James Brown: You Hear Me?

I'm such a lover of people because people did so much for me. I'm a lover of all humanity of all mankind. And I feel that he that he who has been successful should look out for his fellow man, his brother. I feel that's my role, that's my job. -- James Brown

I heard an NPR interview with James Brown a couple years ago when he was making what appeared to be his fifth or sixth 'comeback'. He impressed me as one of the last Americans who was able to sell his genius without formalism.

Listening to him speak I realized at once that he was illiterate in a literal sense - unable to articulate his own meaning outside of his gift. He spoke of music in abstracts inappreciable to non-adepts. I got the feeling just listening to him that  he was completely original in every way and you could tell that there was something deep in him that he never had to change for anyone. He was a self-actualized man in ways that just captivated everyone, because society tells us that such men don't exist. If the man wrote in hyroglyphics or described colors to sightless people it wouldn't surprise me a bit. James had something of an alien mind, his musical creation and his creation of himself into the hardest working man in show business was a kind of inevitability. I think of him as a giant pearl with some incredibly strange, dense and oddly shaped object as its center of gravity. You could never predict how he would roll, but whenever he did it was a rhythmic glowing miracle. All you can do is stare.

They called him the Godfather of Soul. James Brown was more like the Wormhole of Rhythm. Nothing could get close to him without being sucked into his powerful grooves. He punctuates his music with an energy that resists passive listening. You can't just appreciate James Brown music. You have to decide to either get into the groove or get out of the room. There are three transcendent elements to James Brown. The groove, the bridge and the break. Now I'm going to be like James and not even going to try to describe them. They are what they are. You just have to listen to the man.

My favorite James Brown song? That would have to be Hot Pants. It's the one that connected with me on the subconscious level. Like voodoo on the adolescent mind when I danced and mouthed the lyrics to Hot Pants, something wrestled my limbic system to the ground and shook it around. Aww and that was dangerous.

I can recall ministers in the Foursquare Gospel Church preaching against and in synch with James Brown. I can still remember the 'Get On the Good Foot With Jesus' sermon from my childhood.  In fact I can remember my minister waffling on 'Say It Loud'  on several occasions. What could he do? How could any natural man resist what James was throwing down? He was too powerful, too truthful, to artful to ignore. He would just get out there and dance and sweat and destroy all pretenders. James Brown was more than just a King, he was a King in Action. He acted on the mind and body in ways that every preacher from every pulpit wished he could. James Brown had a grip on your soul.

I think some people like James Brown's 'I Feel Good' it's because it's one of his lightest songs. You can can hum along to that one and not break out in a funky sweat. 'I Feel Good' lets you off the hook with its hook. Any dainty milquetoast can feel nice like sugar and spice. But try that with 'Payback'. Nah brudda. James Brown is more than a little bit profound.

James Brown's greatest song? I would have to say that would be 'Get It Together'. It exemplifies every one of his strengths as an inventive band leader, a lyricist, an arranger and just a kick ass performer. 'Get It Together' is the master groove. The song just goes on and on and you can hear.  You cannot understand a groove without going back to James Brown on this song. It is the definitive archtype of funk. Now I know there are those who would say that 'Cold Sweat' defines the break, and it's hard to argue with that. After the break he takes you to the bridge and doesn't come back to the groove. It's an amazing effect that keeps your attention, but I still have to give it to 'Get It Together'.

So much of what we're fussing about over Kwanzaa is directly related to what James was singing about in 'Say It Loud'. I was one of those kids. I too would rather die on my feet than live on my knees. Thanks James, you are a hero for the ages.