Super Soul Brother #1! James was a teen delinquent and when he got out of prison, he got into music. Still a teenager, he joined a gospel group and played organ.His first big break as a singer came when during the course of his erratic carreer, Little Richard disappeared after his first meteoric hit singles and went into the ministry. James was hired to fill in the dates with Richards backup band...in fact, their were two versions of the Upsetters touring the little clubs in the South doing Little Richard Covers. The other singer who got his break because of Richards bizarre behavior was Otis Redding.
James honed his style, his dancing, his moves, his theatrical whiplash manipulation of the crowds with his band the Flames! The first time I ever saw James Brown was in the TAMI Awards movie in 1965! He did Please, Please, Please! with all the moves, breaking down, being escorted off the stage by one of the Flames with a cape on, then throwing down the cape, grabbing the mike and recharged with even more energy, goes back into the song. This was riveting, electrifying and sheer calculated showmanship of the highest level!
There are so many songs, It's a Mans World, Sex Machine, Cold Sweat, Licking Stick,
I Can't Stand Myself, I'll Go Crazy, I Feel Good, Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud!
The JB's! The fabulous horn section, Fred Wesley, the Collins Brothers, Bootsy and Catfish,,,He gave us so much. The man invented Funk and gave it a name! Can we take it to the bridge? HUH, Take it to the bridge!
You can say what you want about the man and his personal life, but till the day he died he was SUPER BAD!
1 comment:
Great posting Patrick! I have been a fan of James Brown, like you, for too many years. My oldest, after graduating high school in 1994, went to the 25th anniversary of Woodstock. When she came back home, she told me what current bands performed, etc. She then said that she got to see James Brown perform. I should add that at this time all she knew of James Brown was the song, “I feel good,” that was used in advertisement at the time. With a short pause she then continued with a “matter of fact epiphany in her voice, “He’s really good!” My only comment was, “Yea, He’s pretty good” with a little smile on my face. It’s fun to watch your kids grow up and discover old things as being new.
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