Original subtitles

-You gonna be a movie star one of these days?

-Well, we're making a lot of plans on it.

I hope so. I hope I'll be able to do my life story.

-I think the James Brown story

has got to be one of the biggest winners of all time.

♪ Everybody right there -♪ Get into it

-♪ Everybody right there -♪ Get involved

-♪ Everybody hit it [ Music plays ]

Come on, now.

Good God.

-Nobody expected James to be anything.

-Come on! Hey!

-Abandoned at birth, prison, dropping out of school.

There's a level of genius there that is amazing.

-♪ Now, look -♪ Hey

-♪ I want you to hit me -♪ Yeah

-♪ Fellas -♪ Yeah

-♪ Don't miss me -♪ No

-People don't talk enough about James for his writing

and producing skills.

He was an entrepreneur.

-I mean, he changed the way music was.

He created funk.

-♪ Hit me

-He was a risk-taker.

He gave you sex and protest at the same time.

-♪ Soul power -♪ Soul power

-♪ Soul power -♪ Soul power

-We need black people

in the power structure to speak for us.

-♪ Soul power -♪ Hit me

-James Brown "Say It Loud -- I'm Black and I'm Proud"

was the jump-off point.

-The power to move people, to mobilize people,

to make them feel and think about what's happening,

James Brown was able to do that.

-♪ Put it there

-You really couldn't voice your opinion

a lot of times with Mr. Brown.

A lot of things that Mr. Brown would do,

sometimes I didn't agree with him.

-Black folks had the right to be angry at him

for aligning himself with a politician like Richard Nixon.

♪

[ Cheers and applause ]

-We all got our problems and we're going to work them out.

-"I Feel Good." That was done in a movie, wasn't it?

-Yes, we did "Ski Party along with Frankie Avalon,

Yvonne Craig.

♪ Wow, I feel good

♪ I knew that I would, now

♪ I feel good

♪ I knew that I would, now

♪ So good

♪ So good, I got you

-His music was incredibly important

to our community, to our people.

His journey is incredibly important.

There might be places where he stopped in his journey

that you don't agree with, but it was a journey.

The development and relationship of our folks

and this country's development,

James Brown was an integral part of that.

-♪ In my arms

♪ I know that I can do no wrong ♪

The first time I cut "I Feel Good," it was strictly jazz.

I had to go back and cut it again so people could follow it.

♪ Dun-a dun-a dun-a dun

-"I Feel Good" is basically a blues progression.

James took the chord changes out of it,

and it was just a groove, and that groove locked in.

-♪ So good

-When we loop a sample nowadays,

James Brown was sort of doing that,

and that in itself was different.

-♪ So good

[ Applause ]

♪ Papa's in the swing

[ Both laugh ]

-There's something about it. I don't know.

Alright. Easy does it.

Now, what was the story? Why'd you make that record?

-Well, during that time, I needed a hit record very bad.

And the only thing I said, I said,

"Well, you know, papa should get a brand-new bag, you know,

and listen, we got to come up with a title."

And then I started writing, you know,

and got a little story together, and -- and it was together.

♪ Come here, sister

♪

♪ In the swing

-"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" comes out.

That's street slang.

People are like, "Yeah, I know what this is."

-♪ He ain't no drag

♪ Papa's got a brand-new bag

♪

-With "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag,"

as an 11th-hour decision, they sped the tape up

to make it just a little bit faster.

-♪ Come on, now

♪ On the horn

-He's realizing that him and his horn section

are the new Famous Flames.

Like, his entire horn section answering him at his every whim.

♪ Come on, come on

-You listen to the spontaneity of his vocals,

and that includes his screams and his grunts and his groans

and all the things that people mimic

that are -- that are part of his identity.

He's using his voice. He's playing an instrument.

He's one of the band.

-See, soul music is jazz and -- and gospel mix.

Funk is when you lay on the vamp.

♪

♪ With your mess

-He's basically announcing

that he's the aforementioned Papa,

and his brand-new bag is this level of soul.

"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"

will start the unprecedented streak of top 10 hits

for the next 10 years of James Brown's life.

-Soul is real. You can't make that up.

You either got it or you don't have it.

♪

-There was the Motown sound, the Memphis sound,

the Muscle Shoals sound.

Then there was the James Brown sound.

It didn't have a geographic identity.

It had the identity of a single human being.

-The Motown sound and imagery was very carefully curated,

and it was really a response to what we call the white gaze,

the lens in which white supremacy

is viewing the rest of the world.

So it's through that lens that Motown said,

"We want to promote these positive,

respectable images of black people."

♪

Mr. Brown also very well put together,

a perfectionist.

He was curated in his own way.

Wasn't a company behind him

saying, "You need to dress like this and do this."

He was doing that himself.

-♪ I'm alright tonight

♪ And I'll do just what I want

I might get on the stage

and normally having to do an hour and a half.

♪ And do the James Brown

♪ Oh, ohhh, yeah

I may do two hours and 20 or 30 minutes,

may do an hour extra.

I enjoy what I'm doing and I enjoy seeing them enjoy it.

-He believed in perfection

and that the audience should get what they paid for.

He was willing to do whatever it took

to make sure that the perfection was there.

He demanded it and he got it.

-♪ Oh

-My daddy was very strict.

He came from a life of struggle.

He knew each time he did his show

that everything had to be right before he got to the stage --

people on time, dressed like they should,

sound people are where they supposed to be,

equipment, everything.

-What kind of things would you have to do to get,

like a $5 or $10 fine in a show?

-Missing notes delivered and not paying attention.

I demand discipline.

♪

♪ If I ruled the world

[ Crowd shouting ]

-I got fined $50 one time for one note.

We was playing "If I Ruled the World,"

and I almost missed the note, but --

and I just kind of slid into it.

You know what I mean?

You know, it wasn't a train wreck,

but it was a little rough, and for that time, I got $50.

I said, "What did I do?" "You know what you did.

You missed a note." I said, "One note?"

-If there were too many mistakes on the stage,

you know, during the performance,

we had to rehearse right there after the show.

He didn't care.

-He hated wrong notes.

That's when he would yell, you know,

and he had to be in control.

We lost a lot of people behind that.

-This whole band-leader thing that he had,

that's from another era.

You hit a bum note, you got fined.

You know, if you turned up with your shoes not clean,

you were fined.

The complete antithesis of a rock band.

It's not like a rock band.

Rock band is late, rock band is dirty,

rock band is not dressing right, and they play bum notes.

-♪ Told me, darling, that you had to go ♪

♪ Done take your money, I don't care no more ♪

-I could read his eyes. It was like, "I heard that."

And I think that Mr. Brown could hear every instrument,

every voice that was singing behind him.

He just knew who would make a mistake.

♪

-Style and presence was very important to Dad.

-He had a valet that brought his clothes to him.

The valet held the -- the pants out for him, you know,

and he'd talk to me.

The valet's still holding the pants.

I'm going, "When is he going to take the --

When is he going to take the pants from the valet?"

Poor guy's got his pants.

-All the uniforms right now that my band has,

I own them, because I want them to look decent.

They should be glad to put on a uniform and belong to something,

as opposed to belonging to nothing.

-He established some rules for himself,

and he wanted the people around him to live by also.

-He strove for perfection.

He's a child of the South, as well,

so he understood what it was to have his image out there,

what it was to perform.

He had to project that image of being perfect.

-Difficult is all relative.

Exacting and having standards, you know.

You know, if somebody's a little lazy or wants to slack off

or really wants to fall asleep in the getaway car,

they're going to think you're exacting and you're difficult.

-He knew what his mission was,

and that was to show the world that,

"Look, I'm on this playing field, too.

"Look, I'm on this playing field, too.

I'mma show you why I am the king of this thing."

-My energy is so strong and my presence is so strong.

I can stay up for 72 hours and still go do a show.

-There just was no way, you know,

for me to dream of, uh, becoming anything

but trying to be just a laborer trying to work, you know.

Wasn't a chance for me to imagine nothing too fantastic.

♪

I think your spirit kind of changes

along with what environment you're in.

♪ This is a man's world

♪

-In the 1960s, you were at these cross currents

where folks wanted to show that folks deserved equality.

At the same time, recognize some of the raw foundations

of what made you as a people and as a person.

James Brown could tap into that.

He had all the aspirations of entertainer,

and yet he had all the qualifications

of somebody that came from the Jim Crow experience,

and he was able to combine all of that.

-Meredith was the first Negro

to desegregate Ole Miss University

four years ago.

Today, Meredith and his small party

began their defiant walk at the Mississippi state line

to encourage unregistered Negroes

along the way to qualify as voters.

[ Gunshots, indistinct shouting ]

-James Meredith was shot the second day of his walk,

and the entire civil rights apparatus stepped in

to finish that march for him, and Meredith survived.

-The first thing James Brown did that attracted any notoriety

was his appearance at Tougaloo College

at the James Meredith rally.

He was in the midst of Stokely Carmichael.

Dr. King, Dick Gregory, Sammy Davis,

and Marlon Brando was there.

-The only reason we're doing this this way,

because James Brown should be saved for last.

He jumped on his own jet and flew in.

He's going to perform for you tonight,

then he's going back to Cincinnati

to perform for the folks and take them the message.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Black media were like, "Okay, James Brown."

Those of us who knew him already knew where he stood.

-Meeting with James Meredith

galvanized James Brown's sense of public service.

-♪ Everybody

♪

♪ You might give out

♪ But don't give up

[ Crowd shouting ]

-How one person could change the world.

And two weeks later, his first message song,

"Don't Be a Dropout," was recorded.

-Hi. This is James Brown.

This is kind of unusual way to come into your home.

This record is dedicated to the kids in school

and also the young adults

that might be able to go to night school.

As a reminder, don't be a dropout.

-"Don't Be a Dropout"

was talking to other kids in the community

that came up in communities just like him.

He knew that being educated was a tool, a way out,

a way to get on the same level with the white man, so to speak.

He really pushed especially my sister and I

to get as educated as we could.

Got my doctorate in pharmacy, and Dad was really proud.

-I didn't get a chance to get a formal education.

I was trying to really survive.

I got a doctor's degree in the street.

-James Brown went through what a lot of young black males

are going through, from gangs

to being brought up in very hostile situations.

But to find his footing and be able to sit on a stage

and proudly hold his own,

it's really more powerful than we realize.

-♪ Gotta, gotta listen now, now ♪

-♪ What he said

-♪ Without an education

-♪ Might as well be dead

-♪ Stay in school

-He was a genius, and how he come up

with his ideas was amazing.

It could be in the middle of the night.

[ Telephone rings ] He would call you.

"Are you asleep?" "Uh, well, no, not now."

-He didn't go by any of the classical rules of music,

switching things and putting chords together

that were making musicians turn their head and go,

"What was that?"

You know, minors, the majors and the things.

He was just doing stuff.

♪

-The laws of music were there telling me not to do it,

but I did it my way.

-It wasn't the music that we heard in the early '60s.

It was what was to come,

inspiring, like, the next wave of funk,

the George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelics

of the world and the Sly and the Family Stones of the world.

-♪ I break out

♪ In a cold sweat

♪

-"Cold Sweat" comes out in '67.

Now there's this musical genius coming into play.

You got this real jagged drumbeat

which you had really never heard in popular music before.

-Let's give the drummer some.

-James Brown was the first person

to let the drummer really kind of get some...

-Give the drummers some!

-...and then ride it and rock it.

♪

-I created funk. God and me.

-That "Cold Sweat" record is literally the blueprint.

-I loved "Cold Sweat."

It was a testimony in all its blackness,

in all its sexuality, in all its extravagance.

-Soul music sensation James Brown

was recently banned by the Parks Department

from appearing at the Mosque Amphitheater in Richmond.

Authorities said that Brown was likely to cause a problem

by his habit of hugging and kissing women in the audience.

♪

-My mother and my father met

at Carr's Beach in Annapolis, Maryland.

My mom was sitting at the bar talking to one of the Flames,

and my dad walked past and, you know, double take.

-And he's like, "Is that you?"

That's how people used to do it back then.

"Is that you?"

-"Tell her to follow me."

-♪ Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa

♪ Men have named you

-My mom is 14 years younger than my dad.

He was already this big superstar,

and he was coming to perform.

-They exchanged numbers, and she's like,

"He's never gonna call."

-February of 1968,

my mother went to New York to stay the weekend with Dad.

You know, a little fun weekend.

She never went back home.

A month later, I was conceived,

and it was only a few weeks

before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

-Mr. Martin Luther King, he's dead.

I don't know.

I hope it don't cost no more lives.

I hope everybody can understand what's happening now,

because now is the time to understand.

-We all loved Dr. Martin Luther King.

I knowed him personally.

And he was a fine man.

♪ Nobody knows

♪ When you leave me

♪ It makes me cry

♪

♪ Ohhhh, oh

-1968, the chaos of that year

created a lot of damage, destruction,

and, in some cases, opportunity.

James Brown found himself

as the most popular black entertainer

with credibility in the community.

That was tested when Martin Luther King

was murdered on April 4th.

-By April 5th, many of the cities in America

were blowing up with anger and frustration

that had peaked with that gunshot in Memphis.

-I was thinking about the day when we filmed, um, at the park,

standing there, and I was looking out.

I guess I'm real concerned about people.

I went from black America

and I started talking to white America,

and I was saying, "These are the things that has to be done."

-A curfew is now in effect.

Please keep off the streets.

-Dad was already ready to perform in Boston

at the Boston Gardens that night.

-It was very questionable

whether there should be a concert on April 5th

in Boston or anywhere else.

Events all over the country had been canceled.

There were frantic phone calls

between James Brown's people and the mayor's office.

It was decided, somewhat reluctantly

on the part of some of the officials in Boston,

that the show should continue, but it should be televised.

-While James was -- was happy to be able to perform

and have that impact on people,

there were elements of, "Wait a second.

I didn't sign up for a free TV broadcast of my show."

-They wanted it to go on TV

so that more people would stay home,

watch it on TV instead of being out in the streets.

-People were in their feelings, ready to react on-camera, riot.

-♪ Can't stand it

♪ Can't stand your love

♪ Good God

♪

Wait a minute.

Step away. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

They alright. It's alright. It's alright. It's alright.

Let me finish the show -- Wait a minute.

Let me finish the show for everybody else, alright?

Okay, let me finish it for everybody else now.

Okay? Hold on. Let me finish the show now.

Come on.

Now, I asked the police to step back

because I figured I could get some respect from my own people.

[ Crowd cheering ]

Hit them things.

[ Song resumes ]

-And he defused all of it.

He basically broke up something

that could have been very catastrophic.

-That was a big deal.

And it saved Boston.

There was no fighting and no looting

and all of that going on like it was going on

in the other major cities like L.A. and Chicago and New York.

In Boston, everybody was in the groove.

-♪ Sometimes I call

♪ Sometimes I ring

♪ Sometimes I ring so hard

♪ Oh, can't stand it

♪ Good God

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah

Oh!

-The very fact that white public officials

asked Mr. Brown to speak to some of these communities

in the wake of the murder of Martin Luther King,

that was fraught with contradiction.

Mr. Brown had credibility.

He could get people to cool out,

understand that black power meant building your community,

not tearing it down.

But at the same time, there were whispers

that, "You're operating with the establishment."

James Brown in 1968

was looking for who he could connect with that was in charge.

-♪ So good -♪ So good

-Mellow. [ Laughter ]

-You just returned from Vietnam, a USO tour.

What did you find there?

-It was hard.

It was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

I find myself, in some instances, fighting two wars.

Uh, we have a war there.

Well, three wars -- war against poverty

and, uh, segregation in certain parts.

-James Brown's appeal cut across class lines

in the black community

and across political lines in the black community.

So people that had bourgeois aspirations,

people that had revolutionary aspirations,

James Brown affected everyone.

-♪ Unh

♪ With your bad self

♪ Say it loud

♪

♪ Some people say we've got a lot of malice ♪

♪ Some say it's a lot of nerve

♪ But I say we won't quit moving till we get what we deserve ♪

-The Black Panthers pressured James Brown.

If you soul brother number one

and you're the most influential person

in the black community in terms of music,

then you need to do something that's a little more clear

in standing for what we're talking about.

-♪ Say it loud

♪

-You're not gonna tell James Brown what to do.

But Stokely Carmichael told me, Kwame Ture told me,

he said, "Yo, we was on him left and right, man.

Yo, yo. What's up? This is what's going down."

-I'm militant, but I'm militant individually, you know?

-To get ahead. -That's right.

I'll fight. I won't pull you or some of my people in.

If I figure that I'm getting a raw deal,

then I'll reassign myself.

-That was his signal to the black radical movement,

"I'm down with y'all."

-The black people in America

wanted to be called anything but black.

So I said, "I'm gonna write something

that will take that stigma out of their mind."

♪ Say it loud

-♪ I'm black and I'm proud

-Aah!

This is the things that I can do,

'cause people believe in me.

-There was this notion

that this term "black power" was scary to people.

And then you have a song.

You have people being affirmed.

-♪ Say it loud

♪ I'm black and I'm proud

-I was born in 1960, Chuck D, Carlton Ridenhour, right?

I got "Negro" on my birth certificate.

Born in Queens, New York.

-"Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud."

Overnight, from Negro to black.

He changed our self-identity. He changed the culture.

And he changed how white America looked at us,

because it's different when your chest is out and you're proud,

'cause now you got to handle me differently.

I'm a black man. I've got to take part in my cause.

I got to take part in my fight for freedom,

for equality, and take a stand where it's needed.

-That song was dangerous, aggressive, and political.

But I'm 8 years old.

How do I give a damn? All I know, it's funky.

I'm saying the word "black."

And we ain't "colored" no more.

-James Brown was willing to go against

all of the teachings of Western civilization

that demeans blackness and valorizes whiteness,

and to take the medium that you're in

and to turn that upside down,

all of a sudden everyone had permission

because of James Brown, because of that song.

-"Say It Loud -- I'm Black and I'm Proud,"

he was prophesying a future that hadn't yet existed.

he was prophesying a future that hadn't yet existed.

To start in this country as (bleep)

To start in this country as (bleep)

To start in this country and then to be called colored,

and then there was a new way of thinking.

-♪ I'm black and I'm proud

-That's probably one of the most bravest things

-That's probably one of the most bravest things

and the most political thing that James Brown has ever done.

It's the original Black Lives Matter.

-As important as "Say It Loud" was,

the next record he made

that had any specific reference to politics

was, "I don't want nobody to give me nothing.

Open up the door, and I'll get it myself."

-♪ I don't want nobody to give me nothing ♪

♪ Open up the door

♪ I'll get it myself

-He was the only one who had the freedom

and the common sense to manage himself.

His manager, Ben Bart, passed away in 1968.

The head of King Records passed away in 1968.

James was in complete control of himself.

-♪ Don't give me integration

♪ Give me true communication

♪ Don't give me sorrow

♪ I want equal opportunity

♪ To live tomorrow

♪ Give me schools

-We're going to start the press conference.

And for your convenience, we have prepared a proposal

that sets forth all the details and mechanics

of the Black and Brown Trading Stamp.

-The James Brown trading stamp idea

was with Art Powell of the Oakland Raiders.

It was with Donald Warden,

who had this whole black nationalist organization.

And in essence, you could pay for some of your means

with a currency that was developed by your own people.

-This is the idea of us getting together,

an idea of keeping the money in the black community.

-There were roughly 700 black-owned businesses.

Customers could really take these stamps

and go redeem it for a loaf of bread

or a haircut or get gas.

So one of the things about those stamps

is the community building, black ownership,

but also keeping wealth in the community.

-If we can keep the turnover going,

then we shall overcome, only if we all come over.

-Yow!

♪

-Get your James Brown program.

-Most people in the black community

believe in financial power,

and James Brown does have that financial power,

from little babies on up to the businessmen.

-James Brown is the original entrepreneur mogul.

He got a private jet.

There was nobody with private jets that was black.

Restaurants, 500 suits, mansions,

and on three radio stations.

-This is Tony Scott reporting Pulse Beat news

from WRDW Augusta, a James Brown station.

♪

-It wasn't just about the music.

It was about, "What can I do for my community

and put in my community to bring them up?"

-James Brown was probably at the peak of his popularity,

certainly in black America.

His influence was starting to cross over

because, you know, he had played at Nixon's inauguration.

-♪ Oh, yeah

♪ You're kidding me

♪ Alright

♪ You're outta sight

-For James Brown to sing that song at the White House

to affirm that black people were a large part

of the fabric of this country,

he was really speaking to them to show,

like, "Now that we have Nixon in the White House,

we have to hold him accountable,"

and that was a brave thing for him to do.

-He never lost sight of the fact

that this ancillary role,

as the spokesperson for the black community,

had a very delicate pro and con on his business model.

But by the same token, it was like, "Okay,

I'm going to make a song called 'Mother Popcorn'

and just get people to dance."

-♪ I like 'em tall

♪ I like 'em proud

♪ And when they walk

♪ You know they draw a crowd

♪ See, you gotta have a mutha for me ♪

-"Mother "Popcorn" says "you got to have a mutha for me",

and "mother" meant a woman with a substantial behind.

[ Laughs ]

-His treatment towards women, the baggage that he brought,

you know, is there ever a context for that?

We love to take from our entertainers,

and we love to take so much,

we ignore the B-side of the record.

-There's a lot of people who have asked me,

"How could you have worked for such a guy

who was narcissistic and unfair and mistreated his women?"

He physically abused several of the musicians in his band,

background singers on tour, and the women in his personal life.

He could be sweet one day and violent the next.

-There's a lot of contradictions going on

with James Brown's life right now

and during this time period.

Velma, James's wife, divorces him

because he gets Deedee pregnant with Dee Brown, his daughter.

To really complicate matters, he's about to lose the best band

he's ever had in his life.

-The band, they wanted more money.

They wanted separate rooms.

They saw all that money. They said,

They saw all that money. They said,

"If you don't pay us tonight,"

they said, "We're going to walk."

-James Brown calls his band's bluff and they abruptly leave.

-I try to build an image of a black man to do anything,

any major move on his own,

and that's one of the reasons I'm out here,

because I try to prove every day that a black man

can run a multi-million-dollar operation.

-We had some of the best musicians in the world,

but he had his own way of doing things.

-I had just turned 19.

We did this gig at this place called The Wine Bar,

and the bartender said,

"Bootsy, Bobby Byrd's on the phone."

And I'm like, "No. No way.

No way Bobby Byrd on the phone."

He's like, "Yeah, yeah."

And I was like, "Bobby, what's going on?"

"Mr. Brown -- Mr. Brown want you all to come down here and play."

I'm like, "He want us to what?"

-One, two, three, four.

Make them ones. Yeah.

-Probably the most important move in James Brown's career

is bringing in Bootsy Collins,

his slightly older brother, Catfish.

-The song "Sex Machine" came about on a bus.

On the bus. We were traveling down the road.

-And make sure you get that phrase

because this is it, you know?

-James and I was doing the song.

Bootsy was there, and they recorded the song with us.

-Him and Bobby Byrd sitting in the chairs here.

Me and Catfish right behind him.

"Bobby. Right to Danny. Get up! Right there.

I feel like a sex machine."

They started writing, alright?

And "What kind of what kind of groove

you got there? Somewhere around here."

-One, two, three, four.

♪ Get up, get on up ♪

♪ Get up, get on up

♪ Stay on the scene, get on up ♪

♪ Like a sex machine, get on up ♪

-That was my brother's band,

and all the rest of us was the one that became The J.B.'s.

-That band was probably the most important

because James Brown needed that band more

than that band needed James Brown,

even though that band needed James Brown

to start their own careers.

-Clyde Stubblefield, Bootsy Catfish,

Bobby Byrd, Fred Wesley.

That was the rhythm section that defined funk.

-♪ I got to, I got to

♪ I said give me a place to rest ♪

♪ I said give me a place to rest ♪

♪ I said give me that, give me that ♪

-There's nothing like James Brown interacting with the band.

That's part of that whole jazz/improvization thing

that separates him from his peers.

-Hit it and quit it.

♪

[ Cheers and applause ]

-If you got into James's band

and you learn how to play like James wanted you to play

and you were precise,

it could only make you better.

Now, if you took those things somewhere else as Bootsy did,

you become Bootsy the artist,

you become Parliament-Funkadelic.

You become all of those things

because that's what you learn from James.

-♪ Bring it up now

-It's very rare when you have someone

who can be both a pioneer and understand

how to capture a business model and monetize a business model

that they pioneered.

-♪ Fade it on out, I'm gone ♪

Luckily, I'm with the biggest company in the world.

I was their first artist,

R&B Polydor, and I thought it was a bad deal,

and now it's the best thing I've ever had in my life.

-It actually speaks, I think,

to the acumen of Polydor, to sign James,

which I think did wonderful things for Polydor as a label.

-People Records was the James Brown label

distributed by Polydor.

So all of his artists were put out on People Records.

-♪ Yeah, whoo

-♪ It takes two to make a thing go right ♪

-♪ Come on

-♪ It takes two to make it out of sight ♪

-When you listen to the music for, like,

"Think", for example, Lyn Collins,

you hear the attitude on wax.

You hear her yell, just like James would yell.

-James was totally prolific as a producer.

They would go in the studio and just crank out grooves.

-He believed that if you worked hard, you'll be rewarded.

He was a true capitalist.

-♪ Ooh

-James Brown was almost a political figure in many ways.

1960s and 1970s.

What he was primarily interested in

was black self-empowerment.

In 1972, for him, that was Richard Nixon.

He discarded all of the racist stuff,

and he just zeroed in

on that message of entrepreneurship.

-And so, when Nixon was espousing --

may not necessarily be following through with these promises --

Mr. Brown saw it as a way to free black people.

-In my community, the ghetto where I'm from,

one of the things that has taken advantage of us

and that we haven't taken advantage of it,

was the politics.

-Can you tell us specifically

what you're doing to deal with what some consider

to be this distrust among the blacks?

-My task force on education pointed out

that I was not considered --

I think the words they used -- as a friend

by many of our black citizens in America.

-Well, I'm endorsing President Nixon

because I believe the future of the country

lies with Mr. Nixon.

Some of the things he's done have been very close

to my heart as a minority, as a black man.

It's happening in private black colleges

so we can maintain our culture as well as get an education.

He's the man for the job.

-♪ Like a dull knife

♪ Just ain't cuttin'

♪ Just talking loud

♪ And saying nothing

-James Brown was going with the top dog.

-He wasn't the only one. Sammy Davis did the same thing.

There were a lot of brothers who thought that

once you get to a certain bracket,

that you can be a part of this party, the Republican Party.

-When James Brown cosigned Nixon,

my parents went crazy.

Like, "How could you? How could you?"

I don't know what his thinking was.

I don't know what his thinking was.

Like, I was talking to a gentleman the other day.

He said, "Well, you know, saying these kind of things,

you'd be called a tom."

I'm an American, so I've got to think patriotic.

-Me, you, your friend,

your mother, your dad,

President of the United States.

Nobody is as great as the country.

♪ Hey, country, you didn't say what you mean ♪

♪ You just changed, a brand new, funky president ♪

-You've been called to the White House

and you've been before many, many leaders

throughout the country.

Do you feel that whites,

basically, have accepted you?

-I don't like the word "accept", you know?

You're a beautiful young man,

but I think you're interviewing me a little wrong.

-How's that, sir?

-I don't think you understand me.

Number one, I'm not trying to prove nothing to the whites,

that I can be a head (bleep).

See, that's not my bag.

-♪ And this is what you rap to 'em ♪

♪ I mean, come on, like you should ♪

♪ Come on with you, come on ♪

-♪ Yeah

-He was very clear about his place in the context of history

and very clear about being connected to the people.

One of the things that you don't hear associated

with James Brown is clarity.

People listen to that voice,

and when they think of James Brown,

they think blurry, hard to understand,

kind of, you know, "inarticulate", if you will.

He was clear, man. Very clear.

-There's been so many negroes

that sold the black people out.

I'm saying -- This is what I mean.

You know, just like I said it.

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪ Funky, down

-He and Nixon had talked.

A lot of promises were made.

A lot of things were said that didn't never happen.

-And did he really think that Richard Nixon

or some of these other people were going to do what they said?

Probably. Did they? No. Absolutely not.

They were using him for votes.

It's obvious to us now,

but when you really think you can make a difference

for your community by talking to people

that can make a difference,

that's what his mindset was on.

-Was endorsing Richard Nixon during that time

equivalent to selling your community out?

Absolutely. It was.

-♪ It ain't no funky job to be found ♪

-Well, I think that him endorsing Nixon

was really --

you know, you don't know what agreement they had.

You can say, "Okay, well, I'll endorse you for this

if you're going to give me that."

It's always been that way in politics and music.

You know, to this day, it's that way.

You have to figure out, "Hey, how can I get in there,

and then how can I get what I need done?"

-♪ Tell him, godfather

♪ Hey, oh

♪ Whooo

-Now, Nixon was telling him one thing,

but when it was time to do

what he supposed to do,

none of that was mentioned.

-James Brown endorsing Nixon

was really more so to push the black agenda,

but unfortunately, it backfired and it cost him record sales

and, you know, just cost him,

you know, just fandom in many cases,

and his hits really stopped coming around that time.

-Everything tanked.

You know, people were like, "Have you lost your mind?"

-And what's important for us to do

as individuals who are part of community,

is you hold your artists accountable.

-They had picketed him at the Apollo,

-Mr. Brown's endorsement of Richard Nixon --

it was a misstep.

-When the going got rough, a lot of people backed up

and walked away from me.

-♪ Hey, listen to the man

♪ Whoo

-♪ I need to be the mayor

♪ So I can change the things around here ♪

-He wrote the song "Papa Don't Take No Mess". I lived it.

-James Brown was never taught

how to be a son, a father, or a husband.

He didn't have those examples to fall back on.

-The violence -- I remember it clear as day.

The last time I ever saw him abuse my mom --

I just remember going over there

and trying to pull him off of her,

and the look that he gave me was like...

-I don't want to bad-mouth Adrienne,

but things started to get crazy about the time she came around.

-I was there when they met.

He said, "Reverend, get her number."

-That was the beginning of a different Mr. Brown.

-Almost every week,

something was happening to put them in the news.

-I mean, he got into some drug problems,

I think also.

Didn't we all?

-He used to get high in what he called "gorilla".

Gorilla is a version of PCP.

-They got into those drugs

and it would turn them into something

that they really shouldn't have been.

-So I'm on the air, and I get the news

that Mr. Brown was in a two-state car chase.

It's like, "What is going on?"

-Someone was using my facilities without my consent.

-He did get his shotgun out of the pickup,

but he did not fire it.

-Four white policemen came up and shot the truck up

and almost shot the black deputy sheriff.

I wasn't afraid of them.

-If James Brown was not who he was,

was not of the race he is,

there's no question that he would not have been

given this sentence.

-He was public enemy number one.

-I'm doing the time, and somebody else did the crime.

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