The man who named himself the Godfather of Soul and claimed to be the hardest working man in show business has died at the age of 73.
James Brown was admitted to hospital with pneumonia just a few days ago and at the time was hopeful of meeting his performance commitments next weekend. He died on Christmas Day.
This article from News.com.au tells us he had some amazing achievements during his musical career. “He had more than 119 charting singles and recorded over 50 albums, was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and received a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 1992.”
He might have played the part of Reverend Cleophus James in the Blues Brothers but James Brown was no saint. “By 1988 Brown, who had begun his music career in jail as a juvenile offender, was back behind bars, sentenced to six years for drug, weapons and vehicular charges after a high-speed car chase through Georgia and South Carolina which ended with police shooting out the tyres of his truck. He left prison in 1991.”
James Brown was a very talented man and the world of show business will miss him.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
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One of the greatest tributes to James Brown’s legacy was his single handed mission to end the rioting that occurred across America afer the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King on April 4, 1968. In the days following the murder of Dr. King, James Brown went from city to city trying to quell the rioting that was occuring in America’s black ghettos. Here is an excerpt from an 1968 editorial that appeared in Billboard Magazine:
“Hail, James Brown
Billboard Magazine Editorial
April 27, 1968
Amid the looting and rioting in Washington., Brown came to the people and told a live television audience, “Get off the streets. Go home. Nothing can be gained by looting and burning, only sorrow and misery.” A few hours later, those who were not at home to see Brown make an appeal, were at home watching the continuous rebroadcast of Brown?s plea. Washington and the rioters withdrew into their homes taking the advice of James Brown, who is not a politician but a singer. Brown went to Washington at his own expense just as he went to Boston and other riot torn cities…