The James Brown Reader: Fifty Years of Writing About the Godfather of Soul

Book Overview

Nelson George and Alan Leeds have assembled the first comprehensive collection of writings about the late, great Godfather of Soul, creating a fascinating mosaic of the man and the musician. Known as the hardest-working man in show business, James Brown embodied rhythm and blues, funk and soul, and sensuality. His musical innovations in such indelible grooves as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine," "I Got You (I Feel Good)," and "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," transformed American music. To appreciate Brown's immeasurable influence, to chronicle his professional and personal triumphs and struggles, and to capture his essence, writers from four decades weigh in on the legendary Soul Brother Number One. What emerges is a tribute to a trailblazer--one that no dedicated fan or music history buff will want to be without.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452289467
• ISBN13: 9780452289468
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

a glimpse of the god father at his peak

This compendium of interviews with Soul Brother number 1 illustrates why he transcended music at the peak of his popularity and became an icon for a generation. Here was a man who was self made, unapologetic and independant. In 2010 its fascinating to look back in time and realize that a brother who had sold 38 million records before he was 40 years old, owned 3 radio stations, a chain of restaurants, toured over 300 days a year for well over a decade , diffused riots by request, and whose music rose like a phoenix a generation later to provide the foundation for the golden age of hip hop was never really given his due by the country he loved so much . A man for the ages to be sure. Like watching Ali in his prime, these interviews offer a glimpse into what made the Godfather great. For those of us who love JB this book is a long lost love letter. for those of you who are just discovering the amazing mr. please please, the big boss with all the hot sauce , the hardest working man in show business...dig in , enjoy and consider yourselves blessed. Get on the good foot and keep it on the one!

For the JB reader....and listener

Five decades of JB's career are covered in rare (and long) interviews (one from the '70s with less than flattering comments from the entourage)and concert reviews (which, surprisingly, do not really address the joyous mass rapture evident on the live recordings); plus many photos this serious Brown fan has never seen before. I particularly enjoy the '67 to '75 period and was pleased to find alot of coverage of that great era of creativity, roughly from "Cold Sweat" to "Hustle!". The reader *today* will be astonished to learn that those cataclysmic concerts were something almost routine. Well, in entertainment, as in "real life" (though with James Brown, his public personae was always of the "open book" order), stuff happens, people change: that insistent, pulsating, inspirational aspect seemed to yield, slowly, to just another "greatest hits" revue. A very helpful single, album, and elected CD section is provided, though I was disappointed by the lack of analysis of strong, later CD efforts like "Love Over Due", a solid effort from '91, and two from the late '90s, "I'm Back" (with "Funk On Ah Roll", "Break Away", and "Peace In The World"), "The Merry Christmas Album", a minor Classic - I say "minor" in that the production values were modest and it seemed to be available only online. George and Leeds could have expounded brilliantly on these lesser-known opuses. A classy package all the way around by two very important names in publishing and music.