"It was mind-blowing to see him come in," he continues. "All true legends are visually as well as sonically caught in the time that made them a legend. Elvis Presley would have still been Elvis Presley today; Michael Jackson is still Michael Jackson; Prince is still Prince no matter how he changes; Little Richard is still Little Richard, and James Brown is still James Brown.
"He came in with his hair slicked all the way to the side - with his big huge fur coat - the rings - the shades, and he walked in and said [growling], 'Gentleman, gentleman, good to meetcha,' and I was like 'WOW.' I remember when I would throw water on my face and act like him as a kid, pretending that I was sweating so much. When he felt our vibe and the respect we were giving him, he was fine," says B-Fine, who is fine also.
He continues, "We were in the booth recording him and he got real excited (out in the studio) and into what he was doing. Then he just disappeared - we couldn't see him anymore - but he was still singing his vocals. We looked and James Brown was on the floor - he did the splits and he was just jamming down there. We were just pointing and saying 'Wow, look at him go. That's James Brown.'"
Man, I love that: "Wow, look at him go. that's James Brown." What more needs to be said?
Article comments
1 - andy
awesome awesome post Eric. When I had an apartment downtown before the man beat me down and forced me to move home, we used to have James Brown dance parties all the time. The fellas in the band and I would groove for hours to his jams. A serious influence on my music he is!
2 - Eric Olsen
Thanks Andy, sounds like a great time. Wew've got to ease on over to PA one of these days and hear you guys play.