James Brown

American singer

American singer, songwriter, arranger, and dancer James Brown (born May 3, 1933, Barnwell, South Carolina, U.S. -died December 25, 2006, Atlanta, Georgia), who was acclaimed as "the Hardest Working Man in Show Business" for his steadfast work ethic and extraordinary accomplishments.

He was raised mostly by his great-aunt in Augusta, Georgia, when his parents divorced when he was about five years old. He grew up in the segregated South in the 1930s, when he was so poor that his grade school sent him home for "insufficient clothing," an experience he never forgot, and perhaps this explains his preference for wearing ermine coats, velour jumpsuits, and elaborate capes as an adult. He learned how to play drums, piano, and guitar from his neighbors and learned about gospel music at churches and tent revivals where preachers would scream, yell, stomp their feet, and fall to their knees during sermons to provoke response from the congregation. Initially, Brown was more interested in a career in baseball or boxing than music. He sang for his classmates and participated in local talent shows.

When Brown was 15 years old, he and some friends were arrested for breaking into vehicles. After being sentenced to 8 to 16 years in prison, he was released after 3 years for good behavior. He founded a gospel group at the Alto Reform School. After being secularized and renamed the Flames (later the Famous Flames), the group quickly attracted the attention of rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll shouter Little Richard, whose manager promoted them. Ralph Bass, the artists-and-repertoire man for King Record's subsidiary Federal, brought the group to Cincinnati after hearing their demo tape. Syd Nathan, the owner of the label, hated Brown's debut record, "Please, Please, Please" (1956), but it sold three million copies and launched Brown's career. He charted nearly 100 singles and almost 50 albums, which included his landmark Live at the Apollo (1963), which stayed at the top for 66 weeks, and Pure Dynamite (1964). Live at the Royal charted for 22 weeks.

"Say It Loud-I'm Black and I'm Proud" (1968), "Don't Be a Drop-Out" (1966), and "I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothin' (Open Up the Door, I'll Get It Myself)" (1969) are songs that many associate with the emergence of the Black Arts and black nationalist movements during that period. Politicians recruited him to help calm cities ravaged by civil unrest and courted his endorsement. He became known as the "Godfather of Soul" in the 1970s, and his hit songs were used on the soundtracks of a number of "blaxploitation films" (low-budget action films with African American protagonists). Hip-hop emerged as a commercial music form in the 1980s, and Brown's songs again gained popularity as disc jockeys often used samples (audio snippets) from his records. As a celebrity, he appeared in a number of motion pictures, including The Blues Brothers (1980) and Rocky IV (1985), and toured extensively in Africa, where his tours attracted huge crowds and spawned a myriad of new musical fusions. Still, Brown's life was marred by tragedies, such as the tragic death of his third wife, charges of drug use, and an imprisonment following a high-speed highway chase in 1988 in which he attempted to escape pursuing police officers.

"Say It Loud-I'm Black and I'm Proud" (1968), "Don't Be a Drop-Out" (1966), and "I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothin' (Open Up the Door, I'll Get It Myself)" (1969) are songs that many associate with the emergence of the Black Arts and black nationalist movements during that period. Politicians recruited him to help calm cities ravaged by civil unrest and courted his endorsement. Brown became “the Godfather of Soul,” and his hit songs triggered numerous dance crazes and appeared on the soundtracks of “blaxploitation” films (sensational, low-budget, action-oriented motion pictures starring African American protagonists). Disc jockeys frequently incorporated samples from Brown's records when hip-hop emerged as a viable commercial music genre in the 1980s. Additionally, he starred in several motion pictures, including The Blues Brothers (1980) and Rocky IV (1985), and was a global celebrity, especially in Africa, where his tours attracted large crowds and sparked new musical fusions. Brown's life was nevertheless marked by difficulties, including the tragic death of his third wife, drug charges, and a period of imprisonment for a high-speed chase with police on a highway in 1988.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992, and received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2003.