As many of you know, James Brown died Christmas morning of heart failure. He was 73.
Not this James Brown.
This one:
I'm of course talking about "Mr. Dynamite", "The hardest working man in show business", "Soul Brother Number One", "The Minister of Super Heavy Funk", "The Godfather of Soul" or as I affectionately refer to him, "Mr. Nickname". The New York Times described his humble beginnings:
Mr. Brown was born May 3, 1933, in a one-room shack in Barnwell, S.C. As he would later tell it, midwives thought he was stillborn, but his body stayed warm, and he was revived. When his parents separated four years later, he was left in the care of his aunt Honey, who ran a brothel in Augusta, Ga. As a boy he earned pennies buck-dancing for soldiers; he also picked cotton and shined shoes. He was dismissed from school because his clothes were too ragged.
He went from that to a person who by the end of the 60's had his own publishing company, three radio stations and a Learjet...which he paid for by performing as many as 51 weeks a year. His music would be the foundation of Funk and later Hip-Hop. Any fan of early hip-hop can remember the drum breaks, the screeching horns, the JB yell that were sampled countless times..("Funky Drummer"). His performance style influenced the likes of Mick Jagger, Prince and Micheal Jackson.
Unfortunately, future generations only know Mr. Brown as the guy that did "Living in America" for Rocky 4 (Drago!)...or hearing "I feel good" during countless movie montages when the screenwriter had run dry on character development and wanted "something fun to happen here" in the movie. He would later become a punch line for every cheesy FM morning show, (who didn't do a James Brown impression?). Then again, James didn't make it easy on himself with his frequent scrapes with the law with everything from drugs to spousal problems.
All of that however was forgotten today when a horse drawn carriage carried his body through the streets of Harlem to the Apollo Theater, where thousands of people lined up to pay their respects. In 1963, James Brown's "Live at the Apollo" hit number one in the nation.
thanks James.
say it loud..
s
