The James Brown Reader: Fifty Years of Writing About the Godfather of Soul

by Nelson George (Editor), Alan Leeds (Editor)

Overview

Nelson George and Alan Leeds have assembled the first comprehensive collection of writings about the late, great Godfather of Soul, creating a fascinating mosaic of the man and the musician. Known as the hardest-working man in show business, James Brown embodied rhythm and blues, funk and soul, and sensuality. His musical innovations in such indelible grooves as “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine,” “I Got You (I Feel Good),” and “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” transformed American music.

To appreciate Brown’s immeasurable influence, to chronicle his professional and personal triumphs and struggles, and to capture his essence, writers from four decades weigh in on the legendary Soul Brother Number One. What emerges is a tribute to a trailblazer—one that no dedicated fan or music history buff will want to be without.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440637346
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/29/2008
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	463 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nelson George is an award-winning author of both fiction and nonfiction. He has written for Playboy, Billboard, Esquire, the Village Voice, Essence, and many other national magazines, as well as writing and producing television programs and feature films.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     xi
Time Line   Alan Leeds     xiii
Introduction: A Few Words About James Brown   Nelson George     1
1960s
Apollo, N.Y., author unknown, Variety, December 16, 1959     7
James Brown Boasts New Tune and Dance, author unknown, Chicago Daily Defender, September 27, 1960     8
Dick Clark Spotlights James Brown's Flames, author unknown, Chicago Daily Defender, October 29, 1960     9
James Brown: Vitality, Humility, Soul, Talent, Chicago Daily Defender, June 13, 1964   Eva Dolin     10
James Brown Just "Sings his Heart Out," author unknown, Chicago Daily Defender, September 4, 1965     12
James Brown Meets the Nine Nobles, Goldmine, May 9, 1986   Ron Courtney     14
James Brown is Out of Sight, The New York Herald Tribune, March 20, 1966   Doon Arbus     18
James Brown in Paris: Sock it a Moi, Rolling Stone, November 23, 1967   Jonathan Cott     34
It's a New Day, Foundations of Funk, Polydor/Universal Music, 1996   Harry Weinger   Alan Leeds     36
Does he Teach us the Meaning of 'Black is Beautiful'? The New York Times, June 9, 1968   Albert Goldman     39
1968, January ..., Funk Power, Universal/Polygram Records, 1996   Chuck D     43
James Brown Sells His Soul, The Miami Herald, August 18, 1968   Mel Ziegler     44
James Brown's "Superbad" (excerpt), Interpreting Popular Music, 2000   David Brackett     51
1970s
From the Inside, by Alan Leeds, liner notes for Star Time, released January 1991   Universal-Polygram Records     57
James Brown: "The Man" Vs. "Negroes," Rolling Stone, January 21, 1970   Ray Brack     62
Take It to the Bridge, liner notes for Funk Power, released by Universal/Polygram Records, 1996   Alan Leeds     64
"I Have two Selves and one is Black," The Montreal Star, July 18, 1970   Juan Rodriguez     68
James Brown Speaks to "Observer," Sunday Observer, December 13, 1970   Mike Ogbeide     72
Mister Messiah, The Sunday Times Magazine, March 7, 1971   Philip Norman     76
James Brown is Super Bad, Rock, June 7, 1971   Vernon Gibbs     84
The Man Behind the James Brown Myth, Soul, January 17, 1972   Sharryn Watts     91
Out of the Brown Bag, Rolling Stone, September 12, 1974   Bob Palmer     101
Papa Takes Some Mess, Crawdaddy, December 1, 1975   Pat Kelly     105
James Brown: Back to Africa-Seventies Style (excerpt), Penthouse, 1975   Vernon Gibbs      122
After 21 Years, Still Refusing to Lose..., Black Music, April 1977   Cliff White     124
1980s
James Brown (excerpts), The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, 1980   Robert Palmer     145
J-A-A-A-Ames Brown! The Village Voice, June 9, 1980   Thulani Davis     148
A Consumer Guide to James Brown, The Village Voice, June 9, 1980   Robert Christgau     155
Anything Left in Papa's Bag? Down Beat, September 1, 1980   Steve Bloom     160
The Renegade & the Godfather (excerpts), New Musical Express, September 1, 1984   Gavin Martin     171
James Brown & Afrika Bambaataa, Interview, October 1, 1984   Glenn O'Brien     180
James Brown: The Godfather's Back, With a Bullet (excerpt), Not Fade Away, 1999   Ben Fong-Torres     190
James Brown, up and Down, The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 9, 1989   Michael Vitez     197
Pleas, Pleas, Pleas: The Tribulations and Trials of James Brown, The Village Voice, February 21, 1989   Ivan Solotaroff     204
1990s
The Blue Funk of a Soul Man (excerpts), The Washington Post, September 28, 1990   David Mills     215
Dances with Nations: James Brown's Star Time Names Names (excerpts), Rock & Roll Disc, May 1, 1991   Dave Marsh      220
2000-2007
Gettin' Down with Mr Brown, The Sunday Telegraph Magazine, March 3, 2002   David Jenkins     227
Mr. Brown, The New Yorker, July 29, 2002   Philip Gourevitch     235
Being James Brown, Rolling Stone, June 29, 2006   Jonathan Lethem     265
Perry Man Remembers Visit to Graceland After Death of Elvis Presley, The Macon Telegraph, August 16, 2007   Woody Marshall     294
James Brown and His First Family of Soul, Waxpoetics, February/March 2007   Alan Leeds     297
James Brown Discography   Alan Leeds     303
Credits     315
About the Authors     317