James Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was a vocalist and musician from the United States. He is known as “the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business,” “Godfather of Soul,” “Mr. Dynamite,” and “Soul Brother No. 1” in addition to being the fundamental founder of funk music and a major character of twentieth-century music.
During his more than 50-year career, he influenced the creation of various music genres. Brown was one of the original ten honorees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on January 23, 1986, in New York.
Who is James Brown?
James Brown was born in a small wooden hut on May 3, 1933, near Barnwell, South Carolina, to 16-year-old Susie (Behling; 1917-2004) and 21-year-old Joseph Gardner Brown (1912-1993). Brown’s name was meant to be Joseph James Brown, but on his birth certificate, his first and middle names were reversed. Brown asserted in his book that he was of Chinese and Native American descent, that his father was of mixed African-American and Native American blood, and that his mother was of mixed African-American and Asian descent.
The Brown family lived in Elko, South Carolina, which was a poor town at the time. When James was four or five, the family relocated to Augusta, Georgia. His family initially resided in one of his aunts’ brothels. They eventually moved into a house with another aunt. Brown’s mother finally left the family and relocated to New York following a rocky and abusive marriage.
He began singing in talent events as a child, first winning at Augusta’s Lenox Theatre in 1944 after performing the ballad “So Long.” Brown performed buck dances for change to entertain troops from Camp Gordon as their convoys passed over a canal bridge near his aunt’s house during the outset of World War II.
It was here that he first heard Howlin’ Wolf, the famed blues guitarist, play guitar. During this time, he learned to play the piano, guitar, and harmonica. After hearing “Caldonia” by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five, he was inspired to become an entertainer. Brown briefly worked as a boxer throughout his adolescence.
How old did James Brown die?
The renowned Singer died at the age of 73 years.
What is James Brown Nationality and ethnicity?
He holds American nationality and belongs to rican-American and Asian descent.
What is James Brown Net worth?
Brown had a net worth of $100 million when he died in 2006.
What was James Brown Career?
In 1954, Brown became a member of Bobby Byrd’s band. The group had evolved from the Gospel Starlighters, an a cappella gospel choir, to the Avons, an R&B group. He is said to have joined the band when one of its members, Troy Collins, died in a car accident. The quartet also included Sylvester Keels, Doyle Oglesby, Fred Pulliam, Nash Knox, and Nafloyd Scott, in addition to Brown and Byrd. The group changed its name, first to the Toccoa Band and then to the Flames, after being influenced by R&B groups such as Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, the Orioles, and Billy Ward and his Dominoes.
Later, Nafloyd’s brother Baroy joined the band on bass guitar, while Brown, Byrd, and Keels alternated lead roles and instruments, frequently playing drums and piano. Pulliam and Oglesby had long left by the time Johnny Terry entered.
Berry Trimier became the group’s initial manager, scheduling them at parties near Georgia and South Carolina college campuses. When the group renamed itself the Famous Flames, they had already established a reputation as a good live performance. While performing in Macon in 1955, the group made contact with Little Richard. Richard persuaded the group to call his current manager, Clint Brantley, at his nightclub. After seeing the group audition, Brantley decided to manage them.
He then took them to a local radio station for a demo session, where they sang their creation “Please, Please, Please,” which was inspired when Little Richard wrote the title on a serviette and Brown was determined to turn it into a song.
In March 1956, the Famous Flames signed with King Records’ Federal subsidiary in Cincinnati, Ohio, and released a re-recorded version of “Please, Please, Please” on the label. The song went on to become the group’s first R&B success, selling more than a million copies. None of their subsequent efforts were as successful. By 1957, Brown had fired Clint Brantley and hired Ben Bart, the head of Universal Attractions Agency.
Source: www.ghgossip.com
