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Cultural icon

James Brown was the most successful black artiste of the '60s and the '70s

Known as the "godfather of soul", "minister of new super heavy funk", "soul brother Number One" and "the hardest working man in show business", James Brown, with a repertoire of over 800 songs, was the most successful black artiste of the swinging Sixties and the Seventies.

Born during the Depression, he picked cotton, shone shoes and even stole, getting convicted for theft at age 16. Thanks to local singer Bobby Byrd's intervention at the Alto Reform School, Brown was released early.

The duo then formed a gospel group but plumbed for rhythm and blues under the name of The Flames, after watching a rock and roll show that featured Fats Domino and Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. Their opening offering, "Try Me, Please, Please, Please" got enough radio airplay to attract the attention of talent scout Ralph Bass. By now, James had become the face of the famous Flames that evolved into the James Brown Revue, which had an opening act, its own MC and a stage band. The carefully choreographed show broke box-office records in every major black venue in the country, earning him another sobriquet — Mr. Dynamite.

His recording label didn't give him sufficient room to innovate and he went instrumental under the avatar of Nat Kendrick and the Swans, turning out Mashed Potatoes, which became a hit. Modelled on Ray Charles' live show, Brown's Live at the Apollo, recorded in 1962 at Harlem, sold a million copies, hitherto unheard of for a black music album. His new sound focussed on rhythm and raw, emotive and uninhibited energy. His records sold by the million until the mid-1970s when he was faced with several problems. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on his trail. Forced to sell his jet and his three black radio stations, the biggest blow was perhaps the death of his son Teddy in a car accident. Nonetheless, his popularity crossed boundaries to Africa and even Japan. A cameo role in the 1980 movie, The Blues Brothers, drew attention, but his deeds brought infamy too."Living in America", his theme song for Sylvester Stallone's Rocky IV, earned Brown a Grammy in 1987. While serving a jail sentence in the early 1990s, he worked on material for a new album. Diagnosed with prostate cancer, he continued undeterred, although his act lacked the power of his past concerts.

A. GEORGE ANTONY

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