James Brown biography

Synopsis

Early Life in Georgia

Singer, songwriter, recording artist. The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, was born as James Joe Brown Jr. on May 3, 1933. He was born in a one-room shack in the woods of South Carolina, a few miles east of the Georgia border. His parents split ways when he was very young, and at the age of four, Brown was sent to Augusta, Georgia, to live with his Aunt Honey, the madam of a brothel. Growing up in abject poverty during the Great Depression, a young Brown worked whatever odd jobs he could find, for literally pennies. He danced for the soldiers at nearby Fort Gordon, picked cotton, washed cars and shined shoes.

Brown later recalled his impoverished childhood: "I started shining shoes at 3 cents, then went up to 5 cents, then 6 cents. I never did get up to a dime. I was nine years old before I got a pair of underwear from a real store; all my clothes were made from sacks and things like that. But I knew I had to make it. I had the determination to go on, and my determination was to be somebody."

Musical Beginnings

Dismissed from school at the age of 12 for "insufficient clothing," Brown turned to working his various odd jobs full-time. As an escape from the harsh reality of growing up black in the rural South during the Great Depression, Brown turned to religion and to music. He sang in the church choir, where he developed his powerful and uniquely emotive voice. However, as a teenager Brown also turned to crime. At the age of 16, he was arrested for stealing a car and sentenced to three years in prison. While incarcerated, Brown organized and led a prison gospel choir. It was in jail that Brown met Bobby Byrd, an aspiring R&B singer and pianist, forming a friendship and musical partnership that proved one of the most fruitful in music history.

Always a gifted athlete, upon his release from prison in 1953 Brown turned his attention to sports and devoted the next two years primarily to boxing and playing semiprofessional baseball. Then, in 1955, Bobby Byrd invited Brown to join his R&B vocal group, The Gospel Starlighters. Brown accepted, and with his overbearing talent and showmanship, he quickly came to dominate the group. Renamed The Famous Flames, they moved to Macon, Georgia, where they performed at local nightclubs. In 1956, they recorded a demo tape of the song "Please, Please, Please" and played it for Ralph Bass, a talent scout for King Records. Bass was thoroughly impressed by the song, and especially by Brown's passionate and soulful crooning. He offered the group a record contract, and within months "Please, Please, Please" had reached No. 6 on the R&B charts.

Superstardom

The Flames immediately hit the road, touring the Southeast while opening for such legendary musicians as B.B. King and Ray Charles. But the band wasn't immediately able to record another hit to match the success of "Please, Please, Please," and by the end of 1957, the Flames had returned home. Needing a creative spark and in danger of losing his record deal, in 1958 Brown moved to New York, where, working with different musicians whom he also called The Flames, he recorded "Try Me." The song reached No. 1 on the R&B chart, cracked the Hot 100 Singles chart and kick-started Brown's music career. He soon followed with a string of hits that included "Lost Someone," "Night Train" and "Prisoner of Love," his first song to crack the Top 10 in the pop charts, peaking at No. 2.

In addition to writing and recording music, Brown toured relentlessly. He performed five or six nights a week throughout the 1950s and 1960s, a schedule that earned him the title "The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business." Brown was a flashy showman, incredible dancer, and soulful singer, and his concerts were hypnotizing displays of exuberance and passion that left audiences in raptures. His saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis once said, "When you heard James Brown was coming to town, you stopped what you were doing and started saving your money." Brown fastidiously mastered