““James Brown”James Brown”

By: Jeffrey ProwellBy: Jeffrey Prowell

A Star Is Born

• James Brown was born to Susie and Joseph Gardner Brown on May 3, 1933.

• He grew up in the small town of Barnwell, South Carolina in the Jim Crow South during the early Depression era. Brown and his family were very poor.

• Brown’s parents separated when he was four years old after his mother left his father for another man. After his mother left the family, Brown continued to live with his father and his live-in girlfriends until he was six years old.

• Brown and his father later moved to Augusta Georgia and his father sent him to live with an aunt who ran a house of prostitution.

Early Years

• During his childhood, Brown earned money hustling by picking cotton, picking up coal, shining shoes, sweeping out stores, selling and trading in old stamps, washing cars and dishes and singing in talent contests.

• Brown also performed buck dances for change to entertain troops during World War II near his aunt's house. Brown also taught himself to play a harmonica given to him by his father and he learned to play some guitar in addition to learning to play piano and drums from others.

• Brown was inspired to become an entertainer after watching Louis Jordan, a popular jazz and R&B performer and His Tympany Five in a short film performing “Caldonia".

Road to Stardom• Brown spent time practicing his

various skills in Augusta-area halls and committing petty crimes. At sixteen he was convicted of armed robbery and sent to a Juvenile Detention Center. By then he was nicknamed "Music Blox“ and formed a gospel quartet while he was incarcerated at the detention center. Brown's quartet performed for the local prison crowd and performed shows for other nearby prisons.

• While Brown was in reform school, he became acquainted with Bobby Byrd who first saw Brown perform in prison. Byrd watched and admired Brown's ability to sing and perform. Byrd's family helped Brown secure an early release after serving only three years of his sentence. The authorities back then agreed to release Brown on the condition that he (Brown) would try to get a job and not return to Augusta or Richmond.

Career

• In 1955, Brown performed in a group called "The Gospel Starlighters". Eventually, Brown joined the Avons. After the group's name was changed to The Flames, Brown and Byrd's group toured eventually signed a deal with Federal Records. The group's first recording was the single “please, please, please” in 1956. The single was a number five R&B hit, selling over a million copies. group returned to the charts to stay in 1958 with the #1 R&B hit “Try Me". This hit record was the best-selling R&B single of the year, becoming the first of 17 chart-topping R&B singles by Brown over the next two decades. By the time "Try Me" was released on record, the group's billing was changed to James Brown and The Famous Flames. "The Famous Flames" was a vocal group. In 1959, Brown and The Famous Flames moved from to King Records, the bigger record label’s division. Brown began to have conflicts with King Records president. By 1970, most members of James Brown's classic 1960s band had quit his act for other opportunities, and The Famous Flames singing group had disbanded, with original member Bobby Byrd the only one remaining with Brown. A new backing band was called “The J.B.’s", and the band made its debut on Brown's 1970 single “Get Up" (I feel like being a sex machine).

Music

• I Got You (I Feel Good) • Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine Pt. 1 • I Got The Feelin• Mother Popcorn Pt. 1 • Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose • Make It funky Pt. 1 • Papa's Got A Brand New Bag Pt. 1 • Think • It's A Man's Man's Man's World • Try Me • Night Train • Cold Sweat Pt. 1

Get On The Good Foot • Papa Don't Take No Mess Pt. 1

The Payback • Say It Loud (I'm Black And I'm Proud) Pt.1 • Super Bad Pts. 1 & 2 • Please, Please, Please• Out of Sight

Nicknames• "The Godfather of Soul"

• "King of Funk"

• “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business"

• “Mr. Dynamite” The Godfather of Soul”

• “The Minister of the New New Super Heavy Funk”

• “Soul Brother Number One”

• “Mr. Dynamite”

• “The Godfather of Funk”

• “Mr. Please Please Please”

• Creator of Funk

Personal Life

• Brown was married four times — • Velma Warren 1953–1969, divorced• Deidre Jenkins 1970–1981, divorced• Adrienne Lois Rodriguez 1984–1996, wife's death • Tomi Rae Hynie 2001–2006, his death

From these and other relationships, James Brown had five sons — Teddy Brown, Terry Brown, Larry Brown, Daryl Brown and James Joseph Brown III, in addition to four daughters — Lisa Brown, Dr. Yamma Noyola Brown Lumar, Deanna Brown Thomas and Venisha Brown. Brown also had eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Brown's eldest son, Teddy, died in a car crash in 1973. According some sources, DNA tests indicate that Brown also fathered at least three illegitimate children. The only one of them who has been identified is LaRhonda Pettit, a retired air stewardess and teacher who lives in Houston.

Accomplishments and Honors

• James Brown received a variety of awards and honors throughout his lifetime and after his death. Just to name a few, some of them being the “James Brown Soul Center of the Universe Bridge” in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. During his long career, James Brown received several prestigious music industry awards and honors. In 1983, Brown was added to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Brown was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th annual Grammy Awards. A ceremony was held for Brown to honor him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Brown was added the UK Music Hall of Fame. Then, the City of Augusta built a life-sized bronze statue of the singer on Broad Street. In recognition of his accomplishments as an entertainer, Brown was a recipient of Kennedy Center Honors.

Legend

• At the end of his life, James Brown lived in a riverfront home in Beech Island, South Carolina directly across the Savannah River from Augusta Georgia. Brown was once diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, which was successfully treated with surgery Brown's career lasted decades, and his sound and beat influenced many different musical categories. Brown performed in concerts, in the South and then across the country and later around the world. He also appeared on T.V. shows and movies. Brown held the record as the artist who charted the most singles on the Billboard Hot 100 without ever hitting number one on that chart