During the years of my youth, I remember being totally mesmerized by musicians only a handful of times. Two of those occasions were the television debuts of Elvis Presley and later on, the Beatles, on the Ed Sullivan Show. I don”t recall the program on which I first witnessed James Brown perform, but I”ll never forget the impact he made on me. For years, while I was still young and flexible, I tried to imitate his signature move of dropping into the splits and popping right back up into a spin move. To me, James Brown was the embodiment of the multi-talented entertainer.
While I never got a chance to meet James Brown or even see him perform in person, life has given me an opportunity to have a friend who knew James Brown very well. For a number of years, in the 1990s, I worked for Morris Communications. They owned the newspaper I was managing in Colorado at that time. Headquarters for Morris Communications is in Augusta, Georgia, James Brown”s hometown. In traveling to Augusta for twice-a-year company meetings, I got to know Don Rhodes, who worked in the corporate publications office. In his many years as a reporter for the Augusta Chronicle, Don wrote about James Brown many times and got to know him on a first name basis. His book, “Say It Loud! My Memories of James Brown Soul Brother No. 1,” was released in January.
I recall Don had mentioned having met James Brown, due to being at the Augusta paper and because Brown made his home in Augusta. But, I wasn”t aware of the depth or length of the relationship that Don had with James Brown until I read his book. On Christmas Day, 2006, the day James Brown died, it was fitting for Don and for James Brown that Don Rhodes was the first person to write and have a posthumous James Brown tribute published.
Two elements make Don Rhodes” book a wonderful James Brown biography. Don observed first hand so much of what he was able to put in the book and that makes it so much better than just a research project book. The other key is that Rhodes discussed the complete James Brown, who struggled with some demons in life, such as domestic violence and substance abuse.
From a humble start, James Brown rose up to accomplish greatness. He liked to tell how poor he was as a child. His underpants were made out of feed sacks until he was past the age of six. He shined shoes in front of an Augusta radio station that he later went on to buy.
During periods of his career, Brown was a mega-hit in the United States, but the more interesting aspect of his fame was how popular and how enduring his popularity was in other parts of the world. He was one of the most recognizable celebrities on a worldwide stage.
Few entertainers have had such a profound influence on popular culture. He was known as “the hardest working man in show business” and his efforts translated into being a legendary R & B singer, creator of funk, one of the originators of rap and one of the most copied dancers ever. Most people aren”t aware that Mick Jagger, of the Rolling Stones, really started moving on stage after he frequently went to see James Brown perform in the early 1960s in Harlem”s famed Apollo Theater. Any fan of Michael Jackson or Prince can quickly see that James Brown influenced them mightily.
One of the most important details of James Brown”s life was how much of a humanitarian he was and, to a degree, how that part of his life has been overshadowed. From handing out turkeys and toys in his hometown to helping to quell unrest among the black community during times of difficulty, he always did what he could to help others. James Brown was never militant. His reason for writing “Say it Loud – I”m Black and I”m Proud” was because he didn”t think black people loved each other enough.
My favorite James Brown quote included his comments on race. He said, “I”m not black or white. I”m people and people have no color.” I always liked his music and dancing. I like his ideas even more.
Gary Dickson is the publisher of the Lake County Record-Bee. Contact him at gdickson@record-bee.com or 263-5636 ext 24.
