James Brown practices with his 12-man band in the Imperial Theatre on Wednesday afternoon. In two weeks, the soul singer will embark on a worldwide tour, including a stop in Las Vegas. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

Soul singer Brown prepares for tour

Song inspired `Payback' title

Web posted March 18, 1999

By Jessica Rinck
Staff Writer

His feet are tapping, his hands are clapping, his knees are jumping, his hips are wiggling and his head is swaying -- all to the rhythm of the jazz and funk sounds created by his 12-man band.

James Brown is still the showman -- even during rehearsal.

``Take 500,'' Mr. Brown yells to his band. ``Each time gets better and better.''

The Imperial Theatre on Broad Street is host for Mr. Brown, his band, back-up singers, dancers and the rest of his entourage as they rehearse for yet another worldwide tour. Today is their last day in the theater, and the tour begins in two weeks, Mr. Brown said.

The tour is hitting Helsinki, Finland; Oslo, Norway; Spain; San Francisco; and Las Vegas, just to name a few locations, he said. For all the fans, he'll be crooning his old hits and mixing them up with the new tunes from his album, I'm Back, released in November.

``It's fantastic -- it's the biggest album I've ever had,'' Mr. Brown said. ``The new album, surprisingly, I thank God for. Would you record somebody 65 years old?''

But at 65, Mr. Brown proves he still has the woogie in his boogie as he shakes his rump on stage and carefully explains to the band how he wants the music to sound.

``Where y'all rushing to? Slow it down,'' he hollered, then jumped on the drums to demonstrate the desired tempo.

When the band members are good, they're very good -- and Mr. Brown bows down to them. When they're bad, they must repeat the same note over and over. Finally, Mr. Brown smiles and shouts out his famous laugh.

``Hey, hey, hey. That's nice.''

Later he explained, ``It's family, but run with a strong hand.''

The singing tour is just a little part of what Mr. Brown is up to these days. The title for the movie Payback, starring Mel Gibson, was inspired by his 1970s hit, which he recorded in Augusta.

Also, Disney is creating a motion picture about his life, with Eddie Murphy playing the starring role, he said.

As he stood on Broad Street in a shiny green suit -- in honor of St. Patrick's Day -- fans rushed up to say hello, shake his hand or just stare, and Mr. Brown talked about the serious side of his life.

``I'm real business. With a seventh-grade education and a shoe-shine box, I had to be real business,'' he said. ``Since 1965, it's been all about James Brown and thanking God.''

Jessica Rinck can be reached at (706) 823-3225 or newsroom@augustachronicle.com.