Godfather of Soul James Joseph Brown unleashed a thread of rhythm-and-blues hits through the 1960s and early 1970s. His influence and work ethic received him the reputation as “the hardest-working gentleman in show business.”
Difficult childhood Of James Joseph Brown
James Joseph Brown Jr. remained born on May 3, 1933, in Barnwell, South Carolina, to Joe and Susie Brown. His ma left the family when James was only four years old. His father, looking for work, moved the residual family to Augusta, Georgia, to live with an aunt, who supervised a brothel (a house for prostitutes).
Growing up, Brown was deeply influenced by jazz and rhythm-and-blues, two musical sorts dominated by African Americans. Other effects were the circuses and traveling shows with their change of acts, both singing, then dancing.
But Brown’s musical thoughts were soon drowned out by his tough childhood. He produced up fast, and by his teens, Brown had floated into crime. At sixteen he went to jail for manifold car thefts. Though initially condemned!
to 8 to sixteen years of hard labor, he got out in less than four years for decent behavior. After unsuccessful efforts at boxing and baseball, he formed a gospel group named the Swans with his prison pal Johnny Terry. The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business”
The Swanees shifted to the popular mid-1950s “doo-wop” style and away after the gospel, changing their name to the Famous Flames. Brown crooned lead and then played drums; their song “Please, Please, please” was released as a solitary in 1956 and sold a million copies.
By 1960 the group had developed the James Brown Revue and was generating proto-funk dance successes like “(Do the) Mashed Potato.” Deemed the “King of Soul” at the Apollo Theater, New York City’s black tune capital, Brown proceeded over the years to injury up the charts with singles like “Papa’s Got a Brand-New Bag,” “I Got You (I Feel Good),” “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” “Cold Sweat,” “Funky Drummer,” than numerous
Activism
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The progressively militant stance of many African American objectors in the late 1960s led Brown—by now among an elite collection of influential African Americans—to flirt with the “Black Power” crusade. Even so, the singer generally counseled passivity and won praise from President Lyndon B.
Johnson (1908–1973) when a program of his words helped head off a contest riot. He was also saluted by Vice President Hubert Humphrey (1911–1978) for his pro-education song “Don’t Be a Dropout.” Brown’s melody did begin to incorporate more clear political messages, many of which stated his belief that African Americans needed to take regulator of their economy.
Taxes, tragedy, and Trouble
James Joseph Brown may have been one of the main pop stars in the world, but he also found himself in a fair part of the trouble. In 1975 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) demanded that he owed $4.5 million in taxes from 1969 to 1970, and many of his other investments collapsed. His group quit after a punishing tour of Africa, and most tragically, his son Teddy died in a car accident. Brown’s wife later left him, taking their deuce daughters.
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