James Brown and Politics

In James Brown, politics met show biz in a funky fusion

December 29, 2006 | By Clarence Page   |  Clarence Page,Chicago Tribune 

WASHINGTON  -- Can James Brown really be gone? Are we sure? After all, no one could stage a false exit better than the "Godfather of Soul."

He'd be singing "Please, Please, Please," down on one knee at the foot of the stage, his face gleaming with sweat, his pompadour gleaming with pomade, after two hours of sweet, pulse-pounding soul stirrings. Then his dapper assistant would appear and drape a bright satin cape over Mr. Brown's shoulders, and Soul Brother No. 1 would slowly stand up and turn around and step rhythmically offstage as the band and backup singers moaned, "Please, please don't go-oh-oh ..." and ... the ... crowd ... would ... go ... wild!

Read more: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-12-29/news/0612290124_1_james-brown-soul-sharpton



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= =<span style="font-size:21pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);">Chuck D. praises soul master James Brown's = ==<span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:inherit,serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">Public Enemy's Chuck D. <span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:inherit,serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);">  <span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:inherit,serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);">praises soul master  <span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:inherit,serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">James Brown's <span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:inherit,serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);">  <span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:inherit,serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);">politics == <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:inherit,serif;color:black;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">By '<span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:inherit,serif;color:black;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">  '<span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:inherit,serif;color:black;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">Mark Bautz <span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:inherit,serif;color:black;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">  <span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"inherit","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; color:#222222">|  <span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:inherit,serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">Jan 01, 2000 <span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family: "inherit","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#222222">

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<p style="margin:0in0in9pt;line-height:15pt;"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"inherit","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#222222">Thirty years ago yesterday, godfather of soul James Brown released his politically charged single "Say It Loud -- I'm Black And I'm Proud." Four months earlier, Martin Luther King had been assassinated in Memphis, and Brown helped soothe the ensuing racial turmoil by visiting inner-city neighborhoods where riots had broken out. The singer made a point of cutting off his famously processed hair in favor of a politically correct Afro. He took his first trip to Africa, and he visited the White House to discuss America's social problems with President Lyndon Johnson. In response to difficult times, Mr. "Sex Machine" was turning into a political leader.

<p class="MsoNormal">Read more: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,84894,00.html

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=<span lang="EN" style="font-size:19pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black;">Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud = <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:18.0pt"><span style="font-size:9.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:18.0pt"><span style="font-size:9.5pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"> <p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;line-height:18.0pt"> <p style="margin-top:4.8pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left: 0in;line-height:18.0pt"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN">"Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud" is a funk song written and recorded by James Brown in 1968. It was released as a two-partsingle which held the number-one spot on the R&B singles chart for six weeks, and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100.[1 ][2 ] Both parts of the single were later included on James Brown's 1968 album A Soulful Christmas and on his 1969 album sharing the title of the song. The song became an unofficial anthem of the Black Power movement.
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<p class="MsoNormal">Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Say_It_Loud_%E2%80%93_I'm_Black_and_I'm_Proud

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=<span style="font-size:16.5pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(69,15,5);">Soul History Lesson: Why So Few Protest Songs In Today’s Soul Music? = <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:15pt;"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(153,153,153);text-transform:uppercase;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">NOVEMBER 28, 2011 <span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#999999;text-transform:uppercase">  <span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(153,153,153);text-transform:uppercase;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">· <span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#999999;text-transform:uppercase">  <span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(153,153,153);text-transform:uppercase;border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;"><span style="color:rgb(153,153,153);">2 COMMENTS <span style="font-size:7.5pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#999999;text-transform:uppercase"> CULTURE,   MUSIC   ·   TAGGED:   GIL SCOTT HERON,   JAMES BROWN,   KHADIJAH Z. ALI-COLEMAN,   MARVIN GAYE,MUSIC,   NINA SIMONE,   PROTEST,   RAHEEM DEVAUGHN,   SOUL,   SOUL HISTORY LESSON,   SOUL TRAIN

<p style="margin:0in0in15pt;line-height:15pt;"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333">Protest music has always been a staple in the progression of soul music. From spirituals with hidden codes and messages during slavery, to jazz tunes like Billie Holiday’s 1939 recording of “Strange Fruit”– a response to the tragic legacy of lynching—music has often been the sometimes subtle, sometimes powerful voice of the people, illustrating discontent with the current construct of society.

<p style="margin:0in0in0.0001pt;line-height:15pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(51,51,51);border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">The Rise of Protest Music in the 60s, 70s, 80s & 90s <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333">

<p style="margin:0in0in0.0001pt;line-height:15pt;"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#333333"><span style="color:rgb(92,21,6);border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">{C}In 1964, singer Nina Simone performed the song “Mississippi Goddam” in front of 40,000 people at the end of one of the Selma and Montgomery marches during the civil rights era. Nina Simone had been very vocal about her political leanings and had written the song in response to the shooting of Medgar Evers and the killing of four little Black girls in Birmingham, Alabama. This song, along with her songs “To Be Young, Gifted & Black” and “Four Women” were popular songs in the wake of social justice civil protest.

<p style="margin:0in0in15pt;line-height:15pt;"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333">After the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and our country’s attempt to enact equity across racial lines, social protest waned a bit within the music sector. But, not for long. Popular acts like James Brown released powerful songs of protest and triumph like the 1968 “Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud”, followed in 1969 by the Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong song “War”, written for Edwin Starr as a searing response to the Vietnam War.

<p style="margin:0in0in0.0001pt;line-height:15pt;"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; color:#333333"><span style="color:rgb(92,21,6);border:1ptnonewindowtext;padding:0in;">{C}This soul song, with its shouted refrain and aggressive tone easily became one of the most popular protest songs of all times. Songs like “War” made it possible that in 1971, Marvin Gaye released the album  What’s Going On –an album laced with public commentary and intensity, told from the point of view of a Vietnam War veteran returning to the States and disenchanted by the injustice he sees around him. A unique concept album, hits included the epic title cut and the classic “Mercy, Mercy Me” which, to this day, speaks to relevant themes and issues.

<p class="MsoNormal">Read more: http://soultrain.com/2011/11/28/soul-history-lesson-why-so-few-protest-songs-in-todays-soul-music/

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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"> <span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">James Brown born in Snelling, South Carolina and publically known as the Godfather of Soul, provided inspiration for many through his musical influences.
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<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Brown grew up working in the cotton fields, collecting lumps of coal, and shining shoes to help buy food for the family.

<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">He established a self determination after dropping out of school to educate himself in music by building on the gospel roots from which he discovered in church. By the age of fifteen, Brown had formed his own band, the Cremora Trio. With this group, Brown began to establish a distinctive style. Brown, later, joined gospel singer Bobby Byrd and formed The Famous Flames.

<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">The Flames was quick to advance to international acclaim. They brought rhythm and blues to life by playing anywhere they could. James used his music to break the boundaries of racial segregation that enveloped the United States in the 1950’s. Both blacks and whites became engrossed in the new musical phenomenon. In 1956, the Flames performed “Please, Please, Please” in front of a record company representative that led them to a recording contract and a song that surged to #6 on the R&B charts.

<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Mr. Brown went on to record 75 R&B Top 20 Hits (17 of which reached #1) and sold over 60 million records penning hits like “Papa’s got a brand new bag,” “I Feel Good,” “Don’t be a Drop out,” “Say it Loud, I’m Black and Proud,” and “Living in America.” His style came to symbolize a precursor for all who followed. <p class="MsoNormal">Read more: http://www.nps.gov/features/malu/feat0002/wof/James_Brown.htm
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==<span style="font-size:17.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(85,84,65);">James Brown to be inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame == <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:13.5pt;background-position:initialinitial;background-repeat:initialinitial;"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"; color:#555441"><span style="color:rgb(146,151,0);">{C}James Brown will be inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, January 28, 2011 at 10:00 AM. James Brown's songs touched a race of people, the human race. His music will forever live and inspire people all over the world. Brown wrote songs that educate, encourage and empower men, woman and children of all races. <span style="color:rgb(146,151,0);">{C}But it was something about songs like "Don't be a drop out", "I don't want nobody to give me nothing, open up the door and I'll get it myself", It's a Mans World, but it wouldn't be nothing without a woman or a girl" and of course, "Say it Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud." These songs did not contain profanity nor did they degrade woman or races. Instead, these songs gave us encouragement, hope and just good clean music. We salute you Godfather and Thank You!!

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<p class="MsoNormal">Read more: http://jamesbrownfamilyfdn.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=167:james-brown-to-be-inducted-into-the-international-civil-rights-walk-of-fame&catid=47:fp-articles