HB-JB

Happy Birthday James Brown: the Godfather of Soul, the Hardest Working Man in Showbiz, Soul Brother Number 1, Mr. Dynamite is 70 years young today (although some reports have him as old as 75, but who's counting?):

"It's been seven decades alive and over five decades onstage, and I still feel good," James Brown said from his Beech Island home.

Brown, who celebrated his birthday Saturday, says he recently lost 13 pounds and is focused on good health.

"I'm getting back into my clothes again. I stopped eating late at night," Brown said.

....Brown said he's not ready to retire yet.

Upcoming tours include shows in Russia, at London's Royal Albert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. "I'll also play for President Bush in a few weeks," he said. [AP]

James Brown is the funkiest man who ever lived, and his story is nearly as big as his amazing repertoir of classics, but let's take a look at the very beginning of his career, as told by legendary producer Ralph Bass:

As talent scout and producer, Bass combed the highways, byways and back alleys of 1950s black America, especially the South, for fresh talent. "I had to go out there and look and beat the bushes . . . you'd get a tip on somebody and go down to listen . . . We were in the ghetto. There were no rich kids who were singing . . . And I was fortunate to be able to recognize what was good and what was wrong."

Bass discovered Little Willie Littlefield (who sang the original version of "Kansas
City," "K.C. Lovin"), Guitar Lewis, Big Jay McNeely, Johnny Guitar Watson, and the Platters (Bass recorded the original version of "Only You"). But his greatest discovery for Federal was James Brown.

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Article Author: Eric Olsen

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