James Brown and I

James Brown is dead. An Entertainment Icon of Giant Proportions. Thought I would share my personal story about James Brown. It comes in three parts.

1. The show.
When I started playing music in high school James Brown was one of my idols. I was a lead singer and did my white boy best to be like James. I listened to James Brown Live at the Apollo over and over again, buying multiple copies as I wore them out. When I had publicity photos taken I even had one done on my knees singing Please Please. I was pretty lame of course in being a white boy trying to emulate a giant.

Went away to college at Ohio University to be a journalist and still played music on the weekends. I started writing for a national college publication called College Forum Magazine and since I was a working musician opening for some major acts they gave me the title of Entertainment Editor.

James Brown was doing a concert in Columbus, Ohio, about 100 miles from OU and I decided it was too great an opportunity, I had to try to interview him. I made contact through his organization and showed up on the designated evening at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium (if my memory serves me ) as excited as I had ever been.

Some of his people introduced themselves and took me back stage to meet members of his band. They shared some of their experiences but most were pretty guarded. As the time approached when the show was supposed to begin I was given tickets to sit out front and enjoy the show. As I was walking from the back to the seats I noticed that the tickets were in the 22nd row, and I turned around and went back to guy who gave me the tickets and protested. I wanted to be right in front. I told him when I did other interviews that I had been given front row seats. He looked at me and said...No, these are the best seats for you. I argued and argued but he held firm that the seats in row 22 was where I should be. He said I'd understand better later.

Brown put on a fantastic show, one of the best I have ever seen (and I've seen hundreds.) About the middle of the show, two very large black men appeared on the stage and stood on either side of him and grabbed James by his upper arms. He stuck his hands out and the men on either side of him lifted him up and started from one side of the stage and moved toward the other side. He was giving his fans a chance to shake his hand and/or to touch him. It was almost a riot. The people in the first 15-20 rows moved en masse toward the stage....everyone trying to get to him. Later that night I commented on it to him and he showed me his arms. From the elbows down he had new scratches and old scars from people who just had to touch him and tried holding on.

Had I been in the front row.....who knows what would have happened...but it probably wouldn't have been good.

2. Interview Attempt.
After the show was over I had to wait over an hour for James to clean up and come out to talk with me. The crowd had left and security went through the auditorium making sure everyone was out.

A couple of chairs had been set out on the stage for the two of us to talk. After what seemed like forever he came out and sat down in the chair and I began to talk with him. I hadn't gotten started into anything meaningful before a woman came out of nowhere...running as fast as she could....and attached herself to the star....holding on for dear life as she kissed him, proclaimed her love, then protested and cried as she was being pulled off him and taken out.

No sooner had they got her halfway out of the auditorium than another woman came running and then another. Brown had to leave and go back to the dressing room as security went through the auditorium again, looking for other stragglers. This time they had brought in a dog to help them.

After about 20 more minutes we tried again. James came out and sat down and we had just exchanged some comments about women wanting to meet him. Once again out of nowhere came a woman and then another desperately trying to get to him. Security caught the first one but the second one got to him and wrapped herself around him. It took a lot of work to get her pried off.

At that point we gave up trying to do the interview there. He told me to go to the private jet terminal in Columbus where he had his plane and we would do the interview there.

3. Interview at the Airport
I headed toward the jet terminal in my car and as we approached the terminal a big limo passed by. I guess James saw me in the car because the window came down and out popped James. As he passed he had tilted a bottle of wine straight up and was guzzling down the contents. This later proved to be funny because in the interview he told me he didn't drink.

I did my interview at the terminal. James was bigger than life, and he had no small ego. When I asked him "Do you think that you are the Negro equivalent of the Beatles?" (Ok so it was a stupid question) Brown stated "No, I won't say Negro because I might be segregating myself, I'll just say I'm THE MAN."

The thing I remember most about the interview itself was something that I touched on in the interview that afterwards took on a much larger significance.

I had asked Brown about his civil rights efforts. At the time other black entertainers had gotten a lot of press about their efforts and there had been some criticism that he was not doing enough.

Brown's reply was "I haven't been to many marches but I've made the bigger ones. I'm a level cat; I believe in right and wrong and I take part in what I believe. Like the march in Jackson, Mississippi. I was there. I had the biggest part in the whole thing. I had to fly back to Cincinnati that night to do a show. Really, I'm not big on marches; I don't believe in walking." And that was the end of our discussion on his civil rights efforts.

After the interview was done, the pilot of Brown's plane came over to me and said, "Let me tell you something that he won't, but you can't print it."

He related to me that Brown decided he wanted to go to Jackson and take the band on the plane to perform for the marchers. But they were not close to Jackson and they had to be in Cincinnati on the night of the march. Brown's plane was built to hold eight and the band was much larger than that, so the pilot told him that he couldn't do it...and Brown asked why. He was told that there were too many people to fit on the plane. Brown asked if he pared down some people and got them on the plane would he be able to get the plane off the ground. The pilot told him yes but he still couldn't do it cause the FAA would take away his license. Brown asked how long would his license be suspended? The pilot told him probably for a year. Brown asked him how much he got paid a year to fly him around and was told $50,000 (remember this was the 60's.) Brown wrote him a check for $50,000 and told him to be ready to leave in two hours. They went to Jackson and played for the marchers, and didn't get caught. So, the pilot offered Brown the check back but was refused. "You took the risk...you earned it."

It was an experience I will never forget. I got a chance to talk with and share some time with one of my idols. I have had the opportunity to meet and spend time with a lot of greats because I was in the entertainment business myself. Few have stuck in my mind like the few hours I spent with James Brown.

I am a pack rat. After I wrote this, I dug around to see if I could find the original article that I wrote, and sure enough I still had it. The following is the story I wrote, originally published in 1965 or 1966 for College Forum Magazine after my interview with James Brown. Give me a break it was 40 years ago....OK?

In an average month, he will give away some 5,000 autographed pictures and 1,000 pairs of James Brown cuff links, will wear 120 freshly laundered shirts and more than 80 pairs of shoes. He will change his performing costume 150 times and will perform over 80 hours on the stage - singing, dancing, and also playing at least 960 songs on one or more of eight instruments. He is, as well, songwriter, choreographer and designer of clothes for himself and his entire cast.

His shows are sung with military precision and Brown is his own logistician. There is a two ton truck for instruments and gear, an elegantly fitted-out bus for the cast and crew, and a private Cadillac limousine for himself. He also has his own eight passenger jet. The stakes are very high. With the show playing all but 60 nights a year, the gross can fun as high as $3,000,000.00 annually, and out of this, James Brown is good for more than $250,000.00.

With all this, the five-foot six-inch, 135 pound singer has become something of a folk hero.

We witnessed hundreds of his fans waiting hours in the cold to get a glimpse of their idol. We got our interview in a secluded spot of a private air terminal. Even there, James Brown could not get away from his fans. People came from working on planes so that they could get his autograph.

The College Forum interviewer was standing in front of James Brown holding a few sheets of paper when James Brown lifted the papers from his hand. After looking them over for a second, he handed them back and the interview proceeded.


Brown: Oh! Those are your questions.

CF: Yes, now all I need are the answers. A lot of top Negro entertainers have worked in the civil rights movement. Your name has not come up in the newspapers or magazines with reference to civil rights; how do you feel about this?

Brown: I haven't been to many marches, but I made the bigger ones. I'm a level cat; I believe in right and wrong and I take part in what I believe. Like the march in Jackson, Mississippi. I was there. I had the biggest part in the whole thing. I had to fly back to Cincinnati that night to do a show. Really, I'm not big on marches; I don't believe in walking.

CF: A lot of British groups have said that you are their favorite entertainer.

Brown: I like the fellow personally, and they like me. There's only one group that I've paid any attention to because they do so much more. That's the Rolling Stones.

CF: Do you think you influenced them in any way?

Brown: Well, they're doing all my stuff.

CF: Do you think you are the Negro equivalent of the Beatles?

Brown: I won't say Negro because I might be segregating myself. I'll just say I'm THE MAN!

CF: Have you ever done a European tour?

Brown: Yes

CF: How did you go over in Europe?

Brown: The number one entertainer over there!!

CF: Did you get the same kind of reaction that you get here?

Brown: Worse. In Europe, the police don't carry guns and they don't have anyting to keep the kids back with.

CF: What U.S. city do you most like to play in?

Brown: No favorite city, but I'd rather work in my own home town, Augusta, Georgia, because of past memories.

CF: Would you rather play a concert in a city or on a college campus?

Brown: I love college campuses. I like to do a show and have everybody understand.

CF: What is the biggest night club you have ever played in?

Brown: The Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. It has 2,500 seats and we've had it filled for two weeks. On the strip in L.A. they just mention my name and they sell it out. I don't like night clubs. I owe a lot to may audience and kids can't see me in clubs. (This is in reference to age laws that restrict minors from places where liquor is sold.)

CF: What would you say made you a success?

Brown: Number one, you've got to like people, and then you've got to appreciate them; they made you.

CF: I noticed that in your concert you got right down in the audience. A lot of groups won't get near their audiences.

Brown: Let me show you something.

Editor's Note: At this point James Brown unbuttoned his shirt sleeves and rolled them up to show our interviewer his arms. From the elbows down they were covered in small scars.

CF: Did you get those from people grabbing at you like I saw them do tonight?

Brown: Yes. Every night I get them. But I go ahead anyway because my audience made me and I owe this to them.

CF: How many performances do you do a year?

Brown: In a year, about 350. I don't work 350 days, though; some days we do more than one show. I end up working about 300 days a year.

CF: When do you have time to do all your choreography?

Brown: Once you are a professional it only takes five minutes to work up a new routine.

CF: Watching the show I noticed that when you moved, everyone moved.

Brown: They (the band) would move even if I didn't move, because everyone knows what they are doing.

CF: Does it take them long to learn it?

Brown: No, this was imbedded in their minds many years ago. I drive the cats so hard that they become a part of me. They have to be part of me or they can't do it.

CF: Who do you think has had the most influence on your career?

Brown: My manager, Ben Bart - he has helped shape my career; he had the Ink Spots, Little Willie and Della Reese before me. His counseling has kept me at the top.

CF: A lot of your background has been in gospel; do you think it do you think it has influenced your work.

Brown: I sing soul, and soul starts in church.

CF: You certainly have your own style....

Brown: ....You've got to have. I design my own clothes and hairdos. I could sell this (referring to the clothes he was wearing) to a million companies, but I'd rather let the people have it for nothing. They'll associate it with the name. There comes a time when it doesn't mean much to make more money. I've made all the money I need; now I want to make friends. I once saw Johnny Mathis in New York when he was top cat. He was walking down the street and nobody bothered him because no one recognized him. When I go to New York I've got to have a police escort. It's because I'm my own cat. I'm an individual. People look up to me because I have my own clothes, hairdos and style.

CF: There was a rumor that the song "Don't Be a Dropout" was paid for by the National Council on Education.

Brown: No, I went out on a limb and did it myself. I got in touch with the Vice President, but he turned me down. Then I did a show in Washington and I introduced the song there and it got so many adults and kids going my way that the Vice President came to see me. Now I'm on the Vice President's Council on Education.

CF: What would you say is the one accomplishment you are most proud of?

Brown: It's hard to say. I guess when I think about it there's only one thing. One day when I was a kid reading a history book, I said to myself, "One day, I 'm going to be in one of these books." I made history while I'm living and will be remembered after I'm dead.

I fill Madison Square Garden; fighters don't even do that.

The one thing I'm most proud of is that once I was a shoe shine boy. Now I stand on the steps with the Vice President of the United States equally. In fact, I've got more fans than he does, and that's the truth.