James Brown was famous for being the "Godfather of Soul" and a central figure in the development of funk music.
James Brown was born on May 3, 1933, in Barnwell, South Carolina, to 16-year-old Susie (née Behling, 1917–2003) and 22-year-old Joseph "Joe" Gardner Brown (1911–1993), in a small wooden shack.
Raised in Augusta, Georgia, during the Great Depression, he faced the hardships of growing up Black in the segregated South. However, music offered him an escape. He began singing in talent shows as a young child, first appearing at Augusta's Lenox Theater in 1944, winning the show after singing the ballad "So Long.".
As a young man James Brown wanted to play professional baseball or be a professional boxer.
He was imprisoned for petty theft in 1949 after breaking into a car, and paroled three years later.
His first group was The Flames, and he was the drummer. Brown sang some lead vocals with other members and quickly became their frontman.
James Brown’s original Flames band mates started off in Little Richard’s Band.
James Brown did not know how to read sheet music.
"Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag" was released by James Brown on July 17, 1965. It was the first Top 10 hit for the Godfather of Soul.
The night after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Brown agreed to televise his performance in Boston, where he appealed for calm in the wake of riots across the country
James Brown performed in Zaire before the “Rumble in the Jungle” between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
Brown’s song “Living in America” was featured in the movie Rocky IV.
Intoxicated on PCP, in 1988 Brown burst into an insurance seminar adjoining his own office in Augusta before leading police on a late-night, two state car pursuit. He was sentenced to a six-year jail term for and served 26 months.
James Brown requested a 1950s salon hairdryer for his dressing room when he played the Scottish T In The Park festival in 2005.
He died on December 25, 2006 at 73 in Atlanta of congestive heart failure after being hospitalized for pneumonia. According to his friend, James Brown's last words were "I'm going away tonight."
When James Brown died, his coffin was 24 karat gold.
Sources Raresoul.com, Artistfacts
As a young man James Brown wanted to play professional baseball or be a professional boxer.
He was imprisoned for petty theft in 1949 after breaking into a car, and paroled three years later.
His first group was The Flames, and he was the drummer. Brown sang some lead vocals with other members and quickly became their frontman.
James Brown’s original Flames band mates started off in Little Richard’s Band.
James Brown did not know how to read sheet music.
"Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag" was released by James Brown on July 17, 1965. It was the first Top 10 hit for the Godfather of Soul.
 |
| By ESCAPE-ISM, Fair use, Wikipedia Commons |
The night after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Brown agreed to televise his performance in Boston, where he appealed for calm in the wake of riots across the country
James Brown performed in Zaire before the “Rumble in the Jungle” between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
Brown’s song “Living in America” was featured in the movie Rocky IV.
 |
| James Brown performing live in Hamburg, Germany, February 1973. |
Intoxicated on PCP, in 1988 Brown burst into an insurance seminar adjoining his own office in Augusta before leading police on a late-night, two state car pursuit. He was sentenced to a six-year jail term for and served 26 months.
James Brown requested a 1950s salon hairdryer for his dressing room when he played the Scottish T In The Park festival in 2005.
He died on December 25, 2006 at 73 in Atlanta of congestive heart failure after being hospitalized for pneumonia. According to his friend, James Brown's last words were "I'm going away tonight."
When James Brown died, his coffin was 24 karat gold.
Sources Raresoul.com, Artistfacts
No comments:
Post a Comment