A consummate showman whose private life was as explosive as his legendary performances, this iconic hit-maker forever changed the sound of music. Born into poverty in the '30s, as a youth Brown spent time in jail for stealing before finding his calling as an entertainer. In the '50s, he began honing his act with his friend and collaborator Bobby Byrd in the band The Flames, which soon became James Brown and the Famous Flames. In the '60s, the "Godfather of Soul" injected R&B with an infectious funky flare. His offbeat rhythms, catchy hooks, barking vocals and fancy footwork — including awe-inspiring twirls and splits — turned him into a stage star. His mainstream breakthrough came with the 1963 album Live at the Apollo, which captured his electrifying energy on vinyl and became the No. 2 album nationwide. He spent the sixties penning classics such as "I Got You (I Feel Good)," "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," "Get Up (I Feel Like A) Sex Machine" and the empowering civil rights anthem "Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud." In the '70s, lively songs like “Hot Pants,” “Make It Funky,” Get on the Good Foot Pt. 1” and “The Payback Pt. 1” flooded dance floors. His music also filled movie theaters, and he provided original scores for soundtracks the films Black Caesar and Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off. In the late '70s, changing musical tastes, as well as Brown's increasingly tumultuous personal life, stalled his career. In the '80s, his career picked up again with memorable appearances in the films
The Blues Brothers and
Rocky IV, which also featured his smash hit “Living in America.” In 1986, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but two years later his personal troubles caught up with him and he found himself in prison. Though sentenced to six years, he was paroled in 1991. In his later life, Brown at times seemed like a parody of himself. Not only did he make exuberant public appearances (he was a favorite on Howard Stern's radio show), he also constantly popped up in the tabloids due to incidents of spousal and drug abuse. Even his death (which was shocking since he seemed to possess limitless energy) was tainted by scandal: After he passed away from congestive heart failure on Christmas Day 2006, his supposed fourth wife and mother of his youngest child, Tomi Rae Hynie, was locked out of their home when it was determined that they had never been legally married. Despite the scandals, whenever Brown leapt behind a microphone — which, being the self-declared "hardest-working man in show business," was quite often — the outrageous stories melted away, and he became an incomparable force of entertainment. His undeniable talent earned him countless devoted fans, not to mention myriad awards and accolades, including Kennedy Center Honors, two performing Grammys in addition to a lifetime achievement award, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
James Brown Fast Facts:
- Raised by his great-aunt in a Georgia brothel.
- Nicknamed "The Godfather of Soul" and self-proclaimed "Hardest Working Man in Show Business."
- Biggest hits include "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," "I Got You (I Feel Good)," and "Get Up (I Feel Like A) Sex Machine."
- One of the first 10 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
- Received Kennedy Center Honors in 2003.
- Published his second autobiography I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul on January 4, 2005, a follow up to his 1986 autobiography James Brown: The Godfather of Soul.
- When he died in 2006, there was a public memorial service at the Apollo in Harlem, where his body lay in state in a 24-karat gold coffin.
- James Brown Relationships:
- Tomi Rae Hynie - Significant Other
- Daryl Brown - Son
- Adrienne Lois Brown - Wife (deceased)
- Fannie Brown Burford - Sister
- Teddy Brown - Son
- Yamma Brown Lumar - Daughter
- James Joseph Brown - Father
- Deidre Jenkins - Ex-wife
- Terry Brown - Son
- Venisha Brown - Daughter
- Deanna Brown Thomas - Daughter
- James Joseph Brown II - Son
- Larry Brown - Son
- Susie Behling Brown - Mother
- Velma Warren - Ex-wife
- James Brown Awards:
- 1991 Grammy: Best Album Notes - Winner
- 1986 Grammy: Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male - Winner
- 1965 Grammy: Best Rhythm & Blues Recording - Winner
- 1992 Grammy: Lifetime Achievement Award - Winner