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    Legends of Soul: James Brown
    Legends of Soul: James Brown
    Legends of Soul: James Brown
    Ebook92 pages1 hour

    Legends of Soul: James Brown

    By James Hoag

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    About this ebook

    You've seen the movie, now get the rest of the story.

    This book is about the music.

    James Brown has had more of an influence on the music we listen to today than almost anyone else. He grew up in abject poverty, a black man in the post-depression south. His chances of making it in the world were non-existent. And yet, he went on to become one of the most powerful forces in the world of music. He had his faults and problems. He went down the road of drugs and even spent some years in prison, but he produced music you could dance to. In fact, when a James Brown song came on the radio, it was hard not to get up and dance.

    Have you ever wondered who the real James Brown is? Read Legends of Soul - James Brown to find out.

    This book covers his entire life, from his stillborn birth in Georgia to his death in 2006 and everything in between, concentrating on the wonderful music.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJames Hoag
    Release dateMay 18, 2016
    ISBN9781311642882
    Legends of Soul: James Brown
    Author

    James Hoag

    James Hoag has always been a big fan of Rock & Roll. Most people graduate from high school and then proceed to "grow up" and go on to more adult types of music. James got stuck at about age 18 and has been an avid fan of popular music ever since. His favorite music is from the Fifties, the origin of Rock & Roll and which was the era in which James grew up. But he likes almost all types of popular music including country music.After working his entire life as a computer programmer, he is now retired and he decided to share his love of the music and of the performers by writing books that discuss the life and music of the various people who have meant so much to him over the years.He calls each book a "love letter" to the stars that have enriched our lives so much. These people are truly Legends.

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      Book preview

      Legends of Soul - James Hoag

      Legends of Soul – James Brown

      By

      James Hoag

      ~~~

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright © 2014 by James Hoag

      Discover other titles by James Hoag at Smashwords.com

      Cover by James Hoag

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Publishers Notes

      Disclaimer

      Legends of Soul – James Brown Copyright 2014 James Hoag.

      All rights reserved.

      No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the publisher. The only exception is for a reviewer. A reviewer may quote brief passages in a review.

      Published by

      www.number1project.com

      Monument Marketing Publishing LTD.,

      53 Hanover Dr., Orem, Utah 84058

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      James Brown as a Boy

      Living in Georgia

      Growing Up Tough

      Bobby Byrd

      The Flames & Little Richard

      Please, Please, Please

      Ben Bart

      The Apollo

      Freedom Riders

      The First Live Album

      I Got You (I Feel Good)

      Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag

      James, the Radio Man

      Playing Vietnam

      Everyone Likes a Little Popcorn

      Moving to Polydor

      Disco and Problems

      Things Start Slipping Away

      Drugs and Prison

      Countdown to the End

      After Effects

      James Brown’s Family

      Legacy of James Brown

      Afterword

      Selected Discography

      About the Author

      Introduction

      The hardest working man in show business.

      I never had the opportunity to see James Brown in person. I have seen him in movies and on television, but I understand that that pales in comparison with the real thing. Those who have seen him will never forget him. We lost James Brown in 2006, but his legacy lives on.

      James is almost solely responsible for creating a whole new genre of music. They called him the Godfather of Soul and he certainly was. Soul existed before James came along, but he turned it into something far more. Some say he invented funk, which is a mixture of soul, jazz, and R&B.

      No one had the energy of James Brown on stage. He was called the hardest working performer in America and when you saw him live, you understood why. James always put on the show that the audience came to see, never letting up for even a minute.

      There is a triumvirate in the world of soul. Don MacLean sings of the father, the son, and the holy ghost, all in lower-case letters because MacLean is not being religious. He is talking about the three who died in 1959, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper. The father, son and holy ghost of soul could be Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and James Brown. Of the three, at this point, only Aretha is left. The era of Sixties soul is over.

      James Brown was something of a perfectionist. He demanded discipline, and perfection from his band members. His band walked out on him on more than one occasion. He was married four times and had trouble keeping people close to him because he was so hard on them. But once you understand his story and how he was raised, I think you’ll understand why James Brown was the way he was.

      This is my tribute to a master, a showman, a legend, truly, a legend of soul.

      James Brown as a Boy

      James Brown was born into as abject poverty as anyone can imagine. He was born James Joseph Brown on May 3, 1933 in a little South Carolina town called Barnwell. His parents were Joseph (Joe) James Brown and Susie Brown. Joe was 22 years old and Susie was sixteen. When James was born, his parents were going to name him Joseph James after his father but when they went to register the birth, the names were reversed and so he became James Joseph.

      James was born in a shack (literally) with only his parents and a couple of aunts helping. It’s amazing that we almost didn’t have James Brown. He was stillborn, and it took the efforts of one of his aunts, Aunt Minnie, who breathed into his mouth, performing a sort-of CPR to revive him. When he first came into the world, they thought he was dead and nothing could be done, but Minnie knew she had to try and soon they had a normal baby boy.

      This was South Carolina in 1933. The depression was in full swing and work was non-existent. Black people were still treated as barely above slaves in that day. Integration was a long way off. Joe picked up a little extra cash being what was called a turpentine-man. The shack they lived in was out in the woods and fairly solitary. Their home was surrounded by trees which contained a sap-like substance that could be distilled into turpentine. Joe would go out and tap the trees, collect the sap, and then sell it to the turpentine company in town.

      A few years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Cancun, Mexico for a vacation. At one point, the bus took us out to see some ruins that are famous in that part of Mexico. The road we travelled on was a dirt road, and we passed many homes that were nothing more than shacks thrown together to provide some shelter from the heat. Bare-foot children played in the yards, where there was just dirt, no grass.

      I wonder if this doesn’t describe the environment in which James Brown grew up. When James was four years old, he claimed that his mother just up and left. No reason was ever given, although, I suspect the reason was abuse, but James has a

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