistan


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S.... SOUL.&X1/4" BROTERL_-A" -AeI,f

first came out (in 1968) because they didn't wantbe Black...They wanted to be Negro, they want-to be light-skinned, high yellow. God made peo-in all colors," he told JET.During that same period, Brown was called onhelp calm crowds following the assassination of

Luther King. He took to the radio airwavesask fans to remain calm and not destroy neigh-


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A An ambassador of American inspiration and pridethroughout the world, James Brown met with U.S. presi-dents (from top, I), ncluding President Richard Nixonand President George Bush, Pope John Paul l1nd JimmyCarter, while president and Georgia governor (below).ognized and beloved performers.

From Michael Jackson and Prince toMick Jagger, rapper Snoop Dogg,Usher andnewcomer Chris Brown, James Brown influ-enced numerous performers with his unique, trade-mark style. He was parodied on "Saturday NightLive" by Eddie Murphy who, instead of singing thehitHotPants,sang Hot Tub with the signature pom-padour style.

Always supportive and proud of today's perform-ers, Brown crowned superstar Usher "the Godson ofSoul" during the 2003 GrammyAwards telecast whenthey performed together.

Usher recalled: "He personally taught me how to get on the 'good foot.' I'll neforget our performances together. All these memories will live on in my heart forer. He is the example ofwhat you do with what God gives you. He was not onlyGodfather of Soul; he was the Godfather to the entire music industry. James Bro


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figure. Sharpton officiated during the pub-memorial for Brown at the Apollo Theatre.Brown's appeal was across the political spec-and Brown performed before or met withPresident of the United States since 1965.Always supportive of the country, he struttedstuff for American troops serving in Vietnam.e received some criticism from Blacks when, inhe endorsed Republican Richard Nixon's can-

for president.President Bush said he and his wife, first ladyBush, were "saddened" by Brown's death."For half a century, the innovative talent of theof Soul' enriched our culture and influ-generations of musicians. An American original, his fans came from all walkslife and backgrounds. James Brown's family and friends are in our thoughts andV James Brown shows his patriotic side as he greetsWa capacity crowd of more than 5,000 troops and givesa soulful, outdoor concert inVietnam. (Inset) After hisenergetic performance, Brown is rushed away by busfor a second show.


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A Brown is oined by ex-bandmates Bobby Byrd and BooCollins. The entertainer met, performed and mentored seal celebrities throughout his lifetime including MuhammaAll, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Eddie Murphy.

His fans will truly miss the music and the nstop showmanship.Audiences were often as spent and drencas Brown himself following his high-energy ccerts that featured fancy footwork and his mdramatic skit of throwing off a cape placed onback or leaving the stage and returning tomicrophone. He revealed that sometimeswould lose as much as five pounds during a sinperformance.

Former bandmate Maceo Parker, wBrown immortalized during his concertsrecordings by summoning him for his funkysolos, "Maceo, I want you to blow!," told JET,really enjoyed trying to give an uplift withmessages in his music and tried to make peoplives better through his performances, his enerThe most defining or underlying thing I can thabout when I think about his legacy was it wreally about giving something to that audienWhen the audience left, people walked awayfelt better."

Upon learning of Brown's death, Parrevealed,"I couldn't believe it. I was thinking


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be a hoax. We al-joked and said James

will outlive us all.be 200 years old and

performing and remembering us. We really thought he just had that uniquewe felt,just to hang around and be here forever. It was really, really shock

to learn of his death..."Born in the middle of the Great Depression near Barnwell, SC, in 1933, Brown

embraced music with a harmonica given to him by his father, Joe GardnerAs a youngster, he earned money picking cotton and shining shoes in Augusta

A. where his aunt ran a brothel. He took up boxing while incarcerated in a juvenilefacility for breaking into cars. While there, he also sang in a gospel choir

R&B called.In 1955, the Famous Flames, as his group with Bobby Byrd called themselves

Please,Please,Please.It became an instant success.A couple of years later, he hit pay dirt again with the No. 1hit single TryMe.He reached what many considered the pinnacle for many Black performers when

1959, he made it to the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem.Brown's style wasn't restricted to R&B. He evolved. He embraced funk, disco and

kept appealing to young audiences. His last major pop hit was Living Ina song that landed Brown into the Top 10. Brown performed that song inhit film, Rocky IV.


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Brown (above, I) sshown with his ex-wife, VelmWarren, in1979. She was the performer's first wDeidre Jenkins was Brown's second wife; they ldivorced. Adrienne Brown was the third wife ofsoul legend. They were married for a decade beher death in1996. Brown shares a moment withson, James II, nd the child's mother, backupsinger Tomi Rae Hynie, after Brown and Tomi Rmarried inDecember2001.

assault charges, unlawful use of afirearm, assault on a police officer anddrug possession.

He also had his share of problemswith the Internal Revenue Service.

But,through it all, fans remained loy-al. Even after having won three GrammyAwards, he was given a Grammy Life-time Achievement Award in 1992. Healso was feted with a Kennedy CenterHonor in 2003.

Throughout his career Brown em-phasized education and Black self-sufficiency.

"I tell everyone to go to college," heexplained. "Anybody who wants to be in

a little boy.". During his final interview withlast spring, Brown repeatedly said t

Black people should try to own mor"We need to start wanting to ow

place instead of getting a job. Be yown boss! Let's get together like(White) man and buy some land.need to save our money like the mput up a factory and own the job.awful when one group of people doeown things. We don't own anythinAmerica."

As many highs and lows as Broexperienced in his life, he said the lest points were the deaths of his fatson Teddy (who died in a car crash)wife Adrienne, who died following c


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a tough taskmaster."He didn't take nonsense," he said.

knew how to get the best out of peo-he was a timid man. Hemusic with Papa'sGotaBrandI hope he's remembered for the

he tried to bring people together. Hebad and tried to make it right."

Bobbitt also said it's fitting that Brown

has a viewing at the Apollo Theater."He told me two months ago, 'Let's go

back to the Apollo! I want to go backWouldn't it be nice if we could see thoslines stretched around the block like theyused to be."'

In addition to Teddy, Brown has sixchildren. He was married four times. J-Aldore Collie


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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

TITLE: James Brown: His Music Gave America Soul

SOURCE: Jet 111 no2 Ja 15 2007

WN: 0701502618009

The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it

is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in

violation of the copyright is prohibited. To contact the publisher:

http://www.jetmag.com/

Copyright 1982-2007 The H.W. Wilson Company. All rights reserved.

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