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Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2487
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: 
Votes: 9 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 09:33 am: | 
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Legendary Singer James Brown Dies at 73
Dec 25 4:15 AM US/Eastern
By GREG BLUESTEIN
ATLANTA
James Brown, the dynamic, pompadoured "Godfather of Soul," whose rasping vocals and revolutionary rhythms made him a founder of rap, funk and disco as well, died early Monday, his agent said. He was 73.
Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia at Emory Crawford Long Hospital on Sunday and died around 1:45 a.m. Monday, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music. Longtime friend Charles Bobbit was by his side, he said.
Copsidas said the cause of death was uncertain. "We really don't know at this point what he died of," he said.
Pete Allman, a radio personality in Las Vegas who had been friends with Brown for 15 years, credited Brown with jump-starting his career and motivating him personally and professionally.
"He was a very positive person. There was no question he was the hardest working man in show business," Allman said. "I remember Mr. Brown as someone who always motivated me, got me reading the Bible."
Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolized him, and sometimes openly copied him. His rapid- footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson among others. Songs such as David Bowie's "Fame," Prince's "Kiss," George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" and Sly and the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song" were clearly based on Brown's rhythms and vocal style.
If Brown's claim to the invention of soul can be challenged by fans of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, then his rights to the genres of rap, disco and funk are beyond question. He was to rhythm and dance music what Dylan was to lyrics: the unchallenged popular innovator.
"James presented obviously the best grooves," rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once told The Associated Press. "To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one's coming even close."
His hit singles include such classics as "Out of Sight," "(Get Up I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine," "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Say It Out Loud _ I'm Black and I'm Proud," a landmark 1968 statement of racial pride.
"I clearly remember we were calling ourselves colored, and after the song, we were calling ourselves black," Brown said in a 2003 Associated Press interview. "The song showed even people to that day that lyrics and music and a song can change society."
He won a Grammy award for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living In America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He was one of the initial artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.
He triumphed despite an often unhappy personal life. Brown, who lived in Beech Island near the Georgia line, spent more than two years in a South Carolina prison for aggravated assault and failing to stop for a police officer. After his release on in 1991, Brown said he wanted to "try to straighten out" rock music.
From the 1950s, when Brown had his first R&B hit, "Please, Please, Please" in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business."
With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince.
In 1986, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And rap stars of recent years overwhelmingly have borrowed his lyrics with a digital technique called sampling.
Brown's work has been replayed by the Fat Boys, Ice-T, Public Enemy and a host of other rappers. "The music out there is only as good as my last record," Brown joked in a 1989 interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
"Disco is James Brown, hip-hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I'm saying? You hear all the rappers, 90 percent of their music is me," he told the AP in 2003.
Born in poverty in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933, he was abandoned as a 4- year-old to the care of relatives and friends and grew up on the streets of Augusta, Ga., in an "ill-repute area," as he once called it. There he learned to wheel and deal.
"I wanted to be somebody," Brown said.
By the eighth grade in 1949, Brown had served 3 1/2 years in Alto Reform School near Toccoa, Ga., for breaking into cars.
While there, he met Bobby Byrd, whose family took Brown into their home. Byrd also took Brown into his group, the Gospel Starlighters. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B.
In January 1956, King Records of Cincinnati signed the group, and four months later "Please, Please, Please" was in the R&B Top Ten.
While most of Brown's life was glitz and glitter, he was plagued with charges of abusing drugs and alcohol and of hitting his third wife, Adrienne.
In September 1988, Brown, high on PCP and carrying a shotgun, entered an insurance seminar next to his Augusta office. Police said he asked seminar participants if they were using his private restroom.
Police chased Brown for a half-hour from Augusta into South Carolina and back to Georgia. The chase ended when police shot out the tires of his truck.
Brown received a six-year prison sentence. He spent 15 months in a South Carolina prison and 10 months in a work release program before being paroled in February 1991. In 2003, the South Carolina parole board granted him a pardon for his crimes in that state.
Soon after his release, Brown was on stage again with an audience that included millions of cable television viewers nationwide who watched the three-hour, pay-per-view concert at Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.
Adrienne Brown died in 1996 in Los Angeles at age 47. She took PCP and several prescription drugs while she had a bad heart and was weak from cosmetic surgery two days earlier, the coroner said.
More recently, he married his fourth wife, Tomi Raye Hynie, one of his backup singers. The couple had a son, James Jr.
Two years later, Brown spent a week in a private Columbia hospital, recovering from what his agent said was dependency on painkillers. Brown's attorney, Albert "Buddy" Dallas, said singer was exhausted from six years of road shows.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/25/D8M7P97G0.html
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 6213
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 11:19 am: |
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R.I.P. James Brown. "Cold Sweat" was always my favorite among your many hits. |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2488
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 11:34 am: |
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James Brown Top 10 Singles
By Associated Press
December 25, 2006, 9:32 AM EST
James Brown hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 or Billboard Top R&B Singles in each of four decades.
1956: "Please, Please, Please"
1959: "Try Me"
1960: "Think"
1961: "Baby, You're Right"
1961: "Bewildered"
1961: "I Don't Mind"
1962: "Lost Someone"
1962: "Night Train"
1963: "Prisoner of Love"
1965: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"
1965: "I Got You (I Feel Good)"
1966: "Ain't That a Groove"
1966: "Don't Be A Drop-Out"
1966: "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"
1966: "Sweet Little Baby Boy"
1967: "Cold Sweat"
1967: "Let Yourself Go"
1968: "I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)"
1968: "I Got The Feelin'"
1968: "Licking Stick - Licking Stick"
1968: "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud"
1968: "There Was A Time"
1969: "Ain't It Funky Now"
1969: "Give It Up Or Turn It A Loose"
1969: "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself)"
1969: "Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn"
1969: "Mother Popcorn (You Got To Have A Mother For Me)"
1970: "Get Up (I Feel Like Being Like A) Sex Machine"
1970: "Santa Claus Is Definitely Here To Stay"
1970: "Super Bad"
1971: "Escape-ism"
1971: "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved"
1971: "Hot Pants (She Got To Use What She Got To Get What She Wants)"
1971: "I'm A Greedy Man"
1971: "Make It Funky"
1971: "Soul Power"
1972: "Get On The Good Foot"
1972: "King Heroin"
1972: "Talking Loud And Saying Nothing"
1973: "I Got A Bag Of My Own"
1973: "Sexy, Sexy, Sexy"
1974: "Funky President (People It's Bad)"
1974: "My Thang"
1974: "Papa Don't Take No Mess"
1974: "Stone To The Bone"
1974: "The Payback"
1976: "Get Up Offa That Thing"
1985: "Living in America"
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Igbogirl
Veteran Poster
Username: Igbogirl
Post Number: 803
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 12:16 pm: |
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That news just ruined my day. I'm so sad. I can't believe they're not being open about the fact that he was HIV positive though. |
Brownbeauty123
Veteran Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 1350
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 01:10 pm: |
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Wow.
It's true when whey say death comes in threes... |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1344
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: 
Votes: 3 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 01:35 pm: |
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Never was and never will be anyone like the innovative master of funk and soul -Mr. James Brown. Totally original and the most energized and dynamic performer to ever step in front of a microphone. This man was a legend and his impact and influence on American music can never measured.
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Tonya
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 3709
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 03:05 pm: |
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God, Mzuri, it's hard to pick from that list but if I absolutely had to it would be "Sex Machine."
Nice tribute Ntfs.
It's hard to believe James Brown is gone. I think a part of me expected him to live forever. I'm serious. The possibility of him dying never crossed my mind. |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1345
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 04:37 pm: |
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"It's hard to believe James Brown is gone. I think a part of me expected him to live forever. I'm serious. The possibility of him dying never crossed my mind."
Funny you said that. I was thinking the same thing. The man never stopped performing. I remember when I was a kid, James Brown was like a God. Everybody wanted to dance and emulate his on stage charisma and energy. Like you said, as crazy as it sounds, I never thought of him passing. The man was a giant and one of the most original and influential masters of American music. His music and performances transcended class and racial barriers. I remember when I saw him at the Del Mar Fair about fives years ago. The crowd was about 85% white, young and old. People were screaming at the top of their lungs, clapping, hollering, bouncing around and dancing. There was a mad rush to be get close to the stage to take pictures and wave at him. It was amazing.
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Igbogirl
Veteran Poster
Username: Igbogirl
Post Number: 812
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 05:55 pm: |
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Oh lawd PLEASE no more of your long ass posts, Ntfs. Dayum! |
Tropical_storm
Newbie Poster
Username: Tropical_storm
Post Number: 36
Registered: 10-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 09:19 pm: |
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"I can't believe they're not being open about the fact that he was HIV positive though."
*********************************************
How do you know this? |
Igbogirl
Veteran Poster
Username: Igbogirl
Post Number: 819
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 09:22 pm: |
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It was on the radio |
Brownbeauty123
Veteran Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 1353
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 10:45 pm: |
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He was gay? |
Igbogirl
Veteran Poster
Username: Igbogirl
Post Number: 824
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 11:18 pm: |
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I don't think he was gay. You don't have to be gay to get AIDs!
He may have gotten infected when he was in prison though. |
Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 3166
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 11:24 am: |
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I saw James Brown Four Times in the late 60's when he was at his height.
I remember the first time the show lasted for about four hours for which I paid about $3.50.
I left his shows every time feeling like I hadn't paid enough money to get in.
James Brown--he fought against the odds and beat them all but in the end he had to take some mess he cooked up his own self.
Often imitated, never duplicated we shall not see his like again. |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2500
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 12:15 pm: |
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Amen Chris! |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1351
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 01:29 pm: |
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Unlike my "long ass posts", that was nice Chris. You were very fortunate to see him back in the day. I'm currently listening to JB live at the Apollo. I know it sounds like a cheap broken record, but I still can't believe he is gone.
 |
Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 3174
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 01:57 pm: |
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After I heard the news I paid my respects by listening to James Brown Live at the Apollo Vol II (both tapes--including the long versions of "Prisoner of Love" and "This is a Mans Mans Mans World"--any of the Apollo albums will do.
Right now I'm listening to an old Terry Gross interview on NPR--it's nice. He was mellow. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 7155
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 02:36 pm: |
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Some of my VERY favorite James Brown songs are his James Brown Funky People (with Fred Wesley & Maceo Parker) cuts:
Doing It To Death
Pass The Peas
Gimme Some More
Givin' Up Food For Funk
If You Don't Get It The First Time (Back Up And Try It Again)
Damn Right I Am Somebody
It's The JB's Monaurail
Those were James Brown at his FUNKIEST!!! |
Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 3175
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 03:03 pm: |
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You could play James Brown music for days. I think I am going to call up our so called Black stations and request that they play him all day--
Fat chance. Probably isn't even anyone there. A closet with a computer and a prefixed playlist. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 7162
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 03:16 pm: |
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Chris,
You could party to JB's all day and never have to repeat playing any of his singles.
My wife and I are planning to have a James Brown house party. Hope the neighbors don't mind. |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1354
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 05:25 pm: |
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"You could play James Brown music for days. I think I am going to call up our so called Black stations and request that they play him all day--"
This is so true. I'm sure some station somewhere will take on the honors. I'd love to hear it. Thank God for the internet. You could tap into their station and listen to it all day.
"My wife and I are planning to have a James Brown house party. Hope the neighbors don't mind."
Dang bro! Great idea. I wish I could be there. And for those who need to be reminded or educated on the genius and artistic significance of this giant of American music, just get the "CD of JB". Done deal!!!
 |
Igbogirl
Veteran Poster
Username: Igbogirl
Post Number: 838
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 05:27 pm: |
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I shall be there to help the happy couple celebrate. I'll arrive decked in a bouffant hairdo and high heels and nothing else. I look very much like James Brown once I'm nekkid (penis and all) |
Urban_scribe
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Urban_scribe
Post Number: 221
Registered: 05-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 06:37 pm: |
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I remember watching a televised interview with the Godfather of Soul about 15 years ago. He was talking about how the record company wanted him to record, "Say it loud, I'm Black but I'm proud."
He told them (the record company) to go straight to hell! He said that was a compromise and that he would NOT compromise. So, either he records, "Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm proud," or he doesn't record it at all.
Obviously, the Godfather won.
RIP Mr. Brown. Soul Brother #1! |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1356
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 07:57 pm: |
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"I remember watching a televised interview with the Godfather of Soul about 15 years ago. He was talking about how the record company wanted him to record, "Say it loud, I'm Black but I'm proud."
He told them (the record company) to go straight to hell! He said that was a compromise and that he would NOT compromise. So, either.......
RIP Mr. Brown. Soul Brother #1!"
Thanks Urban_Scribe. That was an interesting story. Like Miles Davis, James Brown was not into compromising his art or pandering to the insipid whims of recording executives.
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Tonya
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 3715
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 10:14 pm: |
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Just emptied my Amazon shopping cart. 
I had James Brown's CD floating in my cart for like a few months..
but I decided to check it (and my entire cart) out a few minutes ago…
so I should be JAMMIN with y’all to the GODFATHER in about a week or so.
...can't wait!
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Toubobie
Regular Poster
Username: Toubobie
Post Number: 109
Registered: 08-2005
Rating:
Votes: 2 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 - 02:50 am: |
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Both Miles Davis and James Brown unrepentantly beat their wives senseless.
I take comfort in the fact that one fine day we shall ALL reap what we sow... |
Igbogirl
Veteran Poster
Username: Igbogirl
Post Number: 855
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 - 03:09 am: |
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So true, Toubob, so true |
Jackie
Regular Poster
Username: Jackie
Post Number: 304
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 - 03:20 am: |
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"It's A Man's World" didn't you know ? |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1359
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 - 06:04 am: |
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"Both Miles Davis and James Brown unrepentantly beat their wives senseless."
And your point is..????? I don't condone men beating women nor do I excuse it. But the posts in this thread are not about spousal abuse. They are about recognizing and paying homage to a great American innovator. If you want to start a thread about men beating women, please do so. I will support your efforts. But your comment is very much out of place in this thread.
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Toubobie
Regular Poster
Username: Toubobie
Post Number: 110
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 - 10:55 am: |
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ntfs... good, you got the point
recognize ALL of your "soul brother #1", the good and the BAD
"But your comment is very much out of place in this thread."
...you know better, jive turkey
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Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2516
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 - 11:02 am: |
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James Brown Biopic In The Works
Lee signs on for Godfather of Soul film
By MICHAEL FLEMING
Tue., Dec. 26, 2006
Spike Lee has signed on to direct a feature on the life of James Brown for Paramount and Imagine Entertainment. Brian Grazer is producing, and the pic could be in production by late next year, though 2008 is more likely.
Lee will rewrite a draft recently turned in by Jezz and John Henry Butterworth. Script has been through several drafts since Steve Baigelman wrote the original.
Brown was an active part of the development of the biopic project. The singer met with Baigelman, and gave the Butterworth brothers access to his camp. Brown's longtime sideman Bobby Byrd also was interviewed for two days by the Butterworth duo. The rights package includes Brown's life rights, and also access to all his music rights.
"Like everybody, I was surprised and saddened that James Brown died," Grazer said Tuesday. "Having known him well, and after spending lots of time with him and researching his life, it's somehow not surprising that he died on Christmas Day. He was the ultimate showman, all the way to the end."
Lee has two other projects with Grazer. He will next direct a John Ridley-scripted film on the L.A. riots for Universal and Imagine. He will either follow with the Brown film or an "Inside Man" sequel, which Russell Gewirtz is scripting.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117956328.html |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2517
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 - 11:04 am: |
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James Brown's Body to Lie at Apollo
Dec 26 6:50 PM US/Eastern
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
The body of soul singer James Brown will be returned Thursday to the site of his debut _ the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem _ so the public that saw and heard him leave a lasting impression on music can see him one last time, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Tuesday.
Brown's body will rest on the stage of the Apollo from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., and thousands of people will be permitted one more look at a man who steered modern music toward the rhythm-and-blues, funk, hip-hop, disco and rap beats popular today, said Sharpton, a close friend of Brown for decades.
"It would almost be unthinkable for a man who lived such a sensational life to go away quietly," Sharpton told The Associated Press in an interview from Georgia, where he was making funeral arrangements with Brown's children.
Sharpton said he and the children viewed Brown's body Tuesday.
"I looked at his body. I was walking in half disbelief and sadness but proud," he said. "I couldn't even begin to describe it, to walk around his house and he not be there."
Sharpton said the public Apollo viewing will be followed by a private ceremony Friday in Brown's hometown, Augusta, Ga., and another public ceremony, officiated by Sharpton, a day later at the James Brown Arena there.
"His greatest thrill was always the lines around the Apollo Theater," Sharpton said of the 125th Street landmark. "I felt that James Brown in all the years we talked would have wanted one last opportunity to let the people say goodbye to him and he to the people."
Brown, known as the Godfather of Soul, died of congestive heart failure on Christmas morning in Atlanta at age 73. He had been scheduled to perform on New Year's Eve in Manhattan at B.B. King's blues club.
Sharpton said he and Brown's children talked Tuesday about the moment after the Rev. Martin Luther King's assassination when Brown stepped to a microphone and told gathering crowds of angry people to go home.
"And they went home," Sharpton said. "For them to riot for a man who lived a life of peace would send the wrong message. He always said he was surprised and humbled that he had that influence."
Sharpton said Brown was "always very sensitive as to how people could be remembered."
The Apollo began recruiting and showcasing talent in 1934. Early acts included "Pigmeat" Markham and Jackie "Moms" Mabley. Before long, Lena Horne, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Aretha Franklin and Brown were making their debuts. Audiences cheered the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Michael Jackson, Fats Waller, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Sammy Davis Jr. and Nina Simone. Comedians such as Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor performed, too.
Sharpton said he had been like a son to Brown since they met in 1973, introduced by Brown's son, Teddy, shortly before the teenager died in a car crash.
He said the son had wanted to encourage his father's support for Sharpton's youth organization, leading Brown to begin a lifelong commitment to Sharpton's civil-rights projects.
"I became the son he lost," Sharpton said.
Sharpton said Brown always knew his place in history.
"He used to tell me, `There are two American originals, Elvis and me,'" Sharpton said. "'Elvis is gone, and I've got to carry on.'"
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/26/D8M8RAR80.html
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Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 3177
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 - 11:50 am: |
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Hey Cynique:
Cold Sweat Parts 1 & 2 from the album of the same name where he ends up screaming like a madman and shouting "I can't stop singin'!"
The apotheosis of James Brown. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 6254
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 - 12:43 pm: |
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Back in the day, the base line on Cold Sweat was a primitive call to immediately take the dance floor and lose all abandon in the thrall of doing the boogaloo |
Troy
Regular Poster
Username: Troy
Post Number: 476
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 - 09:00 pm: |
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I was fortunate enough to see James Brown live, during his prime. I did see him perform at the Apollo about a year or two ago. Even in his 70's he put on a show -- dancin' next to women half his age.
"The hardest working man in show business" worked until the end -- he was slated to perform appear at BB Kings in New York City this weekend.
Besides the emotion James poured into each performance I also miss him performing with Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, Bootsy. He arguably created funk - my favorite musical genre...
I also published a piece written by Jamie Walker on the site: http://aalbc.com/reviews/james_brown.htm
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Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2585
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 28, 2006 - 06:38 pm: |
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Fans Honor 'Godfather of Soul' at Apollo
Dec 28, 1:53 PM (ET)
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
NEW YORK (AP) - A white, horse-drawn carriage carried the body of music legend James Brown through the streets of Harlem on Thursday to the Apollo Theater, where a sea of people waited to say farewell to the "Godfather of Soul."
Friends and fans walked behind the caisson in the street, singing the chorus of Brown's anthem, "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud."
Just like when Brown was alive, the raucous throng of thousands cheered and applauded as pallbearers lifted his gold casket and carried it inside, for Brown, who died of heart failure Christmas morning, to lie in repose on the stage where he made his 1956 debut.
As New Yorker Norman Brand waited for the procession to arrive, the 55-year-old recalled hearing Brown's anthem for the first time in his native Alabama.
"It really changed the attitude of most black people. It was like a wake up call. Before that, if you were called black, it was like an insult," Brand said. "Just one song and one word can change a whole situation."
The Rev. Al Sharpton, Brown's close friend, raced through the night in a van with the late singer's casket, arriving in New York about three hours late a day after leaving Georgia, where the 73-year-old singer died. Logistical problems had made it impossible to catch a flight, he said.
"He was a superstar for common people, and I wanted to make sure that common people got to see him one last time," Sharpton said late Wednesday. "It's going to be a royal day in Harlem."
As the carriage rolled toward the Apollo shortly after noon on Thursday, Sharpton walked behind it.
A private ceremony was planned for Brown at a church near Augusta, Ga., his boyhood hometown, and another public viewing was scheduled Saturday at Augusta's James Brown Arena.
Outside the Apollo, fans began lining up shortly after midnight for the chance to say goodbye to a man whose hits like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)" left an indelible mark on soul, R&B, funk, disco and rap music.
The Apollo became famous for launching the careers of performers such as Brown, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, and as a showcase for superstars Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and a young Michael Jackson.
It had been used for public viewings several times before, but always for employees.
On Thursday, the marquee outside read: "Rest in Peace Apollo Legend The Godfather of Soul James Brown, 1933-2006," and Brown's epic "Live at the Apollo" album streamed from the marquee speakers.
"He seemed like family, a friend of mine," said New Yorker Brenda Harper, who was the first to arrive at the Apollo early Thursday.
She recalled seeing Brown in concert 14 years earlier. "I jumped on the stage and he danced with me. I danced with the 'Godfather' that day," she said.
Edith Stewart flew to New York from Atlanta for the Apollo Theater viewing.
"I loved James Brown. He did a lot of things for people all over. Just a couple of days ago, in Augusta, he was passing out gifts. And then he's gone," she said.
Brown continued to work to the end, dying less than a week before he was to perform New Year's Eve in Manhattan at B.B. King's blues club. Chaka Khan, the Grammy Award-winning rhythm and blues performer, will play instead.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061228/D8MA15F00.html
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Yvettep
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Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 1512
Registered: 01-2005
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 28, 2006 - 08:18 pm: |
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Rest in peace. |
Brownbeauty123
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Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 1362
Registered: 03-2006
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 28, 2006 - 10:34 pm: |
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http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/am-brown122806,0,3856362.story
Pic of James Brown in his coffin |
Toubobie
Regular Poster
Username: Toubobie
Post Number: 115
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 29, 2006 - 02:19 am: |
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...even in death, they saw fit to conk and color his hair.
I wonder if they even gave him a 'touch up' on the slab. Body probably wasn't even cold yet, whippin out the Ultra Sheen, Rollers, and propped his ass up underneath a dryer... What a sight to see...
Good friend of mine is a photographer... a WHITE photographer... while the po' black folk were waiting in line, begging security to get into the Apollo today, he was able to walk INSIDE, escorted even, with no press pass. Hmm.. things that make you wonder about our priorities.
Most of those well-intentioned black people waiting in the cold for hours to view the body were never meant to get in. What a f*ckin spectacle. |
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