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In Remembrance: James Brown
James Brown, the pioneering “Godfather of Soul” who expanded his
audience through film appearances has passed away on December 25,
2006 in Atlanta, GA. He was 73.
Born on May 3,
1933 in Barnwell, South Carolina, Brown was considered one of the
most energetic performers of the 20th centurty, whose
soul and rhythm and blues concerts were tour-de-forces of nonstop
music and dance. Brown’s career began in the mid-1950s touring the
south with his band the Famous Flames. His first hit was 1956’s
“Please, Please, Please.” By combining such influences as Ray
Charles and Little Richard, Brown slowly began to develop his own
unique style which would soon be called “funk.”
Brown made his
first screen appearance in 1965’s concert film The T.A.M.I.
Show where his performance is
considered by many to have upstaged the Rolling Stone’s own
appearance in the film. That year he also appeared as himself in the
teen comedy Ski Party. In
1973, Brown collaborated with composer Fred Wesley on the
soundtracks of two blaxploitation films- Black Caesar
and Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off.
The rise of
disco music through the mid-to-late 1970s found Brown’s career on
the wane. His rousing performance of an old gospel tune – in the
film’s keynote scene where Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Dan
Aykroyd) discover their “Mission from God” - for the 1980 musical
comedy The Blues Brothers would reintroduce Brown to a whole
new generation. He appeared again on screen with Aykroyd for a small
role for the comedy Dr. Detroit (1983). In addition to an
appearance in Rocky IV (1985), Brown revisited his Re.
Cleophus character for Blues Brothers 2000 (1998). He also
appeared as himself in the 2002 blaxploitation spoof Undercover
Brother in which he was the intended target of a kidnapping
plot.
Brown’s music
appeared in over a hundred films in the 40 years since his
appearance in The T.A.M.I. Show, including The Fan
(1981), Another 48 Hours (1990), Boomerang (1992),
Muppets From Space (1999) and Kinky Boots (2005). His
most famous song “I Feel Good” appeared in such films as Good
Morning Vietnam (1987), White Men Can’t Jump (1992),
The Nutty Professor (1996), Doctor Dolittle (1998) and
Undercover Brother. His song “The Payback” has been also
featured in many films, most prominently in the British crime caper
Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (1998). |
