                  
 Biography Audio Archive James Brown Index James Brown History Past Bashes |
His persistence and endurance made even people who despised him admire him. Now he has broken a proverb that says a prophet is recognized everywhere but his own town. -- Rev. Al Sharpton
Originally published 11/20/93
By Bill Varian
Each is hoping for an audience with the Godfather of Soul himself. But it's busier than usual.
There's a new record out, a party to plan and the national media beckoning.
So a rapper raps and a manager manages and a lady just stops by.
And over the radio comes a familiar tune: Papa's Got a Brand New Bag.
Other performers rise and fall.
At 60, James Brown has persevered.
Not three years ago he sat in jail. His storied career seemed to crumble.
Today Augustans give him that recognition by renaming a portion of Ninth Street for him. It's there James Brown began.
A career begins
``There's a lot of lore about James,'' says Phil Waring, 82, the president of the Augusta Black History Committee who has kept up with Mr. Brown's career. The stories have been told so many times - in books, articles and handed-down stories - that they are generally accepted, he says.
That he was was poor is certain, says Mr. Ware. The details - believe if you like.
His parents split when James was 4. Father and son moved to Augusta.
They lived with Aunt Minnie in a Twiggs Street whorehouse in the middle of what was then called ``The Terry.'' That's Negro Territory.
As the story goes, James scavenged for coal along the railroad tracks in order to heat the home and dug through grocery store dumpsters.
The Brown family moved to a home near University Hospital.
All the while young James hustled his way up and down Ninth Street, then a bustling downtown thoroughfare. Along the street he shined shoes of soldiers home from World War II, dancing as he worked.
He says he was affected early by circus and minstrel shows that made their way through town, and by his experience singing in church choirs. He formed his first band in Augusta, the Cremona Trio. They played mostly gospel tunes and an occasional Louis Jordan number, like Caldonia, a James Brown favorite.
At age 11 or 12, James entered an amateur contest at the Lenox Theater, which once stood on the 1100 block of the street that will carry his name. It was his first public performance.
He won.
Chart-topper
James left Silas Floyd in the seventh grade after his second arrest for stealing hubcaps and breaking into cars. He would stay in touch with Ms. Garvin, years later staying with her for days at a time to escape from it all, says Mr. Ware, a friend of the late Ms. Garvin's.
In a Rome, Ga., detention center where he spent four years, young James earned his first nickname - Music Box.
James had several close scrapes with the law in the years that followed, but kept out of jail.
He joined with several friends in Toccoa and began singing in earnest. It was the early 1950s. The group became the Flames, then the Famous Flames. Their early songs were a mixture of gospel and rhythm and blues styled music.
The band traveled more. Along the way they attracted the attention of Ralph Bass, a talent scout for King Records. He had heard a rough recording of Please, Please, Please, James' first song.
Mr. Bass persuaded his reluctant bosses to record 16 songs by the Famous Flames. Please, Please, Please, was released in March of 1956 on King's Federal label.
The song eventually reached No. 6 on the rhythm and blues charts and sold more than a million copies.
Please, Please, Please was the first of 122 Billboard magazine chart hits for James Brown. Only Elvis - with 149 charted songs - has more.
But perhaps his greatest recognition has come outside of the United States.
David Nathan, former editor of Blues and Soul magazine in London, says Mr. Brown's influence and popularity may be greater overseas - where he still often tours today.
``He really created a whole new sound,'' Mr. Nathan said in a telephone interview. ``I think he is one of the seminal influences.''
That he received more recognition elsewhere may be typical.
``In this country (the United States), a lot of people don't give reverence to black performers until they're gone,'' Mr. Nathan said.
`A new man'
Mr. Brown returned to Augusta in 1970, but his career began to wane in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
His career rekindled with his cameo as the rocking reverend in The Blues Brothers and the release of Living in America, which he performed in Rocky IV.
But on a Sept. 24, 1988, his career derailed.
Mr. Brown reportedly walked into an insurance seminar with a shotgun, berating the crowd because someone had used his private office bathroom.
He led police on a two-state chase and was convicted of aggravated assault and failure to stop for police. He would spend his next two years in jail.
But after his release, James Brown went back to what he knew best - making music and touring.
If anything, says historian Phil Waring, the stay in jail may have done the Godfather of Soul some good.
``A new man came out of prison. He came out and he was different,'' said Mr. Waring. ``And a whole new world beckoned itself to him.''
``I thing he has shown great objectivity and steadfastness. He has a peace about himself.''
Others agree.
``His persistence and endurance made even people who despised him admire him,'' said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who will speak during the unveiling of James Brown Boulevard. ``Now he has broken a proverb that says a prophet is recognized everywhere but his own town.''
Augusta College history Professor Ed Cashin says Mr. Brown ``represents a long line of prominent blacks who have contributed to Augusta.''
Dr. Cashin said Mr. Brown's achievements far outweigh the 1988 incident.
``Once you obtain a certain age, you obtain a certain venerability,'' he said. ``I think people like to give the guy the benefit of the doubt.
Today, he is acknowledged for those contributions by a city he's always claimed as his own. His latest song, Georgia-lina, gives evidence of that.
In a backroom office at James Brown Enterprises, he takes a minute to pose with a cowboy hat. He brushes aside his ups and downs as he looks at his gold-framed mirror - at his hair, at his muscle shirt. He could be anywhere, he agrees, but why would he want to be?
``This is my home,'' he says, and off he goes, to another new day in the same old town.
|
|
Comments or questions? Contact the webmasters @ugusta. |
