James Brown's influence stretches from the Stones (Mick. Jagger: “He ... of my life
, because of James Brown.” Fittingly ... prodigy Bootsy Collins—added bass.
James Brown (james joseph brown) Heart failure Born: May 3, 1933 Died: December 25, 2006
“The most exciting and thrilling R&B male performer of all time,”
“Please, Please, Please” (1956) became the first of fifty Top
said Aretha Franklin. “If you didn’t have soul, he was going to give
10 R&B hits in the United States. “Night Train” upped the tempo,
you some.”
reflecting the performances that made Brown and his band
Soul Brother Number One, Mr. Dynamite, The Hardest Working
a sensation. “When I saw him move, I was mesmerized,” said
Man in Show Business, Minister of the New New Super Heavy
Michael Jackson. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do for the rest
Funk…James Brown’s influence stretches from the Stones (Mick
of my life, because of James Brown.”
Jagger: “He was a whirlwind of energy and precision”) to Public
Fittingly, the work that brought the Famous Flames mainstream
Enemy (a career built on JB samples), and from Zeppelin (1973’s
recognition was Live At The Apollo (1962). King Records boss Syd
pastiche “The Crunge”) to Sinead O’Connor (one of hundreds
Nathan—who judged “Please, Please, Please” a “piece of shit”—
who sampled “Funky Drummer”).
was unconvinced by the prospect of a live album, obliging Brown
Amid prostitution and gambling, Brown was raised in Augusta,
to finance it himself. The result reached No. 2 in Billboard and
Georgia. He was a promising boxer and baseball player, but went
remained on the chart for a year. “He didn’t cross over,” noted the
to jail from the age of sixteen to nineteen for car theft. At a baseball
Reverend Jesse Jackson, “Whites crossed over to him.”
game against civilians, he encountered singer Bobby Byrd, with
Ensuing hits found Brown and his band stretching R&B’s limits to
whom he united on being paroled. Brown hijacked Byrd’s group
create funk. Beginning with 1965’s playful “Papa’s Got A Brand
to create the Famous Flames—who mixed gospel, jazz, and jive to
New Bag,” they stripped it to the bone for 1967’s “Cold Sweat.”
“If you’re going to be big and popular, you’re going to have to take the fall” electrifying effect. Little Richard was among their fans after seeing
From the dance floor drama of R&B to the mechanical beats of electronica, its impact still reverberates today. Brown utilized his success to become a powerful advocate of black equality. “For him to sing ‘I’m Black And I’m Proud’ at that time,” said Jesse Jackson, “was an act of defiance that became part of our culture.” The revolution continued into the 1970s with—thanks to teenage
their supporting slot for one of his own gigs. “We opened up for
prodigy Bootsy Collins—added bass. “Mr Brown is the godfather
him,” remembered Brown. “He couldn’t believe it. And he went
of pure rhythm, who lived in a land of pure groove,” said Bootsy,
back and told his manager, so in a way he discovered us.”
later a similarly pivotal influence with George Clinton. “I’m nobody
Right James Brown 1964 onstage at New York’s Apollo Theater (Famous Flames on left: Johnny Terry, Bobby Byrd, and Bobby Bennett).
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but his son along with countless other musicians.” Those musicians
and pursued by tax authorities, Brown had his last Top 10 hit for
included Aerosmith, who covered 1969’s “Mother Popcorn (You
almost a decade with 1976’s “Get Up Offa That Thing.”
Got To Have A Mother For Me),” and everyone who heard 1970’s “Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine.” Alongside Sly Stone and Curtis Mayfield, Brown used funk to
He remained a formidable live attraction, notorious for fining his band for anything from missed cues to badly shined shoes. In 1985, he returned to the Top 10 with “Living In America” and capitalized
express the energy and rage of Black America in the 1970s. Hits like
on the burgeoning hip hop scene with 1986’s much-sampled “In
“Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved,” “Soul Power,” “King Heroin,”
The Jungle Groove.”
“Talking Loud And Saying Nothing,” and “Funky President (People
Unfortunately, he became equally well-known for drug-fueled
It’s Bad),” and albums like 1973’s Black Caesar and 1974’s The
skirmishes with the police and domestic strife, leading to further
Payback, paved the way for hip hop. “He was not only the godfather
time behind bars. “If you’re going to be big and popular,” he
of soul,” said Ice Cube, “but the godfather of funk and rap.”
conceded, “You’re going to have to take the fall if there is a fall
In the mid-1970s, though, his position wavered. Overwhelmed
to be taken.” These activities, coupled with unceasing touring,
by disco, dabbling with the drugs he had always warned against,
took their toll. “He hates doctors,” said his manager after Brown confirmed he had diabetes. In 2002, he starred in the short film Beat The Devil, which saw Brown negotiating with the Devil (Gary Oldman) to beat the aging process. Nonetheless, Brown refused to retire. “What would I do?” he asked after treatment for cancer. “I made my name as a person that is helping. I’m like the Moses in the music business.” However, hospitalized for pneumonia in 2006, he succumbed to congestive heart failure on December 25. “James Brown’s family and friends,” said President Bush, “are in our thoughts and prayers this Christmas.” Brown was seventy-three. Driven from his Georgia home by activist Al Sharpton, Brown’s body was brought to the Apollo Theater in Harlem—scene of his 1962 triumph—in a horse-drawn carriage. Thousands paid their respects, as they did at another service in Augusta. At the James Brown Arena, Michael Jackson paid tribute: “Words cannot adequately express the love and respect that I will always have for Mr. Brown. There has not been, and will never be, another like him.” But family disputes kept him above ground in a gold casket for several months until his resting place in South Carolina was
ABOVE James Brown lying in repose during a public viewing at the Apollo Theater on December 28, 2006, in New York City. LEFT James Brown onstage in London’s Hyde Park on June 19, 2004, supporting the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A crowd of over 85,000 fans enjoyed the show.
finally decided. “I want to be remembered,” he told Rolling Stone in 1998, “as a man that…loved people so hard, sometimes it looked like in the early days it was madness. It was just concern...If they’re human beings, people will make mistakes. I’ve been there.” “He was a work of art,” said Aretha Franklin. “He was as valuable and as rare as any Rembrandt or Picasso.”
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