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fanfics-andstuff · 4 years ago

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Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf

1755-01-11: Olivia and Alexander Hamilton’s Birth - Olivia and Alexander were born in Charlestown, St. Kitts, and Nevis.

1765-01-16: Hamilton’s Father Left - James Hamilton, Olivia and Alexander Hamilton's father, and a Scottish Laird, left Hamilton and his family, most likely due to the fact, Olivia, Alexander, and James Jr. were his illegitimate children. It was a relief for the children because he would always beat up James Jr. and Olivia, trying to protect their youngest sibling.

1766-02-17: Hamilton’s Mother Dies - Rachel Faucette Buck, Hamilton's mother, died on February 19, 1768. Cause of death: Yellow Fever. After her death, Alexander and Olivia moved to live with their cousin for a year. Before she died, she gave Olivia the Hamilton ring (gold ring, amethyst pearl-shaped center, and small emerald cut emeralds) that was said to be passed down from generation to generation and a navy blue and dark purple diary, she gave Alexander her necklace from George (5 sapphire petals, a red ruby center, and a thin gold chain).

1766-02-20: Hamiltons In Court - John Lavien (Rachel’s husband) arrived wanting a divorce decree. He wanted the court to reward the entire estate to his son, Peter because the twins were illegitimate. Alexander and Olivia had their uncle, James Lytton, sign a false birth year for court documents that had them add two years their senior. The only thing they got was books taken from Peter, thanks to their uncle.

1767-02-17: Hamilton’s Cousin Committed Suicide and James Jr. Left to Become a Carpenter- Peter Lytton committed suicide over the death of his wife. Alexander and Olivia are now, with no money and family, or destitute orphans. James Jr had to leave the twins behind to become an apprentice of a carpenter.

1771-01-16: Alexander In Charge Of A Trading Charter - Since girls couldn’t work, Alexander had to. Turns out, that Alexander had the perfect “age” for jobs.

1772-08-31: Hurricane Maria Hits - Hurricane Maria hit St. Croix, where Alexander was working and Olivia was nearby to look out for her younger brother.

1772-09-06: Alexander Writes About Hurricane Maria - Alexander wrote to his father describing the storm and gained the attention of the island’s elite. He “wrote his way out”.

1772-12-01: Olivia Receives a Letter That Alexander Died - Somewhere between these months, Olivia gets a letter that the ship Alexander was on sunk and there were no survivors. She was then sold to a family in Setauket, Long Island as a slave, where she meets Benjamin Tallmadge, Anna Smith, Abraham Woodhull, and Caleb Brewster.

1776-09-15: Olivia Gets Freed - Thankfully Olivia was considered white, so she was taught how to improve her grammar, writing, healing, cooking, etc. She still had her Nevis accent, but Olivia could play it off by saying Spanish was her native language. Speaking of languages, Olivia was fluent in French, Latin, Greek, Italian, Danish, and Hebrew. 4 or so years later, Olivia was a free woman.

1777-04-27: Olivia Reunites With Alexander - Olivia gets assigned as a spy for the continental army. The rest of the army gets word that she had the same last name as Alexander’s. After being reintroduced to each other, Olivia forces Alexander to take more care of himself (eating, sleeping).

1777-09-11: Olivia gets shot in the side during the Battle of Brandywine.

1777-10-18: Olivia And Alexander Presumed Dead - Both Hamilton twins jumped in the Schuylkill River and swam deeper, hoping the British Cavalry presumed them dead. They were washed down miles going with the current of the river. Alexander carried her unconscious body to the Patriot camp. Hercules Mulligan found the twins and helped them get to their destination quicker.

1777-10-19: Washington Finds Out The Twins Are His - Olivia woke first and told Washington to read her diary for answers because she was too tired. He found out about Olivia’s life story and found out Olivia Rachel and Alexander James Hamilton were his biological children. Washington then found out about the Hamilton family ring and Rachel’s flower necklace. Olivia and Washington swore to never tell this to Alexander and to any human being (not a certain diary written in code that no one, but Olivia and Alexander can understand).

1777-10-20: Olivia sneaks off to the Battle of Paoli, instead of resting.

1777-10-21: The Locket - Washington gave Olivia a gold locket engraved with ‘Together In Mount Vernon, Virginia’ complete with a gold chain. Inside was a portrait of the Hamilsiblings (Alex, Olivia, Ben, and Laf) on the right and a portrait of the Washington couple on the left.

1778-05-25: Olivia Comes Back - After disguising herself as a black-haired, Dutch woman, named Denise Melody, she returned to Washington about the British army. Olivia resigned as a spy because she didn’t want to come back to England ever again. But mostly, she was afraid that King George III would force her to marry him.

1778-05-26: Olivia Becomes The First Woman General - After listening from every soldier in the Continental Army, General George Washington makes Olivia a General. The only difference is that she would be traveling with the main camp because she doesn't have enough experience to lead her own army. She helped train the under-trained soldiers, sewed clothes for those who were practically naked, negotiated with wealthy families to give the army food, helped with the battle plans because of her knowledge as a spy, and her overall kindness and empathy to everyone helped her rise to the top to not only the soldiers but to the rest of the people in the Colonies.

1778-06-28: The Battle of Monmouth - Olivia saves Benjamin Tallmadge from William Bradford when Charles Lee ordered him to. The rest of the army arrives behind Washington. Olivia participates in the Battle of Monmouth.

1778-09-15: Olivia And Lafayette’s Relationship - In Olivia’s diary, she didn’t specify the date because she wrote “I believe it is the 15th of September 1778”. In the entry, she wrote about her and Lafayette’s relationship began as platonic but over time, it became romantic.

1778-11-01: Olivia Joins The Culper Ring - After begging and pleading to her father and Commander in Chief, Olivia joins the Culper Spy Ring with the rest of the members: Benjamin Tallmadge, Caleb Brewster, Anna Strong, Abigail, Abraham Woodhull, and Robert Townsend. Olivia gets a golden band from Apollo that helps disguise her appearance with the use of the mist, she gives the other rings to the other members. They created a cover that the golden rings were from their deceased family member. In reality, they used it to signal the others when they need help or have information about the British.

1778-12-15: Olivia As a Maid - Olivia disguises herself as a beaten and branded girl as a Caribbean slave, even though she was white by the Continental Army to John André's home to spy on him. She later resigns from her post before her next battle.

1779-07-16: Stony Point - Olivia helps capture Stony Point, New York with the army.

1779-11-17: Olivia And John Get Married - To keep the relationship between John and Alexander less suspicious, Olivia proposed a marriage proposal to John’s father; Henry, who knew about their secret relationship, agreed. Even though both adults were married, they had no love for the other than familial love. They agreed that their marriage was only public and behind closed doors, they would seek out their paramour (John-Alexander and Olivia-Lafayette).

1780-06-17: Olivia’s Quadruplets - 9 months later, Olivia gave birth to 4 children: Rachel Olivia, Alexander John, George Benjamin, and Elizabeth Gilberta Laurens from oldest to youngest. The godparents of each child were Olivia-Martha Washington, Alexander-George Washington, George-Benjamin Tallmadge, and Elizabeth-Lafayette. Because of this, Olivia took a break from the army for a while.

1780-09-23: Caleb Brewster and Olivia Find Out Arnold's A Traitor - After talking with Anna Strong, Brewster and Olivia ride full speed towards West Point, NY to deliver the message to George Washington. Ben and Olivia tried to shoot Arnold, but due to their closeness, they couldn't.

1780-10-02: John André Hanged - André was born a child of Athena and knew about the Greek Gods. He knew that Olivia was spying on him, but didn't comment on it until they were in private before his execution. The Fates had cut his string in front of him when Olivia posed as a maid and had demigod dreams of his death. John knew that Olivia was a legacy of Apollo and Athena, he didn't want to hurt his family.

1780-12-14: Alexander and Eliza Get Married - Eliza accepted John’s relationship with her husband as long as Alexander doesn’t cheat on her with other women.

1780-12-15: Olivia Boards L'Hermione - Olivia joins Lafayette to bring down turncoat Benedict Arnold. They join 1, 200 troops and sail south to Virginia.

1781-05-20: Abraham Boards L'Hermione - Abraham gets captured by the French and gave information to Lafayette, but before anything else happens, the ship gets attacked by cannons. When Brewster and Olivia identify Abraham as a spy for the Culper Ring named Samuel Culper Sr, they sail to Yorktown, Virginia.

1781-09-28: The Battle Of Yorktown - Olivia gets shot 3 times during the battle but recovered soon after. Lafayette soon bid Olivia farewell to sail back to France. Olivia gives him her very long lock of braided hair inside a portrait locket necklace of her for him to remember her by. He also gives her a braided lock of his hair and a portrait locket of himself.

1782-01-22: Olivia Becomes An Aunt - Phillip Hamilton was born.

1782-08-27: John Laurens Dies - Olivia, Alexander, Hercules, and Lafayette get letters from Henry Laurens that John died in South Carolina. In her letter, Olivia receives her husband’s wedding ring. Heartbroken, Olivia vows to never marry again.

1782-09-01: Olivia And Alexander Return To New York - Olivia gets a house in Harlem near her brother and his family. She led a quiet life with her children, unlike Alexander, for a while.

1783-01-01: Olivia Bids Angelica Farewell - Over the course of the years, Olivia and Angelica became best friends. She hated the fact that Angelica and her family would go back to the same country they fought for years.

1783-06-20: Pennsylvania Mutiny - Olivia watches the 10 leaders of the Pennsylvania Mutiny be gunned down by their own men beside Alexander and Ben.

1783-09-03: The End Of The Revolution - The Treaty of Paris was finally signed which negotiated between America and Great Britain, ended the revolution, and recognized America as an independent.

1787-10-?: Alexander Asks Olivia To Co-Write The Federalist Papers - Sometime before the writing of the Federalist Papers, Alexander asks Olivia to co-write it with John Jay, James Madison, and himself. Olivia politely declined because she believed that the three men could do it without her.

1787-05-25: The Twins Go To The Constitutional Convention - Olivia Hamilton Laurens and Alexander Hamilton were one-half of the New York delegates. The former was the only woman to go to the Constitutional Convention. Though the twins did little in writing the Constitution, they signed the paper anyway.

1789-02-04: Olivia Becomes The First Woman Vice President - Olivia ran for President all in good fun. The results were unanimous because she was one of the contributing factors that helped America become independent, only second to George Washington, and became the Vice President of the United States.

1790-03-22: Olivia Meets Thomas Jefferson - When Jefferson and Olivia met, let’s just say that they will forever be enemies. This is partly the reason why Alexander and Jefferson were also enemies.

1790-06-20: Olivia Refuses To Go To The Jefferson Dinner - Olivia doesn’t go to the dinner with Jefferson, Madison, Alexander, and a few others saying she had other things to do. But she doesn’t go because she didn’t want to be caught in the middle of a verbal fight between Alexander and Jefferson, again.

1791-07-05: Olivia Finds Out About Alexander’s Affair - Alexander needed to speak to someone about his affair with Maria Reynolds, so he went to Olivia (naturally). Olivia slaps him and tells him about his promise to Eliza when he married her. She tells him if her husband finds out and tells/writes you to give him money to keep the affair a secret, he himself would pay entirely.

1792-?-?: Olivia Receives Word About Lafayette’s Capture - Historians would never know the date when Olivia gets a letter that Lafayette fled from France and in prison because she only wrote the year and stopped writing in her diary for the rest of that year. They figured that she was extremely heartbroken to write.

1793-02-25: Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf - Olivia was poisoned by a loyalist named Micheal Key. Thankfully the poison was expired and went on to sit in Mount Vernon for hours talking about the establishment of the first U.S. bank. But due to Olivia’s frail and weak body for not eating and sleeping at the correct times, she became gravely ill. She sent her four children to Setauket with Abraham Woodhull. the week before. The four mentioned people came to her room in Mount Vernon. minutes before Olivia died. She gave Washington the locket he gave her all those years ago, gave Benjamin her sun hair comb he gave her when the war was over and her golden spy ring, gave Eliza her and John’s wedding rings and gave Alexander the Hamilton family ring and her diary (she instructed him to only read the entry about their true heritage when he is on his deathbed). She then instructed Ben to give Lafayette, her one true love, to give the gift he gave her when they started their relationship, a sapphire bracelet when he visits America once more. Olivia told the three to forgive her for leaving too early, she remembered the time she gave Washington piano lessons (which failed), the time where she forced Alexander to eat and sleep more regularly, and the time where she helped Eliza with her pregnancy with Phillip and her other children. She sang, “Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf,” which she does when she tries to reassure those around her. Olivia’s last words were, “I’ll see all of you on the other side, John, my love, I’m coming.” She was buried in Trinity Church Cemetery with a large monument. When the States learned of her death, the nation stopped working for days. Everyone who knew her (which was a lot) attended the funeral ceremony. Washington placed a bronze statue of Olivia depicting her holding a gun in her right hand and her diary in her left hand with the four rings on her fingers to show that women too, can be powerful.

1793-02-26: Micheal Key Hanged - Because he assassinated the Vice President, Micheal John Key was hanged the next day at noon.

1867-01-11: Olivia On Currency - In memory of Olivia, they put her face on the $20 on her birthday. However, in 1928, she was briefly replaced by Andrew Jackson but quickly regained her place after much controversy.

1999-12-15: Olivia Becomes Lyria - Olivia Rachel Hamilton Laurens, rebirthed to Lyria Eclair Graham de Vanily, the most powerful demigoddess of her century.

#oliviarachelhamilton #Olivia Hamilton #Alexander Hamilton #turn amc #turn: washington's spies #I finally figured out how to do the read more link

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thisisasideblogforbooks · 5 years ago

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bi books for twenty-biteen!

so in honor of pride month in our blessed year of twenty-biteen, i wanted to recommend some books that feature prominent bisexual characters! most of these are already very well-known books and series, but i thought it’d be fun to honor my fellow bisexuals out there with a list! also, there is a shocking lack of bi females included on this list, and i am currently on the hunt for more if anyone wants to rec me some!

with that aside, lets get into the list!

i’m gonna start with series:

1. the six of crows duology by leigh bardugo: this action-packed duology contains two bi main characters, one of which is female and one who is male. they both own my heart, as well as the rest of the characters in this series. highly recommend!

2. the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater: this series revolves around a tight-knit group of friends (that you’ll wish you were a part of) searching for a dead welsh king. one of the main characters is bi, but what i like about this series is that its not a big deal. as important as stories of self-discovery are, it’s refreshing to see a character who is just bi, and no one cares at all.

3. shades of magic trilogy by v.e. schwab: this trilogy contains two bisexual guys, as well as some awesome world-building and a super cool take on magic! this is the most recently read series on my list, and i really enjoyed it!

4. openly straight and honestly ben by bill konigsberg: these books def have their flaws, but i’m putting them on this list because they were really important to me when i was figuring out my sexuality. the way the bi character in this series talks about his sexuality really spoke to me at a very important time in my life. warning for slight biphobia that i don’t think was handled amazingly, but still fun books! (NOTE: someone has added to this post that ben does not identify as bi. it’s been several years since i read the books, and i forgot that this is the case. i will leave this here, but just be aware that while he is in relationships with girls and a boy, he does not identify as bi and chooses not to use labels!!!)

5. i also want to mention the trials of apollo by rick riordan! it is far from my favorite series by rick, but the main character makes several references to his past relationships with both men and women, which i feel is super important to see in a middle grade series! (if you want a laugh, look at the one-star reviews on amazon. 99% are mad homophobic/biphobic parents)

and now onto stand-alones:

1. the gentleman’s guide to vice and virtue by mackenzi lee: the physical embodiment of disaster bi. the protagonist is a mess and i love him for it. this is also historical fiction with some magic! honestly what more could you ask for? (there’s also a sequel that i am planning to read as soon as i get my hands on it that centers around his ace younger sister!)

2. grasshopper jungle by andrew smith: next on the list is another disaster bi! let me tell you, this book is a TRIP. i couldn’t stop thinking about it for weeks after i read it. the main character is bi and also in love with both his girlfriend and best friend (see what i mean by disaster?). is he an asshole? absolutely. but an undeniably entertaining one.

3. little and lion by brandy colbert: this book is so underrated, i swear. the main character is a black jewish bisexual girl and i related to her on SO many levels. this book focuses on her coming to terms with her sexuality, but also on the importance of family and it’s so good please pick it up!

4. autoboyography by christina lauren: this book centers around a bi teenage boy living in a very conservative mormon community. i’m not gonna lie, it’s definitely got its flaws, but i’m a sucker for romance what can i say? it’s no doubt a fun summer read.

5. running with lions by julian winters: like autoboyography, there were some things that irked me with the plot (one of these being the treatment of the only prominent female character). that being said, the book centers around a super accepting soccer team with kids of all sorts of sexualities, including our bisexual protagonist! there’s a refreshing lack of toxic masculinity that i am so here for. it’s a cute read!

6. leah on the offbeat by becky albertalli: the sequel to simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda, this book centers on the relationship between simon’s two bi female friends. although leah is not the most likable protagonist in my opinion, there were definitely moments i found myself relating to her. becky really said bi rights with this book.

7. carry on by rainbow rowell: this follows the story of the “chosen one” who has no idea wtf he’s doing. it’s got enemies to friends to lovers and magic, which are two of my favorite things. although he never states that he is bi in the book, i included carry on here because he has a relationship with both a girl and a boy and he appears to be attracted to both of them. (p.s. this won’t be a stand-alone for long as a sequel will be released later this year!)

8. radio silence by alice oseman: this novel features a bisexual, half-ethiopian female protagonist and focuses on the pressure of school and the importance of friendship. also, there’s a podcast. the friendship between the two main characters was the sweetest thing and i loved this novel. (also want to give a shout-out to alice oseman’s webcomic heartstopper, which focuses on the relationship between nick and charlie, who are bi and gay respectively. these characters can also be found in her novel solitaire.)

9. ramona blue by julie murphy: this book centers around a girl who is convinced she only likes girls until she starts to fall for a boy. it is a sort of self-discovery that is not often found in literature, but i know several of my friends that went through a very similar path and this book means a lot to them. i loved seeing ramona’s journey, and enjoyed this book a lot!

10. red, white, and royal blue by casey mcquiston: this is the newest book on this list, and let me just tell you, the rep in this book is phenomenal. the main character is the bisexual, half-mexican first son of the first female president of the united states, and it tells this story of his relationship with the prince of england. honestly need i say more? cause i will. his best friend is also bi and i’m in love with her. this book has literally so many of my favorite things: royalty, enemies to friends to lovers, fake relationship (kind of), strong female characters, and so much more. definitely a quick, fun summer read to get in the spirit of pride month!

please add to this list with more books with bisexual rep that i missed! i would love to get more book recs :)

happy pride everyone!

#booklr #book recs #lgbt #specifically the b #twentybiteen #soc #trc #adsom #carry on

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blackkudos · 5 years ago

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James Brown

James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. A progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music and dance, he is often referred to as the "Godfather of Soul" and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted over 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres.

Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia. He joined a rhythm and blues vocal group, the Gospel Starlighters (which later evolved into the Famous Flames) founded by Bobby Byrd, in which he was the lead singer. First coming to national public attention in the late 1950s as a member of the singing group The Famous Flames with the hit ballads "Please, Please, Please" and "Try Me", Brown built a reputation as a tireless live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with the live album Live at the Apollo and hit singles such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World".

During the late 1960s, Brown moved from a continuum of blues and gospel-based forms and styles to a profoundly "Africanized" approach to music-making that influenced the development of funk music. By the early 1970s, Brown had fully established the funk sound after the formation of the J.B.s with records such as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and "The Payback". He also became noted for songs of social commentary, including the 1968 hit "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud". Brown continued to perform and record until his death from pneumonia in 2006.

Brown recorded 17 singles that reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts. He also holds the record for the most singles listed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart which did not reach No. 1. Brown was inducted into 1st class of the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013 as an artist and then in 2017 as a songwriter. He also received honors from many other institutions, including inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In Joel Whitburn's analysis of the Billboard R&B charts from 1942 to 2010, Brown is ranked No. 1 in The Top 500 Artists. He is ranked No. 7 on Rolling Stone's list of its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Rolling Stone has also cited Brown as the most sampled artist of all time.

Early life

Brown was born on May 3, 1933, in Barnwell, South Carolina, to 16-year-old Susie (née Behling; 1917–2003), and 22-year-old Joseph Gardner Brown (1911–1993), in a small wooden shack. Brown's name was supposed to have been Joseph James Brown Jr., but his first and middle names were mistakenly reversed on his birth certificate. He later legally changed his name to remove "Jr." In his autobiography, Brown stated that he also had Chinese and Native American ancestry, and that his father was of mixed African-American and Native American descent, whilst his mother was of mixed African-American and Asian descent. The Brown family lived in extreme poverty in Elko, South Carolina, which was an impoverished town at the time. They later moved to Augusta, Georgia, when James was four or five. His family first settled at one of his aunts' brothels. They later moved into a house shared with another aunt. Brown's mother eventually left the family after a contentious and abusive marriage and moved to New York. Brown spent long stretches of time on his own, hanging out in the streets and hustling to get by. He managed to stay in school until the sixth grade.

He began singing in talent shows as a young child, first appearing at Augusta's Lenox Theater in 1944, winning the show after singing the ballad "So Long". While in Augusta, Brown performed buck dances for change to entertain troops from Camp Gordon at the start of World War II as their convoys traveled over a canal bridge near his aunt's home. He learned to play the piano, guitar, and harmonica during this period. He became inspired to become an entertainer after hearing "Caldonia" by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five. In his teen years, Brown briefly had a career as a boxer. At the age of 16, he was convicted of robbery and sent to a juvenile detention center in Toccoa. There, he formed a gospel quartet with four fellow cellmates, including Johnny Terry. Brown met singer Bobby Byrd when the two played against each other in a baseball game outside the detention center. Byrd also discovered that Brown could sing, after hearing of "a guy called Music Box", which was Brown's musical nickname at the prison. Byrd has since claimed he and his family helped to secure an early release, which led to Brown promising the court he would "sing for the Lord". Brown was released on a work sponsorship with Toccoa business owner S.C. Lawson. Lawson was impressed with Brown's work ethic and secured his release with a promise to keep him employed for two years. Brown was paroled on June 14, 1952. He would go on to work with both of Lawson's sons, and would come back to visit the family from time to time throughout his career. Shortly after being paroled he joined the gospel group the Ever-Ready Gospel Singers, featuring Byrd's sister Sarah.

Music career

1953–1961: The Famous Flames

Brown eventually joined Byrd's group in 1954. The group had evolved from the Gospel Starlighters, an a cappella gospel group, to an R&B group with the name the Avons. He reputedly joined the band after one of its members, Troy Collins, died in a car crash. Along with Brown and Byrd, the group consisted of Sylvester Keels, Doyle Oglesby, Fred Pulliam, Nash Knox and Nafloyd Scott. Influenced by R&B groups such as Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, the Orioles and Billy Ward and His Dominoes, the group changed its name, first to the Toccoa Band and then to the Flames. Nafloyd's brother Baroy later joined the group on bass guitar, and Brown, Byrd and Keels switched lead positions and instruments, often playing drums and piano. Johnny Terry later joined, by which time Pulliam and Oglesby had long left.

Berry Trimier became the group's first manager, booking them at parties near college campuses in Georgia and South Carolina. The group had already gained a reputation as a good live act when they renamed themselves the Famous Flames. In 1955, the group had contacted Little Richard while performing in Macon. Richard convinced the group to get in contact with his manager at the time, Clint Brantley, at his nightclub. Brantley agreed to manage them after seeing the group audition. He then sent them to a local radio station to record a demo session, where they performed their own composition "Please, Please, Please", which was inspired when Little Richard wrote the words of the title on a napkin and Brown was determined to make a song out of it. The Famous Flames eventually signed with King Records' Federal subsidiary in Cincinnati, Ohio, and issued a re-recorded version of "Please, Please, Please" in March 1956. The song became the group's first R&B hit, selling over a million copies. None of their follow-ups gained similar success. By 1957, Brown had replaced Clint Brantley as manager and hired Ben Bart, chief of Universal Attractions Agency. That year the original Flames broke up, after Bart changed the name of the group to "James Brown and The Famous Flames".

In October 1958, Brown released the ballad "Try Me", which hit number one on the R&B chart in the beginning of 1959, becoming the first of seventeen chart-topping R&B hits. Shortly afterwards, he recruited his first band, led by J. C. Davis, and reunited with Bobby Byrd who joined a revived Famous Flames lineup that included Eugene "Baby" Lloyd Stallworth and Bobby Bennett, with Johnny Terry sometimes coming in as the "fifth Flame". Brown, the Flames, and his entire band debuted at the Apollo Theater on April 24, 1959, opening for Brown's idol, Little Willie John. Federal Records issued two albums credited to Brown and the Famous Flames (both contained previously released singles). By 1960, Brown began multi-tasking in the recording studio involving himself, his singing group, the Famous Flames, and his band, a separate entity from The Flames, sometimes named the James Brown Orchestra or the James Brown Band. That year the band released the top ten R&B hit "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes" on Dade Records, owned by Henry Stone, billed under the pseudonym "Nat Kendrick & the Swans" due to label issues. As a result of its success, King president Syd Nathan shifted Brown's contract from Federal to the parent label, King, which according to Brown in his autobiography meant "you got more support from the company". While with King, Brown, under the Famous Flames lineup, released the hit-filled album Think! and the following year released two albums with the James Brown Band earning second billing. With the Famous Flames, Brown sang lead on several more hits, including "I'll Go Crazy" and "Think", songs that hinted at his emerging style.

1962–1966: Mr. Dynamite

In 1962, Brown and his band scored a hit with their cover of the instrumental "Night Train", becoming a top five R&B single. That same year, the ballads "Lost Someone" and "Baby You're Right", the latter a Joe Tex composition, added to his repertoire and increased his reputation with R&B audiences. On October 24, 1962, Brown financed a live recording of a performance at the Apollo and convinced Syd Nathan to release the album, despite Nathan's belief that no one would buy a live album due to the fact that Brown's singles had already been bought and that live albums were usually bad sellers.

Live at the Apollo was released the following June and became an immediate hit, eventually reaching number two on the Top LPs chart and selling over a million copies, staying on the charts for 14 months. In 1963, Brown scored his first top 20 pop hit with his rendition of the standard "Prisoner of Love". He also launched his first label, Try Me Records, which included recordings by the likes of Tammy Montgomery (later to be famous as Tammi Terrell), Johnny & Bill (Famous Flames associates Johnny Terry and Bill Hollings) and the Poets, which was another name used for Brown's backing band. During this time Brown began an ill-fated two-year relationship with 17-year-old Tammi Terrell when she sang in his revue. Terrell ended their personal and professional relationship because of his abusive behavior.

In 1964, seeking bigger commercial success, Brown and Bobby Byrd formed the production company, Fair Deal, linking the operation to the Mercury imprint, Smash Records. King Records, however, fought against this and was granted an injunction preventing Brown from releasing any recordings for the label. Prior to the injunction, Brown had released three vocal singles, including the blues-oriented hit "Out of Sight", which further indicated the direction his music was going to take. Touring throughout the year, Brown and the Famous Flames grabbed more national attention after giving an explosive show-stopping performance on the live concert film The T.A.M.I. Show. The Flames' dynamic gospel-tinged vocals, polished choreography and timing as well as Brown's energetic dance moves and high-octane singing upstaged the proposed closing act, the Rolling Stones. Having signed a new deal with King, Brown released his song "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", which became his first top ten pop hit and won him his first Grammy Award. Later in 1965, he issued "I Got You", which became his second single in a row to reach number-one on the R&B chart and top ten on the pop chart. Brown followed that up with the ballad "It's a Man's Man's Man's World", a third Top 10 Pop hit (#1 R&B) which confirmed his stance as a top-ranking performer, especially with R&B audiences from that point on.

1967–1970: Soul Brother No. 1

By 1967, Brown's emerging sound had begun to be defined as funk music. That year he released what some critics cited as the first true funk song, "Cold Sweat", which hit number-one on the R&B chart (Top 10 Pop) and became one of his first recordings to contain a drum break and also the first that featured a harmony that was reduced to a single chord. The instrumental arrangements on tracks such as "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose" and "Licking Stick-Licking Stick" (both recorded in 1968) and "Funky Drummer" (recorded in 1969) featured a more developed version of Brown's mid-1960s style, with the horn section, guitars, bass and drums meshed together in intricate rhythmic patterns based on multiple interlocking riffs.

Changes in Brown's style that started with "Cold Sweat" also established the musical foundation for Brown's later hits, such as "I Got the Feelin'" (1968) and "Mother Popcorn" (1969). By this time Brown's vocals frequently took the form of a kind of rhythmic declamation, not quite sung but not quite spoken, that only intermittently featured traces of pitch or melody. This would become a major influence on the techniques of rapping, which would come to maturity along with hip hop music in the coming decades. Brown's style of funk in the late 1960s was based on interlocking syncopated parts: strutting bass lines, syncopated drum patterns, and iconic percussive guitar riffs. The main guitar ostinatos for "Ain't It Funky" and "Give It Up or Turn It Loose" (both 1969), are examples of Brown's refinement of New Orleans funk; irresistibly danceable riffs, stripped down to their rhythmic essence. On both recordings the tonal structure is bare bones. The pattern of attack-points is the emphasis, not the pattern of pitches, as if the guitar were an African drum, or idiophone. Alexander Stewart states that this popular feel was passed along from "New Orleans—through James Brown's music, to the popular music of the 1970s". Those same tracks were later resurrected by countless hip-hop musicians from the 1970s onward. As a result, James Brown remains to this day the world's most sampled recording artist, but, two tracks that he wrote, are also synonymous with modern dance, especially with house music, jungle music, and drum and bass music, (which were sped up exponentially, in the latter two genres). These songs are, "Funky Drummer", and "Think (About It)", that he wrote for Lynn Collins, and, features his signature, "Whoo - Yeah", which were sampled, on a multitude of late 1980s - early 1990s house music tracks.

"Bring it Up" has an Afro-Cuban guajeo-like structure. All three of these guitar riffs are based on an onbeat/offbeat structure. Stewart says that it "is different from a time line (such as clave and tresillo) in that it is not an exact pattern, but more of a loose organizing principle."

It was around this time as the musician's popularity increased that he acquired the nickname "Soul Brother No. 1", after failing to win the title "King of Soul" from Solomon Burke during a Chicago gig two years prior. Brown's recordings during this period influenced musicians across the industry, most notably groups such as Sly and the Family Stone, Funkadelic, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Booker T. & the M.G.s as well as vocalists such as Edwin Starr, David Ruffin and Dennis Edwards from The Temptations, and Michael Jackson, who, throughout his career, cited Brown as his ultimate idol.

Brown's band during this period employed musicians and arrangers who had come up through the jazz tradition. He was noted for his ability as a bandleader and songwriter to blend the simplicity and drive of R&B with the rhythmic complexity and precision of jazz. Trumpeter Lewis Hamlin and saxophonist/keyboardist Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis (the successor to previous bandleader Nat Jones) led the band. Guitarist Jimmy Nolen provided percussive, deceptively simple riffs for each song, and Maceo Parker's prominent saxophone solos provided a focal point for many performances. Other members of Brown's band included stalwart Famous Flames singer and sideman Bobby Byrd, trombonist Fred Wesley, drummers John "Jabo" Starks, Clyde Stubblefield and Melvin Parker, saxophonist St. Clair Pinckney, guitarist Alphonso "Country" Kellum and bassist Bernard Odum.

In addition to a torrent of singles and studio albums, Brown's output during this period included two more successful live albums, Live at the Garden (1967) and Live at the Apollo, Volume II (1968), and a 1968 television special, James Brown: Man to Man. His music empire expanded along with his influence on the music scene. As Brown's music empire grew, his desire for financial and artistic independence grew as well. Brown bought radio stations during the late 1960s, including WRDW in his native Augusta, where he shined shoes as a boy. In November 1967, James Brown purchased radio station WGYW in Knoxville, Tennessee, for a reported $75,000, according to the January 20, 1968 Record World magazine. The call letters were changed to WJBE reflecting his initials. WJBE began on January 15, 1968, and broadcast a Rhythm & Blues format. The station slogan was "WJBE 1430 Raw Soul". Brown also bought WEBB in Baltimore in 1970.

Brown branched out to make several recordings with musicians outside his own band. In an attempt to appeal to the older, more affluent, and predominantly white adult contemporary audience, Brown recorded Gettin' Down To It (1969) and Soul on Top (1970)—two albums consisting mostly of romantic ballads, jazz standards, and homologous reinterpretations of his earlier hits—with the Dee Felice Trio and the Louie Bellson Orchestra. In 1968, he recorded a number of funk-oriented tracks with The Dapps, a white Cincinnati band, including the hit "I Can't Stand Myself". He also released three albums of Christmas music with his own band.

1970–1975: Godfather of Soul

In March 1970, most of Brown's mid-to-late 1960s road band walked out on him due to money disputes, a development augured by the prior disbandment of The Famous Flames singing group for the same reason in 1968. Brown and erstwhile Famous Flames singer Bobby Byrd (who chose to remain in the band during this tumultuous period) subsequently recruited several members of the Cincinnati-based The Pacemakers, which included Bootsy Collins and his brother Phelps "Catfish" Collins; augmented by the remaining members of the 1960s road band (including Fred Wesley, who rejoined Brown's outfit in December 1970) and other newer musicians, they would form the nucleus of The J.B.'s, Brown's new backing ensemble. Shortly following their first performance together, the band entered the studio to record the Brown-Byrd composition, "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine"; the song and other contemporaneous singles would further cement Brown's influence in the nascent genre of funk music. This iteration of the J.B.'s dissolved after a March 1971 European tour (documented on the 1991 archival release Love Power Peace) due to additional money disputes and Bootsy Collins' use of LSD; the Collins brothers would soon become integral members of Parliament-Funkadelic, while a new lineup of the J.B.'s coalesced around Wesley, St. Clair Pinckney and drummer John Starks.

In 1971, Brown began recording for Polydor Records which also took over distribution of Brown's King Records catalog. Many of his sidemen and supporting players, including Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s, Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, Vicki Anderson and former rival Hank Ballard, released records on the People label, an imprint founded by Brown that was purchased by Polydor as part of Brown's new contract. The recordings on the People label, almost all of which were produced by Brown himself, exemplified his "house style". Several tracks thought by critics to be excessively sexual, were released at this time. He would later soften his vocal approach. Songs such as "I Know You Got Soul" by Bobby Byrd, "Think" by Lyn Collins and "Doing It to Death" by Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s are considered as much a part of Brown's recorded legacy as the recordings released under his own name. That year, he also began touring African countries and was received well by audiences there. During the 1972 presidential election, James Brown openly proclaimed his support of Richard Nixon for reelection to the presidency over Democratic candidate George McGovern. The decision led to a boycott of his performances and, according to Brown, cost him a big portion of his black audience. As a result, Brown's record sales and concerts in the United States reached a lull in 1973 as he failed to land a number-one R&B single that year. Brown relied more on touring outside the United States where he continued to perform for sold-out crowds in cities such as London, Paris and Lausanne. That year he also faced problems with the IRS for failure to pay back taxes, charging he hadn't paid upwards of $4.5 million; five years earlier, the IRS had claimed he owed nearly $2 million.

In 1973, Brown provided the score for the blaxploitation film Black Caesar. He also recorded another soundtrack for the film, Slaughter's Big Rip-Off. Following the release of these soundtracks, Brown acquired a self-styled nickname, "The Godfather of Soul", which remains his most popular nickname. In 1974 he returned to the No. 1 spot on the R&B charts with "The Payback", with the parent album reaching the same spot on the album charts; he would reach No. 1 two more times in 1974, with "My Thang" and "Papa Don't Take No Mess". Later that year, he returned to Africa and performed in Kinshasa as part of the buildup to The Rumble in the Jungle fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Admirers of Brown's music, including Miles Davis and other jazz musicians, began to cite him as a major influence on their own styles. However, Brown, like others who were influenced by his music, also "borrowed" from other musicians. His 1976 single, "Hot (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved)" (R&B #31), interpolated the main riff from "Fame" by David Bowie while omitting any attribution to the latter song's composers (including Bowie, John Lennon and guitarist Carlos Alomar), not the other way around as was often believed. The riff was composed by Alomar, who had briefly been a member of Brown's band in the late 1960s.

"Papa Don't Take No Mess" would prove to be his final single to reach the No. 1 spot on the R&B charts and his final Top 40 pop single of the 1970s, though he continued to occasionally have Top 10 R&B recordings. Among his top ten R&B hits during this latter period included "Funky President" and "Get Up Offa That Thing", the latter song released in 1976 and aimed at musical rivals such as Barry White, The Ohio Players and K.C. and the Sunshine Band. Brown credited his then-wife and two of their children as writers of the song to avoid concurrent tax problems with the IRS. Starting in October 1975, Brown produced, directed, and hosted Future Shock, an Atlanta-based television variety show that ran for three years.

1975–1991: Decline and resurgence

Although his records were mainstays of the vanguard New York underground disco scene exemplified by DJs such as David Mancuso and Francis Grasso from 1969 onwards, Brown did not consciously yield to the trend until 1975's Sex Machine Today. By 1977, he was no longer a dominant force in R&B. After "Get Up Offa That Thing", thirteen of Brown's late 1970s recordings for Polydor failed to reach the Top 10 of the R&B chart, with only "Bodyheat" in 1976 and the disco-oriented "It's Too Funky in Here" in 1979 reaching the R&B Top 15 and the ballad "Kiss in '77" reaching the Top 20. After 1976's "Bodyheat", he also failed to appear on the Billboard Hot 100. As a result, Brown's concert attendance began dropping and his reported disputes with the IRS caused his business empire to collapse. In addition, Brown's former bandmates, including Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker and the Collins brothers, had found bigger success as members of George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic collective. The emergence of disco also stopped Brown's success on the R&B charts because its slicker, more commercial style had superseded his more raw funk productions.

By the release of 1979's The Original Disco Man, Brown was not providing much production or writing, leaving most of it to producer Brad Shapiro, resulting in the song "It's Too Funky in Here" becoming Brown's most successful single in this period. After two more albums failed to chart, Brown left Polydor in 1981. It was around this time that Brown changed the name of his band from the J.B.'s to the Soul Generals (or Soul G's). The band retained that name until his death. Despite the decline in his record sales Brown enjoyed something of a resurgence in this period, starting with appearances in the feature films The Blues Brothers, Doctor Detroit and Rocky IV, as well as guest-starring in the Miami Vice episode "Missing Hours" (1987). In 1984, he teamed with rap musician Afrika Bambaattaa on the song "Unity". A year later he signed with Scotti Brothers Records and issued the moderately successful album Gravity in 1986. It included Brown's final Top 10 pop hit, "Living in America", marking his first Top 40 entry since 1974 and his first Top 10 pop entry since 1968. Produced and written by Dan Hartman, it was also featured prominently on the Rocky IV film and soundtrack. Brown performed the song in the film at Apollo Creed's final fight, shot in the Ziegfeld Room at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and was credited in the film as "The Godfather of Soul". 1986 also saw the publication of his autobiography, James Brown: The Godfather of Soul, co-written with Bruce Tucker. In 1987, Brown won the Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Living in America".

In 1988, Brown worked with the production team Full Force on the new jack swing-influenced album I'm Real. It spawned his final two Top 10 R&B hits, "I'm Real" and "Static", which peaked at No. 2 and No. 5, respectively, on the R&B charts. Meanwhile, the drum break from the second version of the original 1969 hit "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose" (the recording included on the compilation album In the Jungle Groove) became so popular at hip hop dance parties (especially for breakdance) during the early 1980s that hip hop pioneer Kurtis Blow called the song "the national anthem of hip hop".

1991–2006: Final years

After his stint in prison during the late 1980s, Brown met Larry Fridie and Thomas Hart who produced the first James Brown biopic, entitled James Brown: The Man, the Message, the Music, released in 1992. He returned to music with the album Love Over-Due in 1991. It included the single "(So Tired of Standing Still We Got to) Move On", which peaked at No. 48 on the R&B chart. His former record label Polydor also released the four-CD box set Star Time, spanning Brown's career to date. Brown's release from prison also prompted his former record labels to reissue his albums on CD, featuring additional tracks and commentary by music critics and historians. That same year, Brown appeared on rapper MC Hammer's video for "Too Legit to Quit". Hammer had been noted, alongside Big Daddy Kane, for bringing Brown's unique stage shows and their own energetic dance moves to the hip-hop generation; both listed Brown as their idol. Both musicians also sampled his work, with Hammer having sampled the rhythms from "Super Bad" for his song "Here Comes the Hammer", from his best-selling album Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em. Big Daddy Kane sampled many times. Before the year was over, Brown–who had immediately returned to work with his band following his release–organized a pay-per-view concert following a show at Los Angeles' Wiltern Theatre, that was well received.

On June 10, 1991, James Brown and a star-filled line up performed before a crowd at the Wiltern Theatre for a live pay-per-view at-home audience. James Brown: Living in America – Live! was the brainchild of Indiana producer Danny Hubbard. It featuredM.C. Hammer as well as Bell Biv Devoe, Heavy D & the Boys, En Vogue, C+C Music Factory, Quincy Jones, Sherman Hemsley and Keenen Ivory Wayans. Ice-T, Tone Loc and Kool Moe Dee performed paying homage to Brown. This was Brown's first public performance since his parole from the South Carolina prison system in February. He had served two-and-a-half years of two concurrent six-year sentences for aggravated assault and other felonies.

Brown continued making recordings. In 1993 his album Universal James was released. It included his final Billboard charting single, "Can't Get Any Harder", which peaked at No. 76 on the US R&B chart and reached No. 59 on the UK chart. Its brief charting in the UK was probably due to the success of a remixed version of "I Feel Good" featuring Dakeyne. Brown also released the singles "How Long" and "Georgia-Lina", which failed to chart. In 1995, Brown returned to the Apollo and recorded Live at the Apollo 1995. It included a studio track titled "Respect Me", which was released as a single; again it failed to chart. Brown's final studio albums, I'm Back and The Next Step, were released in 1998 and 2002 respectively. I'm Back featured the song "Funk on Ah Roll", which peaked at No. 40 in the UK but did not chart in his native US. The Next Step included Brown's final single, "Killing Is Out, School Is In". Both albums were produced by Derrick Monk. Brown's concert success, however, remained unabated and he kept up with a grueling schedule throughout the remainder of his life, living up to his previous nickname, "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business", in spite of his advanced age. In 2003, Brown participated in the PBS American Masters television documentary James Brown: Soul Survivor, which was directed by Jeremy Marre.

Brown celebrated his status as an icon by appearing in a variety of entertainment and sports events, including an appearance on the WCW pay-per-view event, SuperBrawl X, where he danced alongside wrestler Ernest "The Cat" Miller, who based his character on Brown, during his in-ring skit with The Maestro. Brown then appeared in Tony Scott's short film Beat the Devil in 2001. He was featured alongside Clive Owen, Gary Oldman, Danny Trejo and Marilyn Manson. Brown also made a cameo appearance in the 2002 Jackie Chan film The Tuxedo, in which Chan was required to finish Brown's act after having accidentally knocked out the singer. In 2002, Brown appeared in Undercover Brother, playing himself.

In 2004, Brown performed in Hyde Park, London as a support act for Red Hot Chili Peppers concerts. The beginning of 2005 saw the publication of Brown's second book, I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul, written with Marc Eliot. In February and March, he participated in recording sessions for an intended studio album with Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis, and other longtime collaborators. Though he lost interest in the album, which remains unreleased, a track from the sessions, "Gut Bucket", appeared on a compilation CD included with the August 2006 issue of MOJO. He appeared at Edinburgh 50,000 – The Final Push, the final Live 8 concert on July 6, 2005, where he performed a duet with British pop star Will Young on "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag". The previous week he had performed a duet with another British pop star, Joss Stone, on the United Kingdom chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. In 2006, Brown continued his "Seven Decades of Funk World Tour", his last concert tour where he performed all over the world. His final U.S. performances were in San Francisco on August 20, 2006, as headliner at the Festival of the Golden Gate (Foggfest) on the Great Meadow at Fort Mason. The following day, August 21, he performed at Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA, at a small theatre (800 seats) on campus. His last shows were greeted with positive reviews, and one of his final concert appearances at the Irish Oxegen festival in Punchestown in 2006 was performed for a record crowd of 80,000 people. He played a full concert as part of the BBC's Electric Proms on October 27, 2006, at The Roundhouse, supported by The Zutons, with special appearances from Max Beasley and The Sugababes.

Brown's last televised appearance was at his induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2006, before his death the following month. Before his death, Brown had been scheduled to perform a duet with singer Annie Lennox on the song "Vengeance" for her new album Venus, which was released in 2007.

Later life and death

Illness

On December 23, 2006, Brown became very ill and arrived at his dentist's office in Atlanta, Georgia, several hours late. His appointment was for dental implant work. During that visit, Brown's dentist observed that he looked "very bad ... weak and dazed". Instead of performing the work, the dentist advised Brown to see a doctor right away about his medical condition.

Brown went to the Emory Crawford Long Memorial Hospital the next day for medical evaluation and was admitted for observation and treatment. According to Charles Bobbit, his longtime personal manager and friend, Brown had been struggling with a noisy cough since returning from a November trip to Europe. Yet, Bobbit said, the singer had a history of never complaining about being sick and often performed while ill. Although Brown had to cancel upcoming concerts in Waterbury, Connecticut, and Englewood, New Jersey, he was confident that the doctor would discharge him from the hospital in time for his scheduled New Year's Eve shows at the Count Basie Theatre in New Jersey and the B. B. King Blues Club in New York, in addition to performing a song live on CNN for the Anderson Cooper New Year's Eve special. Brown remained hospitalized, however, and his condition worsened throughout the day.

Death

On Christmas Day 2006, Brown died at approximately 1:45 a.m. EST (06:45 UTC), at age 73, from congestive heart failure, resulting from complications of pneumonia. Bobbit was at his bedside and later reported that Brown stuttered, "I'm going away tonight," then took three long, quiet breaths and fell asleep before dying.

In 2019, an investigation by CNN and other journalists led to suggestions that Brown had been murdered.

Memorial services

After Brown's death, his relatives, a host of celebrities, and thousands of fans gathered, on December 28, 2006, for a public memorial service at the Apollo Theater in New York City and, on December 30, 2006, at the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia. A separate, private ceremony was held in North Augusta, South Carolina, on December 29, 2006, with Brown's family in attendance. Celebrities at these various memorial events included Michael Jackson, Jimmy Cliff, Joe Frazier, Buddy Guy, Ice Cube, Ludacris, Dr. Dre, Little Richard, Dick Gregory, MC Hammer, Prince, Jesse Jackson, Ice-T, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bootsy Collins, LL Cool J, Lil Wayne, Lenny Kravitz, 50 Cent, Stevie Wonder, and Don King. Rev. Al Sharpton officiated at all of Brown's public and private memorial services.

Brown's memorial ceremonies were all elaborate, complete with costume changes for the deceased and videos featuring him in concert. His body, placed in a Promethean casket—bronze polished to a golden shine—was driven through the streets of New York to the Apollo Theater in a white, glass-encased horse-drawn carriage. In Augusta, Georgia, his memorial procession stopped to pay respects at his statue, en route to the James Brown Arena. During the public memorial there, a video showed Brown's last performance in Augusta, Georgia, with the Ray Charles version of "Georgia on My Mind" playing soulfully in the background. His last backup band, The Soul Generals, also played some of his hits during that tribute at the arena. The group was joined by Bootsy Collins on bass, with MC Hammer performing a dance in James Brown style. Former Temptations lead singer Ali-Ollie Woodson performed "Walk Around Heaven All Day" at the memorial services.

Last will and testament

Brown signed his last will and testament on August 1, 2000, before J. Strom Thurmond Jr., an attorney for the estate. The irrevocable trust, separate and apart from Brown's will, was created on his behalf, that same year, by his attorney, Albert "Buddy" Dallas, one of three personal representatives of Brown's estate. His will covered the disposition of his personal assets, such as clothing, cars, and jewelry, while the irrevocable trust covered the disposition of the music rights, business assets of James Brown Enterprises, and his Beech Island estate in South Carolina.

During the reading of the will on January 11, 2007, Thurmond revealed that Brown's six adult living children (Terry Brown, Larry Brown, Daryl Brown, Yamma Brown Lumar, Deanna Brown Thomas and Venisha Brown) were named in the document, while Hynie and James II were not mentioned as heirs. Brown's will had been signed 10 months before James II was born and more than a year before Brown's marriage to Tomi Rae Hynie. Like Brown's will, his irrevocable trust omitted Hynie and James II as recipients of Brown's property. The irrevocable trust had also been established before, and not amended since, the birth of James II.

On January 24, 2007, Brown's children filed a lawsuit, petitioning the court to remove the personal representatives from the estate (including Brown's attorney, as well as trustee Albert "Buddy" Dallas) and appoint a special administrator because of perceived impropriety and alleged mismanagement of Brown's assets. On January 31, 2007, Hynie also filed a lawsuit against Brown's estate, challenging the validity of the will and the irrevocable trust. Hynie's suit asked the court both to recognize her as Brown's widow and to appoint a special administrator for the estate.

On January 27, 2015, Judge Doyet Early III ruled that Tommie Rae Hynie Brown was officially the widow of James Brown. The decision was based on the grounds that Hynie's previous marriage was invalid and that James Brown had abandoned his efforts to annul his own marriage to Hynie.

On February 19, 2015, the South Carolina Supreme Court intervened, halting all lower court actions in the estate and undertaking to review previous actions itself. The South Carolina Court of Appeals in July 2018 ruled that Tommie Rae was, in fact, Mr. Brown's wife.

Artistry and band

For many years, Brown's touring show was one of the most extravagant productions in American popular music. At the time of Brown's death, his band included three guitarists, two bass guitar players, two drummers, three horns and a percussionist. The bands that he maintained during the late 1960s and 1970s were of comparable size, and the bands also included a three-piece amplified string section that played during the ballads. Brown employed between 40 and 50 people for the James Brown Revue, and members of the revue traveled with him in a bus to cities and towns all over the country, performing upwards of 330 shows a year with almost all of the shows as one-nighters.

Concert introduction

Before James Brown appeared on stage, his personal MC gave him an elaborate introduction accompanied by drumrolls, as the MC worked in Brown's various sobriquets along with the names of many of his hit songs. The introduction by Fats Gonder, captured on Brown's 1963 album Live at the Apollo is a representative example:

So now ladies and gentlemen it is "Star Time". Are you ready for "Star Time?" Thank you and thank you very kindly. It is indeed a great pleasure to present to you at this particular time, national and international[ly] known as "The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business", the man that sings "I'll Go Crazy"..."Try Me"..."You've Got the Power"..."Think"..."If You Want Me"..."I Don't Mind"..."Bewildered"... the million dollar seller, "Lost Someone"... the very latest release, "Night Train"... let's everybody "Shout and Shimmy"... "Mr. Dynamite", the amazing "Mr. Please Please" himself, the star of the show, James Brown and The Famous Flames!!

Concert repertoire and format

James Brown's performances were famous for their intensity and length. His own stated goal was to "give people more than what they came for — make them tired, 'cause that's what they came for.'" Brown's concert repertoire consisted mostly of his own hits and recent songs, with a few R&B covers mixed in. Brown danced vigorously as he sang, working popular dance steps such as the Mashed Potato into his routine along with dramatic leaps, splits and slides. In addition, his horn players and singing group (The Famous Flames) typically performed choreographed dance routines, and later incarnations of the Revue included backup dancers. Male performers in the Revue were required to wear tuxedoes and cummerbunds long after more casual concert wear became the norm among the younger musical acts. Brown's own extravagant outfits and his elaborate processed hairdo completed the visual impression. A James Brown concert typically included a performance by a featured vocalist, such as Vicki Anderson or Marva Whitney, and an instrumental feature for the band, which sometimes served as the opening act for the show.

Cape routine

A trademark feature of Brown's stage shows, usually during the song "Please, Please, Please", involved Brown dropping to his knees while clutching the microphone stand in his hands, prompting the show's longtime MC, Danny Ray, to come out, drape a cape over Brown's shoulders and escort him off the stage after he had worked himself to exhaustion during his performance. As Brown was escorted off the stage by the MC, Brown's vocal group, the Famous Flames, (Bobby Byrd, Lloyd Stallworth, and Bobby Bennett ), continued singing the background vocals "Please, please don't go-oh". Brown would then shake off the cape and stagger back to the microphone to perform an encore. Brown's routine was inspired by a similar one used by the professional wrestler Gorgeous George, as well as Little Richard.

Brown performs a version of the cape routine over the closing credits of the film Blues Brothers 2000 and in the film of the T.A.M.I. Show (1964) in which he and The Famous Flames upstaged the Rolling Stones. The Police refer to "James Brown on the T.A.M.I. Show" in their 1980 song "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around".

As band leader

Brown demanded extreme discipline, perfection and precision from his musicians and dancers – performers in his Revue showed up for rehearsals and members wore the right "uniform" or "costume" for concert performances. During an interview conducted by Terri Gross during the NPR segment "Fresh Air" with Maceo Parker, a former saxophonist in Brown's band for most of the 1960s and part of the 1970s and 1980s, Parker offered his experience with the discipline that Brown demanded of the band:

You gotta be on time. You gotta have your uniform. Your stuff's got to be intact. You gotta have the bow tie. You got to have it. You can't come up without the bow tie. You cannot come up without a cummerbund ... [The] patent leather shoes we were wearing at the time gotta be greased. You just gotta have this stuff. This is what [Brown expected] ... [Brown] bought the costumes. He bought the shoes. And if for some reason [the band member decided] to leave the group, [Brown told the person to] please leave my uniforms . ...

Brown also had a practice of directing, correcting and assessing fines on members of his band who broke his rules, such as wearing unshined shoes, dancing out of sync or showing up late on stage. During some of his concert performances, Brown danced in front of his band with his back to the audience as he slid across the floor, flashing hand signals and splaying his pulsating fingers to the beat of the music. Although audiences thought Brown's dance routine was part of his act, this practice was actually his way of pointing to the offending member of his troupe who played or sang the wrong note or committed some other infraction. Brown used his splayed fingers and hand signals to alert the offending person of the fine that person must pay to him for breaking his rules.

Brown's demands of his support acts were, meanwhile, quite the reverse. As Fred Wesley recalled of his time as musical director of the JBs, if Brown felt intimidated by a support act he would try to "undermine their performances by shortening their sets without notice, demanding that they not do certain showstopping songs, and even insisting on doing the unthinkable, playing drums on some of their songs. A sure set killer."

Social activism

Education advocacy and humanitarianism

Brown's main social activism was in preserving the need for education among youths, influenced by his own troubled childhood and his being forced to drop out of the seventh grade for wearing "insufficient clothes". Due to heavy dropout rates in the 1960s, Brown released the pro-education song, "Don't Be a Drop-Out". Royalties of the song were donated to dropout-prevention charity programs. The success of this led to Brown meeting with President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House. Johnson cited Brown for being a positive role model to the youth. A lifelong Republican, Brown gained the confidence of President Richard Nixon, to whom he found he had to explain the plight of Black Americans.

Throughout the remainder of his life, Brown made public speeches in schools and continued to advocate the importance of education in school. Upon filing his will in 2002, Brown advised that most of the money in his estate go into creating the I Feel Good, Inc. Trust to benefit disadvantaged children and provide scholarships for his grandchildren. His final single, "Killing Is Out, School Is In", advocated against murders of young children in the streets. Brown often gave out money and other items to children while traveling to his childhood hometown of Augusta. A week before his death, while looking gravely ill, Brown gave out toys and turkeys to kids at an Atlanta orphanage, something he had done several times over the years.

Civil rights and self-reliance

Though Brown performed at benefit rallies for civil rights organizations in the mid-1960s, Brown often shied away from discussing civil rights in his songs in fear of alienating his crossover audience. In 1968, in response to a growing urge of anti-war advocacy during the Vietnam War, Brown recorded the song, "America Is My Home". In the song, Brown performed a rap, advocating patriotism and exhorting listeners to "stop pitying yoursel[ves] and get up and fight". At the time of the song's release, Brown had been participating in performing for troops stationed in Vietnam.

The Boston Garden concert

On April 5, 1968, a day after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, Brown provided a free citywide televised concert at the Boston Garden to maintain public order and calm concerned Boston relatives (over the objections of the police chief, who wanted to call off the concert, which he thought would incite violence). The show was later released on DVD as Live at the Boston Garden: April 5, 1968. According to the documentary, The Night James Brown Saved Boston, then-mayor Kevin White had strongly restrained the Boston police from cracking down on minor violence and protests after the assassination, while religious and community leaders worked to keep tempers from flaring. White arranged to have Brown's performance broadcast multiple times on Boston's public television station, WGBH, thus keeping potential rioters off the streets, watching the concert for free. Angered by not being told of this, Brown demanded $60,000 for "gate" fees (money he thought would be lost from ticket sales on account of the concert being broadcast for free) and then threatened to go public about the secret arrangement when the city balked at paying up afterwards, news of which would have been a political death blow to White and spark riots of its own. White eventually lobbied the behind-the-scenes power-brokering group known as "The Vault" to come up with money for Brown's gate fee and other social programs, contributing $100,000. Brown received $15,000 from them via the city. White also persuaded management at the Garden to give up their share of receipts to make up the differences. Following this successful performance, Brown was cautioned by President Johnson to visit cities ravaged from riots following King's assassination to not resort to violence, telling them to "cool it, there's another way".

Responding to pressure from black activists, including H. Rap Brown, to take a bigger stance on their issues and from footage of black on black crime committed in inner cities, Brown wrote the lyrics to the song "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud", which his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis accompanied with a musical composition. Released late that summer, the song's lyrics helped to make it an anthem for the civil rights movement. Brown only performed the song sporadically following its initial release and later stated he had regrets recording it, saying in 1984, "Now 'Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud' has done more for the black race than any other record, but if I had my choice, I wouldn't have done it, because I don't like defining anyone by race. To teach race is to teach separatism." In his autobiography he stated:

The song is obsolete now ... But it was necessary to teach pride then, and I think the song did a lot of good for a lot of people ... People called "Black and Proud" militant and angry – maybe because of the line about dying on your feet instead of living on your knees. But really, if you listen to it, it sounds like a children's song. That's why I had children in it, so children who heard it could grow up feeling pride ... The song cost me a lot of my crossover audience. The racial makeup at my concerts was mostly black after that. I don't regret it, though, even if it was misunderstood.

In 1969, Brown recorded two more songs of social commentary, "World" and "I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing", the latter song pleading for equal opportunity and self-reliance rather than entitlement. In 1970, in response to some black leaders for not being outspoken enough, he recorded "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved" and "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing". In 1971, he began touring Africa, including Zambia and Nigeria. He was made "freeman of the city" in Lagos, Nigeria, by Oba Adeyinka Oyekan, for his "influence on black people all over the world". With his company, James Brown Enterprises, Brown helped to provide jobs for blacks in business in the communities. As the 1970s continued, Brown continued to record songs of social commentary, most prominently 1972's "King Heroin" and the two-part ballad "Public Enemy", which dealt with drug addiction.

Political views

During the 1968 presidential campaign, Brown endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey and appeared with Humphrey at political rallies. Brown began supporting Republican president Richard Nixon after being invited to perform at Nixon's inaugural ball in January 1969. Brown's endorsement of Nixon during the 1972 presidential election negatively impacted his career during that period with several national Black organizations boycotting his records and protesting at his concert shows. Brown stated he was neither Democratic nor Republican despite his support of Republican presidents such as Nixon and Ronald Reagan. In 1999, when being interviewed by Rolling Stone, the magazine asked him to name a hero in the 20th century; Brown mentioned John F. Kennedy and then-96-year-old U.S. Senator, and former Dixiecrat, Strom Thurmond, stating "when the young whippersnappers get out of line, whether Democratic or Republican, an old man can walk up and say 'Wait a minute, son, it goes this way.' And that's great for our country. He's like a grandfather to me." In 2003, Brown was the featured attraction of a Washington D.C. fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Following the deaths of Ronald Reagan and his friend Ray Charles, Brown said to CNN, "I'm kind of in an uproar. I love the country and I got – you know I've been around a long time, through many presidents and everything. So after losing Mr. Reagan, who I knew very well, then Mr. Ray Charles, who I worked with and lived with like, all our life, we had a show together in Oakland many, many years ago and it's like you found the placard."

Personal life

At the end of his life, James Brown lived in Beech Island, South Carolina, directly across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia. Brown had diabetes that went undiagnosed for years, according to his longtime manager Charles Bobbit. In 2004, Brown was successfully treated for prostate cancer. Regardless of his health, Brown maintained his reputation as the "hardest working man in show business" by keeping up with his grueling performance schedule.

In 1962, Tammi Terrell joined the James Brown Revue. Even though she was only 17, Brown became sexually involved with Terrell in a relationship that continued until she escaped his abuse. Bobby Bennett, former member of the Famous Flames told Rolling Stone about the abuse he witnessed, "He beat Tammi Terrell terrible," said Bennett. "She was bleeding, shedding blood." Terrell, who died in 1970, was Brown's girlfriend before she became famous as Marvin Gaye's singing partner in the mid-Sixties. "Tammi left him because she didn't want her butt whipped," said Bennett, who also claimed he saw Brown kick one pregnant girlfriend down a flight of stairs.

Marriages and children

Brown was married four times. His first marriage was to Velma Warren in 1953, and they had three sons together. Over a decade later, the couple had separated and the final divorce decree was issued 1969. They maintained a close friendship that lasted until Brown's death. Brown's second marriage was to Deidre "Deedee" Jenkins, on October 22, 1970. They had two daughters together. The couple were separated by 1979, after what his daughter describes as years of domestic abuse, and the final divorce decree was issued on January 10, 1981. His third marriage was to Adrienne Lois Rodriguez (March 9, 1950 – January 6, 1996), in 1984. It was a contentious marriage that made headlines due to domestic abuse complaints. Rodriguez filed for divorce in 1988, "citing years of cruelty treatment," but they reconciled. Less than a year after Rodriguez died in 1996, Brown hired Tomi Rae Hynie to be a background singer for his band and she later became his fourth wife.

On December 23, 2002, Brown and Hynie held a wedding ceremony that was officiated by the Rev. Larry Flyer. Following Brown's death, controversy surrounded the circumstances of the marriage, with Brown's attorney, Albert "Buddy" Dallas, reporting that the marriage was not valid; Hynie was still married to Javed Ahmed, a man from Bangladesh. Hynie claimed Ahmed married her to obtain residency through a Green Card and that the marriage was annulled but the annulment did not occur until April 2004. In an attempt to prove her marriage to Brown was valid, Hynie produced a 2001 marriage certificate as proof of her marriage to Brown, but she did not provide King with court records pointing to an annulment of her marriage to him or to Ahmed. According to Dallas, Brown was angry and hurt that Hynie had concealed her prior marriage from him and Brown moved to file for annulment from Hynie. Dallas added that though Hynie's marriage to Ahmed was annulled after she married Brown, the Brown–Hynie marriage was not valid under South Carolina law because Brown and Hynie did not remarry after the annulment. In August 2003, Brown took out a full-page public notice in Variety featuring Hynie, James II and himself on vacation at Disney World to announce that he and Hynie were going their separate ways. In 2015, a judge ruled Hynie as Brown's legal widow.

Brown had numerous children and acknowledged nine of them including five sons – Teddy (1954–1973), Terry, Larry, Daryl and James Joseph Brown Jr. and four daughters – Lisa, Dr. Yamma Noyola Brown Lumar, Deanna Brown Thomas and Venisha Brown (1964–2018). Brown also had eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Brown's eldest son, Teddy, died in a car crash on June 14, 1973. According to an August 22, 2007, article published in the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, DNA tests indicate that Brown also fathered at least three extramarital children. The first one of them to be identified is LaRhonda Pettit (born 1962), a retired air stewardess and teacher who lives in Houston. During contesting of Brown's will, another of the Brown family attorneys, Debra Opri, revealed to Larry King that Brown wanted a DNA test performed after his death to confirm the paternity of James Brown Jr. (born 2001)—not for Brown's sake but for the sake of the other family members. In April 2007, Hynie selected a guardian ad litem whom she wants appointed by the court to represent her son, James Brown Jr., in the paternity proceedings. James Brown Jr. was confirmed to be his biological son.

Drug abuse

For most of his career, Brown had a strict drug- and alcohol-free policy for any member in his entourage, including band members, and would fire people who disobeyed orders, particularly those who used or abused drugs and alcohol. Some early members of Brown's vocal group the Famous Flames were fired due to alcohol use. Despite the policy, some of the original members of Brown's 1970s band, the J.B.'s, including Catfish and Bootsy Collins, intentionally took LSD during a concert gig in 1971, causing Brown to fire them after the show because he had suspected them of being on drugs all along.

However, by the mid-1980s it was alleged that Brown himself was using drugs. After he met and later married Adrienne Rodriguez in 1984, she and Brown began using PCP ("angel dust"). This drug usage resulted in violent outbursts from him and he was arrested several times for domestic violence against Rodriguez while high on the drug. By January 1988, Brown faced four criminal charges within a 12-month span relating to driving, PCP, and gun possession. After an April 1988 arrest for domestic abuse, Brown went on the CNN program Sonya Live in L.A. with host Sonya Friedman. The interview went viral due to Brown's irreverent demeanor with some asserting that Brown was high.

One of Brown's former mistresses recalled in a GQ magazine article on Brown some years after his death that Brown would smoke PCP "until that got hard to find", and cocaine, mixed with tobacco in Kool cigarettes. In January 1998, he spent a week in rehab to deal with an addiction to prescription drugs. A week after his release, he was arrested for an unlawful use of a handgun and possession of cannabis. Prior to his death in December 2006, when Brown entered Emory University Hospital, traces of cocaine were found in the singer's urine. His widow suggested Brown would "do crack" with a female acquaintance.

Theft and assault convictions

Brown's personal life was marred by several brushes with the law. At the age of 16, he was convicted of theft and served three years in juvenile prison. During a concert held at Club 15 in Macon, Georgia in 1963, while Otis Redding was performing alongside his former band Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers, Brown reportedly tried to shoot his musical rival Joe Tex. The incident led to multiple people being shot and stabbed. Since Brown was still on parole at the time, he relied on his agent Clint Brantley "and a few thousand dollars to make the situation disappear". According to Jenkins, "seven people got shot", and after the shootout ended, a man appeared and gave "each one of the injured a hundred dollars apiece not to carry it no further and not to talk to the press". Brown was never charged for the incident.

On July 16, 1978, after performing at the Apollo, Brown was arrested for reportedly failing to turn in records from one of his radio stations after the station was forced to file for bankruptcy. Brown was arrested on April 3, 1988, for assault, and again in May 1988 on drug and weapons charges, and again on September 24, 1988, following a high-speed car chase on Interstate 20 near the Georgia–South Carolina state border. He was convicted of carrying an unlicensed pistol and assaulting a police officer, along with various drug-related and driving offenses. Although he was sentenced to six years in prison, he was eventually released on parole on February 27, 1991, after serving two years of his sentence. Brown's FBI file, released to The Washington Post in 2007 under the Freedom of Information Act, related Brown's claim that the high-speed chase did not occur as claimed by the police, and that local police shot at his car several times during an incident of police harassment and assaulted him after his arrest. Local authorities found no merit to Brown's accusations.

In 1998, a woman named Mary Simons accused Brown in a civil suit of holding her captive for three days, demanding oral sex and firing a gun in his office; Simons' charge was eventually dismissed. In another civil suit, filed by former background singer Lisa Rushton alleged that between 1994 and 1999, Brown allegedly demanded sexual favors and when refused, would cut off her pay and kept her offstage. She also claimed Brown would "place a hand on her buttocks and loudly told her in a crowded restaurant to not look or speak to any other man besides himself; Rushton eventually withdrew her lawsuit. In yet another civil suit, a woman named Lisa Agbalaya, who worked for Brown, said the singer would tell her he had "bull testicles", handed her a pair of zebra-print underwear, told her to wear them while he massaged her with oil, and fired her after she refused. A Los Angeles jury cleared the singer of sexual harassment but found him liable for wrongful termination.

The police were summoned to Brown's residence on July 3, 2000, after he was accused of charging at an electric company repairman with a steak knife when the repairman visited Brown's house to investigate a complaint about having no lights at the residence. In 2003, Brown was pardoned by the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services for past crimes that he was convicted of committing in South Carolina.

Domestic violence arrests

Brown was repeatedly arrested for domestic violence. Adrienne Rodriguez, his third wife, had him arrested four times between 1987 and 1995 on charges of assault. In one incident, Rodriguez reported to authorities that Brown beat her with an iron pipe and shot at her car. Rodriguez was hospitalized after the last assault in October 1995, but charges were dropped after she died in January 1996.

In January 2004, Brown was arrested in South Carolina on a domestic violence charge after Tomi Rae Hynie accused him of pushing her to the floor during an argument at their home, where she suffered scratches and bruises to her right arm and hip. Later that year in June 2004, Brown pleaded no contest to the domestic violence incident, but served no jail time. Instead, Brown was required to forfeit a US$1,087 bond as punishment.

Rape accusation

In January 2005, a woman named Jacque Hollander filed a lawsuit against James Brown, which stemmed from an alleged 1988 rape. When the case was initially heard before a judge in 2002, Hollander's claims against Brown were dismissed by the court as the limitations period for filing the suit had expired. Hollander claimed that stress from the alleged assault later caused her to contract Graves' disease, a thyroid condition. Hollander claimed that the incident took place in South Carolina while she was employed by Brown as a publicist. Hollander alleged that, during her ride in a van with Brown, Brown pulled over to the side of the road and sexually assaulted her while he threatened her with a shotgun. In her case against Brown, Hollander entered as evidence a DNA sample and a polygraph result, but the evidence was not considered due to the limitations defense. Hollander later attempted to bring her case before the Supreme Court, but nothing came of her complaint.

Legacy

Brown received awards and honors throughout his lifetime and after his death. In 1993 the City Council of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, conducted a poll of residents to choose a new name for the bridge that crossed the Yampa River on Shield Drive. The winning name, with 7,717 votes, was "James Brown Soul Center of the Universe Bridge". The bridge was officially dedicated in September 1993, and Brown appeared at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the event. A petition was started by local ranchers to return the name to "Stockbridge" for historical reasons, but they backed off after citizens defeated their efforts because of the popularity of Brown's name. Brown returned to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on July 4, 2002, for an outdoor festival, performing with bands such as The String Cheese Incident.

During his long career, Brown received many prestigious music industry awards and honors. In 1983 he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Brown was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction dinner in New York on January 23, 1986. At that time, the members of his original vocal group, The Famous Flames (Bobby Byrd, Johnny Terry, Bobby Bennett, and Lloyd Stallworth) were not inducted. However, on April 14, 2012, The Famous Flames were automatically and retroactively inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Brown, without the need for nomination and voting, on the basis that they should have been inducted with him in 1986. On February 25, 1992, Brown was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th annual Grammy Awards. Exactly a year later, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th annual Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards. A ceremony was held for Brown on January 10, 1997, to honor him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On June 15, 2000, Brown was honored as an inductee to the New York Songwriters Hall of Fame. On August 6, 2002, he was honored as the first BMI Urban Icon at the BMI Urban Awards. His BMI accolades include an impressive ten R&B Awards and six Pop Awards. On November 14, 2006, Brown was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, and he was one of several inductees to perform at the ceremony. In recognition of his accomplishments as an entertainer, Brown was a recipient of Kennedy Center Honors on December 7, 2003. In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine ranked James Brown as No. 7 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In an article for Rolling Stone, critic Robert Christgau cited Brown as "the greatest musician of the rock era".

He appeared on the BET Awards June 24, 2003, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Michael Jackson, and performed with him.

Brown was also honored in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia, for his philanthropy and civic activities. On November 20, 1993, Mayor Charles DeVaney of Augusta held a ceremony to dedicate a section of 9th Street between Broad and Twiggs Streets, renamed "James Brown Boulevard", in the entertainer's honor. On May 6, 2005, as a 72nd birthday present for Brown, the city of Augusta unveiled a life-sized bronze James Brown statue on Broad Street. The statue was to have been dedicated a year earlier, but the ceremony was put on hold because of a domestic abuse charge that Brown faced at the time. In 2005, Charles "Champ" Walker and the We Feel Good Committee went before the County commission and received approval to change Augusta's slogan to "We Feel Good". Afterward, officials renamed the city's civic center the James Brown Arena, and James Brown attended a ceremony for the unveiling of the namesake center on October 15, 2006.

On December 30, 2006, during the public memorial service at the James Brown Arena, Dr. Shirley A.R. Lewis, president of Paine College, a historically black college in Augusta, Georgia, bestowed posthumously upon Brown an honorary doctorate in recognition and honor of his many contributions to the school in its times of need. Brown had originally been scheduled to receive the honorary doctorate from Paine College during its May 2007 commencement.

During the 49th Annual Grammy Awards presentation on February 11, 2007, James Brown's famous cape was draped over a microphone by Danny Ray at the end of a montage in honor of notable people in the music industry who died during the previous year. Earlier that evening, Christina Aguilera delivered an impassioned performance of Brown's hit "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" followed by a standing ovation, while Chris Brown performed a dance routine in honor of James Brown.

On August 17, 2013, the official R&B Music Hall of Fame honored and inducted James Brown at a ceremony held at the Waetejen Auditorium at Cleveland State University.

ART THE BOX began in early 2015 as a collaboration between three organizations: the City of Augusta, the Downtown Development Authority and the Greater Augusta Arts Council. 19 local artists were selected by a committee to create art on 23 local traffic signal control cabinets (TSCCs). A competition was held to create the James Brown Tribute Box on the corner of James Brown Blvd. (9th Ave.) and Broad St. This box was designed and painted by local artist, Ms. Robbie Pitts Bellamy and has become a favorite photo opportunity to visitors and locals in Augusta, Georgia.

"I have a lot of musical heroes but I think James Brown is at the top of the list," remarked Public Enemy's Chuck D. "Absolutely the funkiest man on Earth ... In a black household, James Brown is part of the fabric – Motown, Stax, Atlantic and James Brown."

Tributes

As a tribute to James Brown, the Rolling Stones covered the song, "I'll Go Crazy" from Brown's Live at the Apollo album, during their 2007 European tour. Jimmy Page has remarked, "He [James Brown] was almost a musical genre in his own right and he changed and moved forward the whole time so people were able to learn from him."

On December 22, 2007, the first annual "Tribute Fit For the King of King Records" in honor of James Brown was held at the Madison Theater in Covington, Kentucky. The tribute, organized by Bootsy Collins, featured appearances by Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D of Public Enemy, The Soul Generals, Buckethead, Freekbass, Triage and many of Brown's surviving family members. Comedian Michael Coyer was the MC for the event. During the show, the mayor of Cincinnati proclaimed December 22 as James Brown Day.

As of 2019, a significant collection of James Brown clothing, memorabilia, and personal artifacts are on exhibit in downtown Augusta, Georgia at the Augusta History Museum.

Discography

Studio albums

Filmography

The T.A.M.I. Show (1964) (concert film)- with The Famous Flames

Ski Party (1965)- with The Famous Flames

James Brown: Man to Man (1968) (concert film)

The Phynx (1970)

Black Caesar (1973) (soundtrack only)

Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973) (soundtrack only)

Adiós Amigo (1976)

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Doctor Detroit (1983)

Rocky IV (1985)

Miami Vice (1987)

James Brown: Live in East Berlin (1989)

The Simpsons (1993)

When We Were Kings (1996) (documentary)

Duckman (1997)

Soulmates (1997)

Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)

Holy Man (1998)

portrayed by Carlton Smith in Liberty Heights (1999)

Undercover Brother (2002)

The Tuxedo (2002)

The Hire: Beat The Devil (2002) (short film)

Paper Chasers (2003) (documentary)

Soul Survivor (2003) (documentary)

Sid Bernstein Presents ... (2005) (documentary)

Glastonbury (2006) (documentary)

Life on the Road with Mr. and Mrs. Brown (2007) (documentary; release pending)

Live at the Boston Garden: April 5, 1968 (2008) (concert film)

I Got The Feelin': James Brown in the '60s, three-DVD set featuring Live at the Boston Garden: April 5, 1968, Live at the Apollo '68, and the documentary The Night James Brown Saved Boston

Soul Power (2009) (documentary)

Get on Up (2014)

Biopics

James Brown: The Man, the Message, the Music (1992), the first biopic about James Brown

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown (2014), released in April 2014, written and directed by Alex Gibney, produced by Mick Jagger.

Get on Up (2014), released in theaters on August 1, 2014. Chadwick Boseman plays the role of James Brown in the film. Originally, Mick Jagger and Brian Grazer had begun producing a documentary film on Brown in 2013. A fiction film had been in the planning stages for many years and was revived when Jagger read the script by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth.

In other media

Games

In the video game World of Warcraft, the first boss character of the Forge of Souls dungeon is Bronjahm, "the Godfather of Souls". His quotes during the fight are musical references, and he has a chance of dropping an item called "Papa's Brand New Bag".

A different version of "I Got You", recorded in 1974, is playable in the rhythm video game Rock Band 3. In addition, "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine (Pt. 1)" is available for download across the series, while "Super Bad (Pts. 1 & 2)" was released later, only for the third game.

In the Worms Armaggedon and Worms World Party video games, many of James Brown's song titles are used in the "Soul Man" custom voice setting like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" or "Like a Sex Machine", clear references to James Brown.

Television

Appeared as Lou DeLong in the 1987 Miami Vice episode "Missing Hours".

As himself (voice) in the 1993 The Simpsons episode "Bart's Inner Child".

In 1991, James Brown did a Pay Per View Special with top celebrities such as Quincy Jones, Rick James, Dan Aykroyd, Gladys Knight, Denzel Washington, Mc Hammer and others attended or were opening acts. This was produced with boxing promoter Buddy Dallas. 15.5 million households tuned in at a cost $19.99.

Music

The songs "James Brown Is Dead" and "James Brown Is Still Alive" are all about reports on the iconic musician James Brown, and were released in 1991.

See also

Earl Tucker, a vaudeville performer whose dance moves appear on film

#05/03 #12/25

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sunny-apolllo-blog · 6 years ago

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Umbrella Academy Greek Gods.

Luther, Number 1. Kratos,God of Strength,Might,Power and Sovereign Rule.

Luther as number one is the leader. He also has Super Strength. As Number one he believes he should have power over everyone else.

Diego, Number 2. Apollo,God of Medicine,Archery,Plague, and more.

Diego has perfect aim with knifes. Apollo the god of archery has perfect aim with archery not knifes. It doesn't explain why Diego is scared of needles. Since Apollo is the God of medicine.

Allison,Number 3. Aphrodite,Goddess of Love,Beauty, Pleasure,Passion and Procreate.

Allison could make you do anything. But simply saying "I heard a rumor." While,Aphrodite children could make you do anything by the sound of the voice or her/his beauty.

Klaus,Number 4. Hades,God of the underworld,Death,And Riches.

Klaus could simply see the dead and conquer over them for a short period of time. While,Hades rules over the dead and just simply see spirits.

Five,Number Five. Cronus,God of time and King of Titans. Or Apollo,God of Prophecy and Oracles.

Five could time travel. He is also the team leader by planning everything. Cronus,God of time and King of Titans would be a close match. Time travel,God of time,King of titans,Team Leader. Yeah but he's dead.

While,Apollo God of Prophecy and Oracles is somehow a match. Oracles tell the future and Five could time travel to the future. Prophecy is a power from Apollo. Like seeing the future and blah blah blah.

Ben,Number 6. Apollo or Poseidon,God oceans and yeah.

This one honestly got me. Like tentacles popping out of your body. Why? But,Poseidon being the god of sealife because he lives in the sea. Yeah just tentacles. Ben could also be the son of Apollo. Since i seen a lot of posts with that. Apollo is the god of many things. So it could be true.

Vanya,Number 7. Apollo,God of music.

Vanya really loves playing the violin. And can control sound. Apollo being the god of music would make sense. She can focus on a sound to control that.

There was a lot of Apollo in this post. Wow.

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untidywords · 6 years ago

Photo

the comet’s slowburn

Full Name: Benjamin Apollo “Ben” Feresa

Hometown: Thurmont, Maryland, USA

Current Residence: Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters

Occupation: X-Man / Student

Birthday: September 3, 1997

Zodiac: Virgo

Species: Mutant

Gender: Cisgender man

Sexuality: Unsure / Closeted

Relationship Status: Single / Thread dependent

Shipping Status: Closed

Opposite/Ship Tag: Tristan Coleman / OTP: There was something from the moment we touched

Verse: Mutants

Theme Song: “A Promise” by Alan Silvestri (Spotify/YouTube)

SUMMARY trigger warnings: none

Even before he was shipped off to Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, Ben’s family didn’t always understand him all too well. His parents were complacent upper middle class people who were content with their lot in the world and didn’t see a need to change it, whereas Ben always seemed to have a note or two that society could improve on. His parents were happy, in a way, when he started exhibiting signs of having powers -- it meant that they could send him away without seeming cruel, and as they neither understood their son’s personality or his abilities, they deemed it for the best. Ben went to live at Professor Xavier’s school at the tender age of eleven, and ever since then he’s spent all his time on his education, and on his abilities. While he’s done well for himself academically, his power evolved excruciatingly slow. For reasons he can’t understand, it’s taken him almost thrice as long as everyone else to get a good grip of his powers -- it wasn’t until 2018 that he was officially made into an X-Man and scheduled for his first actual mission, and even then his faith in himself still wavered, compromised by years of feeling lesser than everyone else. However, when the most recent arrival to the team starts acting like everything’s just a game, Ben distracts himself by pooling all his attention into this new guy, unawares that it’ll change his life forever...

BIOGRAPHY

Under construction.

PERSONALITY

A lot of the time, it’s all work and no fun with Ben. He takes himself and his own morals seriously, and is a massive perfectionist -- unfortunately for him, to a fault. One of the worst things he knows is not being taken seriously, or people around him acting like everything is a joke. While he’s not the most tightly wound person you’ll ever meet, sometimes he comes damn close, and his principles are what matter most to him -- you’ll have to wrestle them from his cold dead hands...

#biography: ben feresa #biography: all

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pariswrites-blog · 7 years ago

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So I decided to make a large list of plots / faces / ships that I want, which you can find below the cut. It’s long. Check it out and message me/like this if you’re interested in any of them!

MOST WANTED

So I’ve got 3 ships that I want most of all: Niels Schneider x Xavier Dolan, Daniel Sharman x Frank Dillane, and Niels Schneider x Daniel Sharman. I’m completely open plot wise for any of these though for the Niels x Daniel one, I did make this post earlier and still 100% stand by it. I will love you forever if you do one of these with me.

CANONS

TEEN WOLF

I love this show too much and am so sad to see it go so why not do some 1x1s for it?

I love playing Isaac tbh and would love to have some ships for him. Allison x Isaac is like my OTP so if someone did that with me I would scream? I’ve also always been intrigued with the idea of Lydia x Isaac so I would totally love it if someone did that one too (and I’m cool with changing Holland’s face if you’re uncomfortable with her). Scott x Isaac, Stiles x Isaac, Jackson x Isaac are all some other suggestions. I’m intrigued with Boyd x Isaac as well so that’s a suggestion there too.

Also, sorry Thiam shippers, but I’m 100% forever on the Briam train so if someone would play Liam against my Brett, I’d be in heaven.

IN THE FLESH

Okay so, fun fact, this blog was re-purposed from an rp blog for a group that sadly died. It was an ITF inspired rp and I loved the character I played there and would love to bring him back. There was also a wanted connection I had for him that never got filled but that would be really great as a 1x1. You can read about my character Apollo Bellerose (Niels Schneider fc) here but here’s also a summary of the idea.

(Muse A is Apollo, Muse B would be your character.)

M/M -- Muse A was a wild child, a feral animal of fire and rule-breaking. Hopes for him were dashed at an early age as he set himself up as the trouble-maker. Muse B was the opposite -- tempered and popular. The only reason their paths crossed was because they grew up in the same small town, in the same class. But that should’ve been it. It was a surprise to everyone when Muse B and Muse A started hanging out together, soon becoming inseparable. They were just children but they were attached at the hip, growing into adolescence and teenagers. Muse A was still wild, Muse B was still calm -- fire and water, red and blue. When they were sixteen, their friendship evolved into something more intimate. Though the relationship could be fraught at time -- Muse A to blame in almost every case -- their bond ran deep. Or it did, until Muse B died suddenly. It was an accident or heart failure or something similar, sudden and unexpected. Too soon. One might’ve expected Muse A to go off the deep-end but, rather, he was numb, going through the motions. That was until the Rising happened and the dead came back. The world ground to a halt but with the PDS sufferers in treatment centers, the world is returning to normal and Muse A is getting back on his self-destructive track. He refuses to acknowledge that overwhelming possibility that Muse B would be one of those PDS sufferers, going so far as to avoid Muse B’s grave. With the PDS sufferers returning to Roarton though, it’s only a matter of time before Muse A wouldn’t be able to deny to it. But will an apocalypse be enough to sever their bond? Probably not.

My main suggestion for B was Xavier Dolan though I also originally suggested Daniel Sharman and Keith Powers. Matt Daddario, Bob Morley, and Dominic Sherwood would also work though Xavier and Daniel would be preferred. This is, like, one I really, really want to do still.

XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS

Campy 90s shows for the win (oh, and fuck you Looper -- it’s still perfectly watchable now). Anyways. I really want a Xena x Gabrielle plot, two bad-ass women travelling through the ancient world, kicking godly asses. As much as I love Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor, I realize that they’re not really usable so I’m totally down for changing the faces. Just... Please. Badass women and a canon that totally allows for AUs in all time periods -- it’d be awesome.

THE ORIGINALS

So um... I don’t want like a really super canon 1x1 here but like, after Koleb died, I got in my head this idea of what if, when Davina brought back Kol, Kaleb hitched a ride back. Kaleb’s bitter af but he was always kind of the way in my mind. The pairing would be Davina x Kaleb and we could also make this an OT3 if there was someone who’d like to play Kol as well but that’s not necessary for me.

LES AMOURS IMAGINAIRES

Uh... Indie French cinema for the win? Yeah, I know this won’t get any bites but I’m gonna try anyways. Basically a few years after the end of the movie, Francis and Nicolas meet again. There’s been some maturing, maybe Francis isn’t as close to Marie anymore (or maybe she got married or something). It’s slow-burn reconnecting and falling in love.

FEAR THE WALKING DEAD

So... I know Troy’s a POS person but I think there was potential for evolution in his character. He was isolated from a young age with an abusive father and alcoholic mother which didn’t give him much of a fighting chance in becoming a better person. Off the ranch though, I think he could have evolved. He also had a ton of useful information about walkers. Anyways, I’d like to give him that arc. Also I want to explore that mad chemistry between Nick and Troy so yeah. This masterlist might be good for some general plot ideas and tbh the “Who’s baby is this?” one just screams Trick to me.

GREEK MYTH

This can be like modern or actual myth -- either’s cool.

Zeus x Ganymede. Either historical like Zeus kidnaps him to be the wine-pourer and Zeus wants him but Ganymede is just perpetually pissed with him for KIDNAPPING him and Zeus has to win him over. Or maybe something modern that’s more sugary daddy/baby-ish?

Telemachus. I really love my baby Telemachus? Or Telemaque as the French would say. But, basically, there’s this suitor and he’s one of the younger ones, probably 25 or less, and not really in the running to win Penelope’s hand but eh. He doesn’t really care. He likes to tease Telemachus but as things get worse in Ithaca, he realizes he’s worried about Telemachus and starts teaching him how to fight and defending him and they start falling in love. He be all like ‘I’ll go with you’ when Telemachus goes to find his father (even though he doesn’t) and, when Odysseus returns, Telemachus has to defend him because he was technically one of the suitors and just... Please. (I’d play Telemachus.)

Odysseus x Penelope. Clever Odysseus and clever Penelope, dominating and tricking the world with their superior minds. A modern!AU.

HARRY POTTER

I love this universe so I’m super down for anything. I won’t do anything set at Hogwarts because I can never remain interested in that tbh but other stuff is cool. I highkey ship Remus x Sirius and would love to write them as long as the faces aren’t Andrew Garfield or Ben Barnes. I also love all the potential in the fucked up dynamic between Fenrir and Remus. I usually end up playing Fenrir but if someone wanted to let me play Remus in that, I’d adore you forever. A Regulus x Remus one would be awesome too. A Nymphadora x Remus ship would be cool too, as would a James x Lily or Lily x Marlene. Outside the Marauders era, someone needs to give me a Ginny x Cho ship. I also wrote a next gen son of Greyback (Lycus Greyback) once that I’d love to bring back. Maybe with Teddy? Or OCs -- OCs in the HP universe are totally okay with me.

PLOTS

So this tag has the plots I want but some I particularly want.

X. I’d like to be Muse B and maybe like have Tom Ellis as A? Or Jason Momoa? Idk. I’m open but I think it’d be super fun.

X. I’d be cool with playing either in this plot; I’d love to see Troye Sivan as A but again open but fun sounding.

“you’re supposed to be on a blind date with someone but you sat down at the wrong table and i haven’t been able to get a word in edgewise to tell you that and it’s been thirty minutes” from this post. I’ve no preferences on genders or faces just I think this could be cool.

Yo I’ve mentioned this multiple times not but THIS PLOT with Daniel Sharman as A and Niels Schneider as B -- let me play B and love. me.

“what is the ONE thing i asked you NOT to do tonight?” “raise the dead…” “AND WHAT DID YOU DO?!” “…raised the dead…” from this post. I really want to play a necromancer? Maybe we could do a Trick!AU where the walkers are because of necromancers and Troy has had to repress the fact he’s one his entire life and then Jeremiah and Jake are dead and yeah. But we could also do this as entirely OC. I’d still love it be necromancer-caused zombie apocalypse but I’m cool with other stuff.

“i’m a ghost and i’m trapped in the graveyard and i don’t normally talk to mortals but bro i have to ask wtf are you doing hanging around a graveyard is your life really this sad” from this post. open and fun again!

X. PLEASE. Any sort of serial killer plot would be awesome. Which is a weird fucking thing to say but okay.

“you and your friend always sit at the table a couple down from mine and gossip in [insert language here], which happens to be a language i’m currently learning. i’ve been eavesdropping to try and improve my listening comprehension and oh my god are you actually talking about how hot i am???” -- this please, from this post. maybe like a daniel sharman x tyler posey? or idk.

literally anything from this post but like i mention “who’s baby is this? au” for Trick in a canon divergent plot (ie. after they leave the ranch, before they get to the dam)

also this could also work for xavier dolan x niels schneider.

SHIPS

So how about a Xavier Dolan x Daniel Sharman? Or Jenna Thiam x Niels Schneider? Also Jack Falahee, Crystal Reed, Kat McNamara, Conrad Ricamora x Daniel Sharman. Other ones that don’t include Daniel, Xavier, or Niels: Eva Green x Caitlin Stasey (I’d also be cool with playing Eva if we used them for Xena and Gabrielle), Riz Ahmed x Fawad Khan (Fawad as a multi-billionaire playboy and Riz as a devoted grad student, maybe?), Charlie Hunnam x Jason Momoa, Marlon Teixeira x Willy Cartier, Andreja Pejic x Hari Nef, Andrew Garfield x Ben Barnes (but not as Remus and Sirius), Sofia Boutella x Charlize Theron.

FACES

It’s very clear that I love Daniel Sharman and Niels Schneider so they will always be most wanted, with Xavier Dolan as a close third. I feel most comfortable with them tbh and have the most muse for them (also I’ve made like 400 gifs of Niels). If you want to make me happy, let me play one of them and play one of the others against me. I would like to branch out at some point though so some others. There are honestly too many for me to list in their entirety so I’ll list only ones I have mentioned already. Bold are ones I want to play, italics I want used against me, plain are the ones I have no preference about (though I’d be open on most of the bold ones too).

Alycia Debnam-Carey, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Samuel Larsen, Adrianne Palicki, Laith Ashley, Elliot Fletcher, Iskra Lawrence, Lisa Teige, Iman Meskini, Hale Appleman, Tarjei Sandvik Moe, Adelaide Kane, Alexandra Daddario, Amber Heard, Josh Holloway, Angelina Jolie, Arden Cho, Barbara Palvin, Alex Saxon, Alexander Koch, Bianca Santos, Caity Lotz, Camila Quieroz, Cara Delevigne, Blake Michael, Avan Jogia, Austin Butler, Diego Barrueco, Bill Skarsgard, Booboo Stewart, Chloe Bridges, Byun Baek-Hyun, Diane Guerrero, Carlos Valdes, Josh Thomas, Dichen Lachman, Christopher Larkin, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Gaspard Ulliel, Emeraude Toubia, Emilia Clarke, Famke Janssen, Gabriella Wilde, Halston Sage, Dev Patel, Douglas Booth, Godfrey Gao, Harry Shum Jr., Karen Fukuhara, Kiowa Gordon, Landon Liboiron, Matt Hitt, Matthew Gray Gubler, Keira Knightley, Kiana Lede, Lana Condor, Liza Soberano, Maira Walsh, Jamie Blackley, Jordan Fisher, Jamie Campbell-Bower, Megan Fox, Naomi Scott, Max Irons, Reece King, Richard Harmon, Natalia Dyer, Phoebe Tonkin, Priyanka Chopra, Madelaine Petsch, Seo Kang-Joon, Steven R. McQueen, Steven Yeun, Seychelle Gabriel, Shelley Hennig, Skyler Samuels, Haruma Miura, Lee Hyun-Jae, Thomas McDonell, Toby Regbo, Tom Holland, Tyler Blackburn, Joe Manganiello, Tyler Hoechlin, Cengiz Al, Froy Gutierrez, Tanya Beatty, Victoria Moroles, Zoe Kravtiz, Yoon Jeonghan.

This is not all-encompassing. There are plenty more faces. In fact, I’d love to use model faces without any resources -- just some old-fashioned writing, maybe some static icons if we feel like it.

#rpt #1x1 rp #1x1 #1x1 plot #rpc

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theliterateape · 5 years ago

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I Like to Watch | John Wick Chapter 3 — Parabellum

By Don Hall

In preparation for John Wick Chapter 3 — Parabellum, I downloaded the two previous chapters and re-watched them.

Aside from my obvious enjoyment of the story of an ex-assassin, known by the Russian mob as Babayaga (The Bogeyman) and spoken of in whispers of his legendary focus, determination, and will, mourning his dead wife and being gifted by her beyond the grave a puppy only to be thrust back into the game by a Russian mobster’s son, I found myself conflicted in two specific ways.

First, I do not like guns in principle or practice but I love watching Keanu Reeves shoot countless and faceless thugs in the head. Second, Reeves is 54 years old and, as a man of a certain age, it feels like the Hollywood stars of my youth are passing slowly into a place of irrelevance, like Stallone (whom I love) refusing to simply retire before one more Rocky, or Rambo, or Expendables.

These two conflicting emotional dilemmas make the viewing of what, on its surface, is a shoot-em-up action set-piece somehow more profound (and isn’t that the best way to experience art?).

The gun thing is complicated. In all three John Wick films, Reeves kills hundreds of people. Yes, they are bad guys. Yes, he’s on a mission of revenge and survival. Yes, there is some fun and intricate world-building going on. All of it is fantasy and the stunt work and fight choreography are nothing less than extraordinary. Yet the hero of the story shoots hundreds of people in the head, kills them with books, knifes, pencils, his bare hands. There is more bloodshed and ruthless murder in these three films than in any movie made about WWII or Viet Nam.

I’m finding it difficult to reconcile my full-throated enjoyment of this when sitting in a theater only a few miles from Mandalay Bay, the site of America’s worst mass-shooting in a country known to be nothing if not the gun closet of the globe.

Is it all just toxic masculinity disguised as entertainment? As I sat in the theater during the third installment, the audience reacted with a perverse glee at the most violent and over-the-top killings with guffaws and exclamations. I joined them, laughing at the outrageousness of Halle Berry’s dogs going for the balls of at least 30 different extras followed by her double-tap headshots and the spray of movie blood and brains. I can’t help but wonder why it’s so fun to witness, in fantasy form, the brutality on display. Like the early Romans who thrilled at slaves being gutted by wild animals as entertainment, I cheer the carnage without hesitation then go online and lobby for gun control and grieve those shot down in schools.

Layered on top of this is the realization that Keanu, as young as he appears, is the age of a grandfather.

In Polar, Mads Mikkelsen plays a retired assassin who looks and feels his age: 50. In that film it is obvious that he is my age as he seems more tired and ready for a nap. He certainly kills plenty of people but there is a bit of weariness as if he goes in for the kill and then wants nothing more than to sit down and nurse both his stab wounds and the fact that his lower back hurts from sleeping the night before. If I were a retired assassin, my mattress would be my greatest nemesis.

John Wick, like Ethan Hunt and Scott Lang, is getting long in the tooth but isn’t quite showing it yet.

In fact, all of my screen favorites are hitting Grandpa status: Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Denzel Washington, Robert Downey, Jr., George Clooney. They’re all aging well but they are aging nonetheless. As I watch Keanu leap from buildings I am amazed at the cinema magic and also caught in the disbelief that his increasingly brittle ankles could handle that shit without a nod to the unexpected pain of fragility settling in. Christ, Danny Glover’s character in Lethal Weapon was fifty and his tagline was “I’m getting too old for this.”

Beyond the age thing I am also struck by time passing my generation far more rapidly than I suppose makes me comfortable. I feel it swooping past in my interactions concerning politics and culture but the sense of being left behind didn’t strike fully until I watched John Wick Chapter 3. There are adults in the workforce today that weren’t even born when Rocky Balboa first fought Apollo Creed or when Luke met Ben Kenobi. I work with people who weren’t more than three years old when Keanu was The One in The Matrix.

I like being in my fifties. A lot. The household joke is that I’ve been waiting for my fifties for the last thirty years. I’m proud that I’ve lasted as long as I have and I’m quick to tout my age. Perhaps it is that the non-stop caffeine and nicotine have left me more youthfully preserved than many of my contemporaries (although not to bizarre level of, say, Paul Rudd). Since my early forties I am a certified gym rat. That track started out about vanity but now it’s far more about simply being in the kind of shape that allows me to stay on my feet for long periods and lift a heavy box or two without passing out.

I suppose the wisdom of the moment is to, like Keanu and his killer alter ego, keep moving forward, taking the hits and shaking them off, getting up each time I get knocked down. The world will pass me by, younger folk will replace me in a host of ways but, if I refuse to let age (or a bizarre underground league of super assassins) take me out too quickly, there might just be a Dylan Thomas thing going on.

Also, despite my reservations about the fucked psychology of someone adamantly non-violent reveling in the Ballet of Bloodshed, I loved the movie and I can’t wait for the fourth chapter.

#I Like to Watch #John Wick Chapter 3 — Parabellum

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robertkstone · 6 years ago

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Tasty Treats From the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is so great because you have people of all ages and types celebrating cars of all ages and types. It’s a true love fest that is organic at its core, even as it has become larger and more commercial each year.

We traveled to West Sussex to experience the majesty of the manor of His Grace, the Duke of Richmond (formerly the Earl of March) to see the lawns dotted with car displays and the driveway that is the Hillclimb.

Here are some things that caught our eye this year at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Porsche celebration

Porsche celebrated its 70th year showing production cars at Goodwood, with a strong collection on display and moving up the Hill. A sculpture with six Porsches was displayed in the lawn of Goodwood House to mark the anniversary. Climbing the hill in the Supercar group was the new 911 Speedster concept with retro wheels, mirrors, and a tan interior. Also to be ogled: the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder with a steel space frame, aluminum body, and 110-hp flat-four engine good for 140 hp. The example pictured below was No. 5 of 90 built.

Toyota Supra

A camouflaged Toyota Supra was there to delight and tease. It doesn’t go on sale until next year. In fact, we won’t even see the production car unwrapped until 2019. Like the BMW Z4 that was also developed in this collaboration, it will have a German 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six engine and eight-speed transmission in a light and well-balanced car. At Goodwood, it was driven by Toyota chief engineer Tetsuya Tada.

McLaren

McLaren debuted the 600LT at Goodwood this year, and the longtail with its 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 made the Hillclimb along with the Ultimate Series Senna and the 720S, 570GT, and 570S Spider. On display was the 1995 McLaren F1 original hypercar with a V-12 that rocketed it to 240 mph and won Le Mans in 1995, as well as a 1993 McLaren F1 and the 1966 Ford GT Mk II driven by Bruce McLaren. Unrelated to McLaren, a one-off custom builder displayed the P1 GT Lanzante, reminiscent of the F1 GT of the late ’90s, with a huge fixed wing.

We did the Hillclimb as a passenger in a 720S driven by Ben Barnicoat, part of the McLaren GT Driver Academy, who showcased the car’s capability. He loves the stability and handling of the 720S. I loved the thrill ride. The car wiggled and bounced but remained planted and stayed out of the hay bales that line the course.

Aston Martin V8 Cygnet

The little hatchback looked bizarrely out of place in the supercar Hillclimb, a stubby hatch surrounded by sleek sports cars and a few high-performance SUVs. Until you heard the 4.7-liter V-8 stuffed inside. Love it or hate it, you couldn’t help noticing the little car from Aston Martin Lagonda.

1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible

The giant fins on the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible drew attention in England, screaming American heritage on the Goodwood lawn. The Eldorado is laden with chrome and was a marvel in its day for having six-way power seats and electric windows and roof. Its huge 6.4-liter V-8 only churned out 345 hp.

1960 Chrysler 300 E convertible

Beside the Caddy was a 1960 Chrysler 300 E convertible with large diagonal rear fins. Designed by Virgil Exner, it had a forward look that Chrysler designers would later bring back. It also had power swivel seats that turned to the curb when the doors opened. Only 125 were made.

Apollo Intensa Emozione

In the car’s first public run, the Apollo Intensa Emozione’s throaty 780-hp V-12 thrilled the crowd on the Hillclimb. The IE’s owner said the tech in today’s supercars makes them too easy to drive—they should require skill and talent. Back to the future.

W Motors Fenyr SuperSport

Sure to inspire debate on styling, the Fenyr SuperSport by W Motors is now on sale, and the $1.2 million car held its own on the Hillclimb. Its 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six pumps out 800 hp. Built in Dubai, this car is the son of Lykan from Furious 7. It made its debut this year in Geneva, but this was its dynamic debut: a chance to see all those sharp, crazy lines in motion.

Roborace

This self-driving car made it up the Hillclimb repeatedly without incident, which is more than a Siemens-equipped 1965 Ford Mustang could say, as its backup driver kept bailing it out of near collisions with the hay. The 500-hp electric Roborace had no driver aboard, just a lot of cameras, sensors, radar, lidar, and ultrasonic. (It also had onboard GPS, but trees that line the Duke’s driveway blocked satellite signals on part of the course.) The private company is developing automated systems it hopes to see other automakers use.

The post Tasty Treats From the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed appeared first on Motor Trend.

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christsbride · 7 years ago

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The Watchtower's New World Translation of the Bible

There are many bible translations but none that contradict each other except for the New World Translation. This translation translates words and ideas differently causing conflict with the other translations. Both can not be true so is the New World Translation a true biblical translation? This article will look a a few areas of the translation where words are changed or added and explore the true meaning found in the Alexandrian, Byzantine, and Old Testament ancient texts. Cross or Stake? The New World Translation renders the Greek term word staurós ("cross") as "torture stake" because Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that Jesus was crucified on a cross. The English word for "cross" comes from the latin word "crux". Whether "stake" or "cross" is used; this still does not negate the detailed history of the use of the thing. Roman historian Tacitus describes such events. Criminals, with their crossbeams are then mounted on the fixed pole for the purpose of slow painful deaths. Jewish historian Josephus (born only a few years after Jesus was killed) records people caught by Romans, being nailed to them. Roman politician Cicero, who wrote around 30BC, recorded the gruesome nature of this kind of execution. Seneca the Younger, a Roman philosopher who lived during Jesus' time, described the method as means to humiliate. Jehovah's Witnesses argue that Jesus was crucified on a crux simplex, and that the crux immissa was an invention of Emperor Constantine round the 4th century in defense of Christianity; but a graffito found in a taberna in Puteoli, dating to the time of Trajan or Hadrian (late 1st century to early 2nd century CE) shows a T shaped crucifixion. The New Testament writings about the crucifixion of Jesus do not specifically describe the shape of the cross, but the early writings that do speak of its shape, from about the year 100 CE on, describe it as shaped like the letter T (the Greek letter tau) or as composed of an upright and a transverse beam, sometimes with a small projection in the upright. When considering actual Roman history we can conclude that simply calling it a 'stake' is an insufficient word choice. An example of poor choice words in translations that can negatively impact the understanding is this: The concept of our desperate need for Jesus. If I was to say in greek, "I moved to Jesus". That is a good thing. But if I was to have actually said in greek "I sprinted to Jesus"; notice the big difference. Yes, sprinting is moving, but sprinting illuminates the desperation. The New World translation would have used the word 'move' instead of 'sprint' because of their own theological agendas and would argue that 'moving' is what the greek word means- this is called deceptive truth. Even though sprinting is moving and can mean moving, the author meant a more specific word to illuminate the truth. Thus, with true historic evidences we can conclude that the 'cross' is best. Therefore, we can conclude that Jesus was in fact crucified on a "cross". With this we can already see poor word choices in the New World Translation. The reasoning for that poor word choice is due to an attempt to morph unbiblical teachings forced by changing the wording in scripture. Not only does the word choice not fully express the message but it conflicts with actual historical facts. The Place of The Dead- Hell? The New World Translation does not translate the words sheol, hades, and gehenna as "hell” because Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in hell. Aside from the theological misunderstandings of God's Justice and Love with Hell; and looking at the actual meanings expressed in the ancient biblical texts in the cultures it was written in we can see the same poor word choice issue. In Jewish tradition, gehenna, is the place of fire and torment for the wicked (Kiddushin 4.14, Avot 1.5; 5.19, 20, Tosefta t. Bereshith 6.15, and Babylonian Talmud b.Rosh Hashanah 16b:7a; b. Bereshith 28b). This place is know for this because historically and traditionally this is where children were burned to a pagan god. The same place Jesus states in Matthew 5:22, 29-30, 10:28, 18:9, 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6). Sheol and Hades are cultural words that are synonyms for the same place describing a general sense of the world of the dead. The context points to the specificity of the truth about this place. In general, scripture tells us of a literal place where wicked and fallen angels will go for eternal torment. But if God is Just and Loving, how then can he send anyone there? Simple. People choose to go there and because God is ultimately loving, he gives them what they ultimately desire; separation from himself. It is God's justice that requires payment for sin; thus this place apart from him is their rightful and just payment for their sins. God remains perfectly Just and Loving by giving people what they ultimately desire with the perfect judged consequences of it. This place is called Hell in English and the descriptive words are synonyms of that place. The importance of understanding the culture and synonyms is key. Misunderstanding this leads to unbiblical ideas which influences incorrect translations. That is exactly what happened with the New World Translation. The teachers of the Jehovah's Witness religion failed to properly understand Hell. They invented an idea about this subject and injected that false idea into how they translate the bible. Already Came or Still Coming? The NWT gives the translation "presence" instead of “coming” for the Greek word parousia because Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Christ has already returned in the early 1900s. This translation is soley based on the concept that Jesus already came. When the authors wrote the word, in context, was in future tense. Jesus' physical presence was coming. The translation of this word in the NWT is completely dependent on the idea that Jesus already came. Did he? Acts 1:9-11 specifically tells us that he physically ascended into heaven AND will return the same way. Therefore we know that he will physically descend from heaven in the future. Jesus discussed this with the Apostles in Matthew 24:3-32. There are some huge points that need to be made here. First, Jesus warns the Apostles (and us) about false Christs and false prophets. "And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you... For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many... Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many... Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him... For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect." Jehovah's Witnesses aren't the only ones who claim that Jesus already came. Ann Lee (1736–1784), the founder and leader of the Shakers believed she was the female incarnation of Christ on Earth. William W. Davies (1833–1906), leader of a Latter Day Saint group. He taught his followers that he was the archangel Michael, and also declared that the infant was the reincarnated Jesus Christ. Sun Myung Moon (1920–2012), believed by members of the Unification Church to be the Messiah and the Second Coming of Christ. Yahweh ben Yahweh (1935–2007), born as Hulon Mitchell, Jr., a black nationalist and separatist who created the Nation of Yahweh in 1979 in Liberty City, Florida. His self-proclaimed name means "God, Son of God". He could have only been deeming himself to be "son of God", not God, but many of his followers clearly deem him to be God Incarnate. Inri Cristo (1948–), a Brazilian who claims to be the second Jesus reincarnated in 1969. Apollo Quiboloy (1950–) is the founder and leader of a Philippines-based Restorationist church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. He has made claims that he is the "Appointed Son of God". Alan John Miller (1962–), more commonly known as A.J. Miller, a former Jehovah's Witness elder and current leader of the Australia-based Divine Truth movement. Miller claims to be Jesus Christ reincarnated. This just to name a few throughout history. The Jehovah Witness claim is nothing new. How do we know they aren't? We continue reading in Matthew 24: "So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them... For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be... And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory... For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah... and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be." And just like that; the entire earth will know. The entire earth will see him. "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will." (Matthew 24:21) The power and great glory of his coming will be so great and so grand; more grand than the beginning of the World! Well, the whole world did not see anything. The power and glory was not that great if the Jehovah's Witnesses are right... Their claim of him already coming conflicts with what Jesus revealed; therefore he has not come yet. With that said, the NWT rendering of the word "presence" instead of "coming" is very incorrect because the more accurate word is in fact 'coming'. There was nothing like the flood, nothing more powerful than creation, no great and grand power or glory, and "ALL" the tribes of the earth did not see anything. All Other Things? In Colossians 1:16, the NWT inserts the word “other” despite its being completely absent from the original Greek text. It does this to give the view that “all other things” were created by Christ, instead of what the text says, “all things were created by Christ.” This is to go along with their belief that Christ is a created being, which they believe because they deny the Trinity. The NWT also adds the word other four times to Colossians 1:15-17. This implies that Jesus was first created AND THEN He created other things. There is no word in the Greek text for other. The NWT translators added it in order to put their false doctrine into the text. The Alexandrian Text Types read "ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα" which literally states "For by Him all things were created". They continue to read "καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν πρὸ πάντων" which literally states "He is before all things". The dishonest insertion of the word "other" attempts to impute something that is NOT stated in scripture. The Word was a god? This is a typical verse JW use in defense of their beliefs; John 1:1. But this defense is solely based on an idea injected into the bible and not originally from the bible. The original Greek text reads, “and God was The Word.” The NWT renders it as “the word was a god.” This is not just a matter of correct translation, but of reading one's preconceived theology into the text, rather than allowing the text to speak for itself. The most revealing evidence of the Watchtower's bias is their inconsistent translation technique. Throughout the Gospel of John, the Greek word theon occurs without a definite article. The New World Translation renders none of these as “a god.” Just three verses after John 1:1, the New World Translation translates another case of theos without the indefinite article as "God." Even more inconsistent, in John 1:18, the NWT translates the same term as both "God" and "god" in the very same sentence. When considering the historical and cultural context of "God" in Israel we see that they were monotheistic. The earliest church teachers also taught monotheism. Given the time of the writing of scripture, singular "God" is the absolute most correct translation. The NWT cherry picks how to translate the word based on its own ideas outside of the bible to fit its invented teachings. It is also important to note that if the author wanted to express a plurality of gods, the greek language could. In other greek writings, when talking about the pantheon of gods, they do. Therefore, the author could have chosen to express that here; but he didn't. The odd inconsistent justification is 'Jesus is just a lesser god' But this then comes into conflict with strict monotheistic verses in the bible. This is also self defeating because he is still a god. But if there is only one Almighty God, than there can not be other gods, even if to a lesser extent; because by definition of God, there could not be more than one. Another attempt to justify the existence of 'lesser gods' they will misunderstand Exodus 4:16 and Exodus 7:1. But this is easy to spot the fallacy in the fact that Moses was only stated to be made "AS God" and not "A God". Moses was "as God" in the sense that he was given the authority and power to display powerful miracles that decimated much of Egypt. This does not make him "a god" because his authority and power came from THE monotheistic GOD in the first place. YHWH Second, Jehovah is not a Biblical word. It was created by combining the original Hebrew name for God YHWH and adonai (word used by Jews who didn’t want to say God’s name). The resulting combined word, “Jehovah” has been used for the name God by many groups but it is not found in the Bible. Nowhere do you find the word Jehovah in the original languages, Hebrew or Greek. Instead the New Testament uses the words “Lord” [Greek: Kurios] and “God” [Greek: theos] when talking about God. The writers never used Jehovah, even when quoting the Old Testament. The Greek New Testament source for the New World Translation, Westcott and Hort, never used Jehovah. They used kurios for Lord and theos for God. The Kingdom Interlinear confirms Jehovah was never in the original text. This interlinear published by the Watchtower Organization shows how kurios (Lord) and theos (God) were changed to Jehovah in the English translation. When it comes to this translation we find it almost universally rejected by noted scholars in the field of Biblical translations according to Dr. Ron Rhodes. British scholar H.H. Rowley asserted, ‘from the beginning to end this volume is a shining example of how the Bible should not be translated.’ Indeed, Rowley said, this translation is ‘an insult to the Word of God.’” Dr. Julius Manti, author of A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, calls the New World translation “a shocking mistranslation.” Dr. Bruce M. Metzger, professor of New Testament at Princeton University, calls the New World translation “a frightful mistranslation,” “erroneous,” “pernicious,” and “reprehensible.” Dr. William Barclay concluded that “the deliberate distortion of truth by this sect is seen in their New Testament translation. It is abundantly clear that a sect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest.” Former Jehovah witness David Reed notes, “an unbiased observer will quickly note that such anonymity also shields the translators from any blame for errors or distortions in their renderings. And it prevents scholars from checking their credentials.” The Watchtower Society must have been utterly embarrassed when the names of the translators of the New World translation were made known to the public. The reason for concern was the translation committee was completely unqualified for the task. Four of the five men in the committee had no Hebrew or Greek training whatsoever (they had only a high school education). The Fifth, Fred W. Franz, claimed to know Hebrew and Greek, but upon examination under oath in a court of law in Edinburg Scotland he failed a basic Hebrew test. Raymond Victor Franz, Fredrick's nephew, was a member of the divine Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. He later left the JW after studying the Bible and comparing it to JW teachings. He later wrote Crisis of Conscience (1983) and In Search of Christian Freedom (1991) that detailed his experiences with the Jehovah's Witnesses and their inner workings and teachings. Just these two examples prove the fallibility of the Governing Body and exposed it as less than divinely inspired by Almighty God. Which, also, exposes the fallacies of the NWT. Internal Theological Contradictions There exist theological inconsistencies between the NWT and Watchtower theology. Isaiah 40-48. By simply reading these eight chapters, or at least select passages from within them, and comparing them to other biblical teachings, major cracks in the foundation of the Watchtower’s primary biblical translation emerge. Matt. 3:3 uses Isaiah for Jesus. John 10:14 Jesus as the shepherd as in Isa 40:11. When reading from the NWT; Matthew 3:3 even validates that Isaiah was speaking about Jesus and John The Baptist and records Jesus claiming to the shepherd as stated in Isaiah 40:11. And announced in just two verses prior is the statement from Isaiah "Here is your God." and "like a shepherd HE will care for HIS flock". Remember, this verses is talking about Almighty God. Then in John 10:14, Jesus literally states "I know my sheep and my sheep know me". These issues come from comparing the NWT with itself. These are just a few examples, but it is recommended to study Isaiah 40-48 and compare it to what is stated in the synoptic gospels. CONCLUSION If ANY of these issues are true, than it proves the NWT has errors in its translation method. Aside from translation errors, it is important to see that the translation method itself directly influenced by ideas invented outside of The Bible. Then, the ideas, injected into the translation. The source for the Biblical ideas comes from ignorant assumptions and misunderstandings, cherry picked from what the Bible actually declares. To truly understand scripture one must keep in mind the cultural and historical implications associated with it; and interpret scripture with the totality of scripture and not from one or two selected verses and then jump to conclusions without the whole of scripture being reconciled. Miss translations such as stake, Misunderstandings such as sheol, hades, and gehenna. Extra-biblical injected theology such as presence instead of coming. Added words such as "a" and "other". Extra-biblical created words such as Jehovah. Self existent contradictions such as in Isaiah compared to Matthew and John. These examples prove the New World Translation is not a translation of God's Word but rather a translation morphed into The Watchtower's teachings. The source for the ideas that change the translation methods is from those who attempt to translate without proper education and preconceived extra-biblical beliefs. The JW argument comes down to this: The New World Translation is the most correct translation because the Watchtower re-translated the bible based off of Watchtower beliefs found in the New World Translation. That is the same as saying: A circle is a square because a square is a circle. This logical fallacy is called Circular Reasoning; and thus, is illogical. Defending the New World Translation is the argument that the NWT is true because it is from the Watchtower, because the Watchtower is in the NWT of which it translated. As compared to the argument for the NASB for example; which is based from the Alexandrian Text types and Masoritic Texts simply translated into English using the common understanding of the language, culture, and history of the authors. Also read The Jehovah's Witnesses If you have any questions or comments about this article please contact us or join our discussion forms

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pinwheelrecords · 8 years ago

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UPDATED RSD INVENTORY LIST!!!!!

We found a few stragglers (BEATLES! LINK WRAY! VENOM! SHOCKING BLUE!) and realized a few titles disappeared (Sorry Iron & Wine, Gary Clark, Jr., & "I Want You Back Again" Zombies fans!). We're also still waiting on a status on the David Bowie "BOWPROMO" release, so ask us about it when you come in.

Here's the list to follow:

Against Me--Stabitha Christie

Air--Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi

Allen Toussaint--Allen Toussaint Collection

Andre 3000--All Together Now

Atomic Bomb Band--Performing the Music of William Onyeabor

Balkans-Pedro Four-Way (Ft. Mike Watt--)Balkans-Pedro Four-Way

Banks & Steelz--Wild Season

The Beatles: Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane

Ben Folds--Live in Perth

Big Star--Complete Third: Vol. 3 - Final Masters

Big Thief--Mythological Beauty

Bill Evans--Another Time: Hilversum Concert

Blowfly--Forever Fly

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & Nathan Salsburg--Untitled ("Beargrass Song" + 2 EP)

Bruce Springsteen--HAMMERSMITH ODEON LONDON 75

Buddy Guy--Sick With Love / She Got It Together

The Cars--Live at the Agora 1978

Cleaners From Venus--Best Of

Coheed & Cambria--Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV V1

Corey Feldman--GO 4 IT

Count Five--Psychotic Reaction (Mono)

The Cure--Greatest Hits

The Cure--Greatest Hits Acoustic

Curtis Knight Feat. Jimi Hendrix--Live At George's Club

Danny Brown--Ain't It Funny

David Bowie--Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74

)David Bowie--BOWPROMO Box Set

Deee-Lite--Groove is in the Heart/What Is Love

Dennis Wilson--Bambu (Caribou Sessions)

Dexter Gordon--Walk the Blues

Dillinger Escape Plan--Instrumentalist

Distillers--Coral Fang

Dolly Parton--Puppy Love

The Doors--Live at the Matrix 1967

Drive-By Truckers--Live in Studio

Easybeats--Vigil

Flaming Groovies & Dylan Gardner--Shake Some Action

Flaming Lips--Onboard the International Space Station

Fleetwood Mac--Alternate Mirage

Frank 'n' Dank & Jay Dee--The Jay Dee Tapes

Glenn Jones & Matthew Azevedo--Waterworks

Grateful Dead--P.N.E. Garden Auditorium, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 7/29/66

Hamilton Leithauser & Rostam--Live at KCRW

Harry Nilsson--Nilsson Schmilsson

Hawkwind--Best of the United Artists Years 71-74

Jane's Addiction--Been Caught Stealing (Remix Version

)Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit--Live From Welcome to 1979

John WIlliams--Star Wars: A New Hope

Johnny Cash--Johnny Cash's Childrens Album

Ken Kesey--The Acid Test

Kevin Morby--Beautiful Strangers / No Place to Fall

The Kinks--All Day & All of the Night 7"

The Kinks--Got Love If You Want It 7"

Link Wray--Beans & Fatback

Lou Reed--PERFECT NIGHT:LIVE IN LONDON

Luna--Penthouse

Madonna--Dance Mix

Malvina Reynolds--Little Boxes and Magic Pennies: An Anthology Of Children's Songs (1960-1977)

Marcy Playground--Marcy Playground

Mark Mulcahy--Possum in the Driveway

Miley Cyrus--Bangerz

Moondog--Moondog

Motorhead--Clean Your Clock

Neil Young--Decade

Nico--Fata Morgana

No. 2--What Does Good Luck Bring

Notorious B.I.G--.Born Again

The Offspring--The Offspring

Patti Smith--Hey Joe/Piss Factory

Paul Shaffer & Bill Murray--Happy Street

Pearl Jam--State of Love & Trust / Breath

Peter Schilling--Major Tom

Peter Tosh--Legalize It!

Pink Floyd--LONDON 1966 - 1967

Pink Floyd--Interstellar Overdrive

Prince--Batdance

Prince--I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man

Prince--I Wish U Heaven

Prince--Partyman

Prince--Sign O' the Times

Prince--Pop Life

Prince--Little Red Corvette / 1999

Procol Harum--A Whiter Shade of Pale

R.L. Burnside--Long Distance Call: Europe Recordings, 1982

The Raincoats--The Fairytale in the Supermarket

Robert Johnson--The Centennial Collection: The Complete Recordings

Run the Jewels--Run the Jewels Tote Bag + Enamel Pins

Rush--CYGNUS X-1

Sharon Jones w/ E.L. Fields Gospel Wonders--Heaven Bound B/W Key to the Kingdom

Shocking Blue: At Home

Slick Rick--Great Adventures of Slick Rick + Childrens Book

The Smiths--The Boy With the Thorn in His Side

Snapcase--Lookinglasself

Son House--Live At Oberlin College, April 15, 1965

Spacemen 3--For All the Fucked Up Children

Spacemen 3--Recurring

Spacemen 3--Playing with Fire

Spoon--Hot Thoughts 12"

Stevie Nicks--Rarities

The Stooges--Heavy Liquid/The Album

Sun Ra--Janus

Sun Ra--Discipline 27-11

Sunny Day Real Estate--Rising Tide

Super Furry Animals--Fuzzy Logic

Superchunk--Cup of Sand

T. Rex--Rock N Roll EP

Talking Heads / Wildling--This Must Be the Place

Tegan & Sara--Under Feet Like Ours

Tegan & Sara / Regrettes--Back in Your Head

Television Personalities--The Painted Word

Television Personalities--Mummy You're Not Watching

Television Personalities--They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles

Thelonious Monk--Les Liasisons Dangereuses 1960

Tolga Kashif--Kashif: Queen Symphony

Toto--Africa

Trans Am--California Hotel

Trevor Jones--The Dark Crystal: The 1982 Original Soundtrack

U2--Red Hill Mining Town

Vangelis--Blade Runner Soundtrack

Various--Fawlty Tours Soundtrack

Various--Just Say 50: Sire Records 50th Anniversary

Various--Nuggets: Come to the Sunshine

Various--Pineapple Express Soundtrack

Various--Really Rock 'Em Right: Sun Records Curated By Record Store Day Vol. 4

Various--Rough Guide to Bollywood: The Psychedelic Years

Various--Southwest Side Story

Various--Space Jam Soundtrack

Various--We're Gonna Have a Party! The Sound of Wand Records

Venom--At War With Satan

War on Drugs--Thinking of a Place

Wes Montgomery--Smokin' in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse

White Zombie--Gods on Voodoo Moon

The Zombies--A Rose For Emily/This Will Be Our Year

The Zombies--Broadcast 66 EP

Once again, super limited quantities on most of these titles!

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comicsrelaunched-blog · 8 years ago

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Number One Reviewer (releases from 15th of Feb 2017)

A lot has happened over the last week in the comicbook world: It now look as if Ben Affleck is not only done with directing Batman, apparently he now wants out of playing Batman, DC announced The Lazarus Contract a big new crossover that will involve Deathstroke, The Titans and The Teen Titans and Marvel released a Behind-The-Scenes look at Infinity war.

But instead of things that are yet to come we now look to the present and more importantly this weeks new releases. Emerald Outlaw comes to a close in Green Arrow #17, Dylan’s story continues in Kill Or Be Killed #6, more controversy comes from Captain America: Steve Rogers #11 and Slott’s latest Spider event comes to a close in Clone Conspiracy #5.

As for our brand new series we have 3. All from DC this week, Batwoman spins out on her own, Damian and Jon form the Super Sons, and DC gives The Wildstorm universe a Rebirth.

Batwoman: Rebirth #1

Writers: Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion IV

Art: Steve Epting

The 6th book to join the Batman line in the DC Rebirth, Batwoman spins out of James Tynion’s Detective comic series. This rebirth issue is used to mainly reestablish Kate Kane as a character after her New 52 fiasco. We make away through important moments of Kates life up until now, where we see Batman tell her that the ‘monster venom’ has hit the black market, which i assume is what the main plot of the first arc will be in the new series

Each moment of Kate’s life we see have been perfectly chosen to give an almost perfect amount of emotional impact, we see at her at her very best and her very worst. These moments are so impactful that they really cement who Kate Kane is, a strong determined woman who will stop at nothing to serve justice. What is so obvious here is her difference from Batman, she is so much more human, mainly seen in the panels showing her several different loves. Kate Kane’s sexuality was what caused the controversy of her last series when DC stopped writer James Williams plan to marry the character with Maggie Sawyer, Just like their run however the sexuality is dealt with so well in this issue.

Epting’s art is super strong as always, many of his panels, especially those set in Coryana, have a very strong noir influence and remind me of Sean Phillips Fatale work. But what really stands out is Epting’s recreation of Eddy Barrows cover of Detective Comics 934.

The rebirth issue is showing a lot of promise for the ongoing, and if it follows the strengths we have seen from the character in Detective Comics this series could be one to watch.

8/10

Super Sons #1

Writer: Peter J Tomasi

Art: Jorge Jiminez

One of the best elements of DC rebirth has been Jonathan Kent. Superman’s son. Throughout Superman and Action comics we have already seen Jon develop so much in such a short period of time. We recently got to see the first meeting of Jon and Damian Wayne in the pages of Superman and now that spins out into a brand new series.

The two issue arc following the first meeting of Jon and Damian was a lot of fun, and that fun continues here in this new series. It’s very much a book for those who have been reading and enjoying the latest superman books, it’s a lot more lighthearted than the Bat-books that re on the shelf. Jon once again is portrayed as this young kid with a desire to do good but with the moralistic issues of keeping his powers secret. There is nice little sequence that has an anti bullying message from Clarke and Lois.

Damian and Jon couldn’t be more different, a hereditary thing i think. Jon questions the very fibers of Damian’s personality, that leads to a lot of fun banter between the two, the piggyback line is personally my favourite. The greatest part of this issue is that we get to see the difference in parenting styles of Clarke and Bruce and surprise surprise they couldn’t be more different, Bruce only knows what his son has done through Alfred where as Clarke cares about everything his son has to say. Seeing Jon waiting up for his dad to return warmed my heart.

The Art for me is where this issue falls down a bit. It’s slightly inconsistent, it’s hard to see the kids ages and the art is quite pointy that is until Batman and Superman are on the scene where all of a sudden the art becomes incredible.

Super Sons makes a fun debut, with a lovely pair of contrasting characters. This could become the a very strong series, becoming a complimenting companion to the Superman and Batman lines, while offereing something very different to the likes of Worlds Finest.

7/10

The Wild Storm #1

Writer: Warren Ellis

Art: Jon Davis Hunt

The Wildstorm line has been with DC now since 1999 and was always a separate universe. That was until 2011 when with the events of Flashpoint the Wildstorm universe merged with the DC universe, however the Wildstorm characters popularity would dip pretty quickly with all of the titles being cancelled. In the DC You era Midnighter was a surprise hit and that continued with Midnighter and Apollo in the rebirth era. But what about the other characters well this is where this book comes in. The Wild Storm #1 is the first book in DCs new Wildstrom imprint, the second new imprint in the rebirth era, however unlike the Young Animal imprint, Wildstorm is once again a separate universe.

Warren Ellis uses this first issue to introduce us to several characters of the new rebooted universe, including Zealot, Engineer and Miles Craven. This first issue revolves around an assassination attempt on Jacob Marlowe the head of HALO, who is then saved by Engineer. While the plot is a very basic set up for whats to come, Ellis’s characterization is on point here, particularly for Engineer and Jacob Marlowe. What really elevates this issue though is Hunt’s art, it has this bleakness to it, that really differentiates this universe to the DCU and the redesign of Engineer is ridiculously cool.

#1 is a very intriguing start to the series but needs a bit more wow factor to keep it so and i have no doubt that Waren Ellis is capable of that.

7/10

So that’s this weeks new #1s, promising starts for 3 new series. Come back next week for reviews for the first issue of JLA and Elektra.

#DC comics #comcis #Super sons #batman #robin #superman #batwoman #superboy #wildstorm #the wild storm

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theampreviews · 8 years ago

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Favorite Films of 2016

2016 will probably be remembered more for its big budget flops like Ghostbusters, Alice Through The Looking Glass, The Legend of Tarzan, The Huntsman than for any breakout hits, outside of the obvious annual clock-punchers from Marvel and Lucas Film. From a distance a brace of Summer duds can unfairly colour a year, and that’s certainly the case for me. Aside from (and sometimes including) these under-performing, perceived failures, there was some absolute gold among the silt.

Will Smith (and more to the point, his wife) throwing toys out the pram over the lack of an Academy Award nomination for Concussion [30] took away from what was an admirably thoughtful film about the heath issues plaguing the NFL. Sure, it was always Leo’s year, but he deserved to be in the conversation at the very least (although to be fair to the Academy, not making the final 5 doesn’t mean he wasn’t).

Paramount continue to deliver under appreciated brilliance with the 3rd in their rebooted franchise, Star Trek: Beyond [29] hit all the right notes for a summer sci-fi blockbuster; fast, fun and frivolous. People complained it felt like an extended episode, but that’s exactly why I liked it, I’ve had enough of world building, just show me a good time. They also had another zinger at the start of the year with Michael Bay’s underrated 13 Hours [28]. Chances are his name alone, attached to a military action/drama, was enough to put audiences off, but they missed a trick skipping this one. He may be off-puttingly jingoistic, but he even managed to temper that somewhat here, whilst delivering action set-pieces that put most others to shame.

Another notable failure of the year was Natalie Portman’s Jane Got A Gun [27]. It’s one of those “development hell” cautionary tales yet, it didn’t show its scars for me. I’m a big fan of Westerns and this one kept things intimate & lean, and all the better for it. The opposite of that, and another of the years casualties, was Duncan Jones’ Warcraft [26]. A (likely) failed franchise starter based on the oddly popular role play game, this was a hulking great bowl full of cinematic jelly & icecream that few bothered with. It certainly showed that The Hobbit likely killed off any notions of Fantasy’s great comeback. It’s a shame because amongst the ridiculousness, Jones managed to put some life behind the eyes of his CGI characters in a way that is desperately lacking in the craft (I’m staring you straight in your dead Peter Cushing eyes, Disney).

Far smaller in scale (and finding a far smaller audience) was Elvis & Nixon [25], the Michael Shannon/Kevin Spacey comedy about the meeting behind the most requested photo in the White House archives. Shannon seemed unlikely casting for The King in a visual sense, but he finds ways to convey the spirit of Elvis (from what we know of him) that allows for the lack of physical likeness. Spacey, a familiar face in that room thanks to House Of Cards, is a far cry from finding the depths of Nixon that Anthony Hopkins did, but he’s fun in the role and the two enjoy a great chemistry behind their masks.

Don’t call it a comeback (people will yell at you), but seeing Mel Gibson back on screen in 2016 was a heartwarming delight. Blood Father [24] was a nice beefed-up throwback to the sort of films he made back in the 80s and 90s with one eye on the Liam Neeson market. A story of a loathsome alcoholic putting himself in harms way for redemption may have been a little on the nose for those that have no time for him, but they likely didn’t see it anyway. Nor did many make the trip to see another star of the 20-30 years past take a stab at the aging action hero in Kevin Costner’s batty Criminal [23]. The preposterous story of murderous psychopath being the only viable candidate for a dead Ryan Reynolds memory transplant, Criminal was loopy enough to rise above its own absurdity. It was also filmed in Croydon, adding to the whole whatthefuckness of it all. I had a blast with this one.

A Bigger Splash [22] is one of those meandering films that does very little but won me over thanks to Ralph Fiennes being absolutely bloody marvelous. I’ve really taken to his latter day renaissance as a fine comedic actor. I’ve also taken greatly to Kiwi Comedy, and Hunt For The Wilderpeople [21] carries on their fine tradition of distinctly idiosyncratic humor that can be as heartfelt as it is hilarious, with a touching and delightful performance from newcomer Julian Dennison. Lenny Abrahamson also managed to balance both the traumatic and the sentimental perfectly, with a standout performance from the mini Jacob Tremblay, in Room [20]. As a huge fan of the …Top Model TV show (Australia, America, Britain in order of preference) I found Nicholas Winding Refn’s absurd psycho-horror The Neon Demon [19] a highly amusing satire on the fashion world. And there’s no denying he creates visually arresting films. I laughed my arse off at the ending, not sure if that was the desired reaction or not, but it worked for me. So to did Ben Wheatley’s immaculate construction of a simple metaphor, High-Rise [18], a tribute to decadence & squalor was one of those films that entertains as it confounds. Hiddleston, Miller and Evans were all superb.

Hollywood reconstructions of real-life tragedies can often feel clumsy and exploitative but credit where it’s due, Peter Berg kept the glorifying heroics to a minimum (mercifully devoid of slow-mo) with Deepwater Horizon [17] and worked on delivering an effective build up to a chaotic and intense finale. Speaks volumes that the tech-heavy opening half is as gripping as the explosive stuff, if not more so. For a subject that could feel a lot like homework, Adam McKay also made a bold and brash film out of The Big Short [16] that did a good job of explaining itself in entertaining ways and ended up being an incendiary and surprisingly emotional account of one of recent history’s most colossal financial tragedy. Bale’s Oscar nod was well deserved.

Deniz Gamze Erguven and his superb young cast tackled the depressing truths of life as a young girl in a strict Muslim country in Mustang [15] and breathed a commendable amount life and vitality into it. What could have been a grim tale of patriarchal oppression becomes a spirited bid for freedom. Wonderful film.

Amusing and emotional, the pairing of Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel looking back on lives lived and/or wasted worked wonders for me. A heady mix of regret and sensuality with segways into the sublime and the ridiculous, Youth [14] was a sensory cocktail. Rachel Weisz was the standout, one of my favourite performances of the year.

On paper, Captain Fantastic [13] looked like a Wes Anderson wannabe, touchy-feely cringe fest but, despite appearances, this was one of the most affecting films I saw all year. Put me in a brilliant mood, and that’s worth celebrating. As did The Jungle Book [12]. This was pure joy; an old fashioned story told with the very best technology the industry has to offer, without losing any of its heart or soul. Sets the standard for all future Disney live action adaptions. Bravo, Favs!

With Boyhood leaving me pretty cold, aside from an appreciation of the impressive production scale, I was glad to see Richard Linklater revisit Dazed and Confused (always my favourite of his films) by way of an anthology-style sequel in Everybody Wants Some!! [11]. Following a group of two-track minded Jocks (Baseball & Women) this became a casualty of the super-Woke climate of 2016, but I frigging loved it. Good to see more of the promising Wyatt Russell and a (should have been) star making turn from Glen Powell. One of the best feel-good Comedies I’ve seen in an age.

Hell Or High Water [10] was an incredibly simple story of Cops n Robbers incredibly well told. Sometimes, that’s all it takes. (It also featured the years most satisfying beatdowns)

Tobias Lindholm is one of my favourite filmmakers to emerge in recent years; writer of The Hunt and director of A Hijaking, two of my favourite films of 2012 (numbers 1 & 3 respectively). A War (Krigen) [09], staring A Hijacking’s brilliant Pilou Asbaek, is a taught drama covering the trial of a Danish Commander accused of an illegal killing (or, civil murder) in Afghanistan. Frustrating and engrossing in equal measure, this is the type of honest, contemplative war films rarely seen in Hollywood.

With all the dust settled on the DiCaprio Oscar Campaign, The Revenant [08] stands tall as a devilishly engrossing revenge thriller that’s as linear and explosive as any Hollywood Action Flick, despite its protestations to be something more cerebral/spiritual. And, for what it’s worth, Leo was fucking great. Films rarely look, sound or feel this good.

If Blue Ruin made me take notice of Jeremy Saulnier in 2013, this years Green Room [07] ensures I will be there day one for whatever he comes up with next. A brutal, claustrophobic rush of Horror-Realism, this was a huge “Fuck You!” to the bland and predictable schlock that spills out of studios all year. It’s also a punk-as-fuck farewell to the late Anton Yelchin, who’s premature death this year was the biggest gut punch.

For too long Hollywood has paraded The Great White Hope in boxing movies (and still does), so it was great to see the Daddy of them all address the balance by bringing Apollo Creed’s son front and center to carry on this beloved franchise in Ryan Coogler’s euphoric Creed [06]. Michael B Jordan is stellar in the lead role and Stallone gifted one of Cinema’s most enduring Icons a worthy and heartfelt send-off. For people of a certain age, this was their most emotional trip to the cinema in 2016.

Continuing my love affair with Danish cinema, Anders Thomas Jensen’s absurdly wicked comedy Maend & Hons (Men & Chicken) [05] playfully flirtswith horror and pathos in ways I’ve seldom seen. Finding a beauty in the grotesque, this was the most bizarrely fascinating and fulfilling film I saw all year, one that had me going over what I’d seen for hours after as it revealed ever more miniature complexities. It’s also great to see Mads Mikkelsen taking huge roles in two of the years biggest Disney behemoths but still have enough love in his native Cinema to fit something lie this in too. What a guy.

Shane Black’s sense of humor really clicks with me (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a Hall Of Famer for me) and The Nice Guys [04] had me rolling. Russell Crowe was game for playing the straight guy to a movie-stealing performance from Ryan Gosling, who, it turns out, is a Comedy Genius. The Year’s best Comedy, hands down, and a film that already appears to have endless rewatchability.

Another film that I’ve had no issues with watching several times last year, despite its hefty run-time (4 at last count) was Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight [03]. Outside of the exceptional run of his first three films, this is QT’s MASTERPIECE. His writing is as good as it has ever been but his growth as a Director is most evident in this film. I feel like I’m in that haberdashery with them every time I watch this; it’s some of the richest story telling I’ve ever seen with a brace of stellar performances.

Then we come to my most contentious pick in all of 2016; Batman v Superman [02]. I’ll never apologise for liking this movie as much as I do, but the amount of scorn thrown its way needs to be acknowledged. The disappointment most people felt with this film seems to boil down to one thing: Zack Snyder. People don’t like him or his style of film-making. I love him. As annoying as it has proved to be to express to people; for me Snyder has made the best Comic Book Movie yet. It’s an absolute tour de force of owning the world you’re creating, not apologizing for it or trying to excuse the inherent absurdities with knowing humor or smug cynicism. Sure, it aims for the Man-Child audience du jour, kids will be bored to death here (as many adults were, yes, yes, bravo) and that’s something I think is a fault with the Genre across the board, but Snyder sets his tone and rides it, hard. Going for broke with the grand mythologizing, Snyder has taken a huge leap with the DCU and, whilst for many he has landed flat on his face, I think he soars. Henry Cavill’s conflicted Superman is the most interesting take on the character I’ve seen yet. The distrust shown him by the people he’s promised to protect making him question his role on Earth gives what has been a rather bland Hero in the past an actual arc, and Cavill is just brilliant. So to is Ben Affleck as an aging and unforgiving Batman/Bruce Wayne. Even Jesse Eisenberg’s infinitely irritating Lex Luthor worked a treat for me. I’m not being contrarian when I champion this film, I went twice to see it at the cinema (regular and IMAX) and have subsequently watched the (superior) Ultimate Cut at home a further two times; my feelings towards it only grow with each viewing.

And that brings me to my number one, which will be a surprise to exactly no one who has had to endure my gushing over this film since the BFI London Film Festival Gala screening in October of 2015; Bone Tomahawk [01].

This isn’t just my favourite film of the year, it’s my favourite film in over a decade. A brutal Western with Horror trappings starring America’s Greatest Actor Kurt Russell, it felt like this film was made just for me. For all the gold standard performances (Russell is on career best form, Matthew Fox is a revelation and Richard Jenkins straight-up steals the movie) it’s S. Craig Zahler’s screenplay (married to his beyond-his-years debut direction) that sets Bone Tomahawk apart form the pack; it’s an exemplary piece of writing that should be praised until the end of time.

It’s easy to say “I love this movie”, but I legitimately *love* Bone Tomahawk.

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blackkudos · 6 years ago

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B.B. King

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known by his stage name B.B. King, was an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist.

Rolling Stone ranked King number 6 on its 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time (previously ranked number 3 in the 2003 edition of the same list). He was ranked No. 17 in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". According to Edward M. Komara, King "introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed." King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of the Blues", and one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and Freddie King). King was also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at more than 200 concerts per year on average into his 70s. In 1956, he reportedly appeared at 342 shows.

In 1990, King was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President George H.W. Bush. In 2006, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time, inspiring countless other electric blues and blues rock guitarists.

Biography

Early life

Riley B. King was born on September 16, 1925, on a cotton plantation near the town of Itta Bena, Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers Albert and Nora Ella King. He considered the nearby city of Indianola, Mississippi to be his home. When Riley was 4 years old, his mother left his father for another man, so the boy was raised by his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael, Mississippi.

While young, King sang in the gospel choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael. It seems that at the age of 12 he purchased his first guitar for $15.00, although another source indicates he was given his first guitar by Bukka White, his mother's first cousin (King's grandmother and White's mother were sisters). In 1943, King left Kilmichael to work as a tractor driver and play guitar with the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi, performing at area churches and on WGRM in Greenwood, Mississippi.

In 1946, King followed Bukka White to Memphis, Tennessee. White took him in for the next ten months. However, King returned to Mississippi shortly afterward, where he decided to prepare himself better for the next visit, and returned to West Memphis, Arkansas, two years later in 1948. He performed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM in West Memphis, where he began to develop an audience. King's appearances led to steady engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis and later to a ten-minute spot on the Memphis radio station WDIA. The radio spot became so popular that it was expanded and became the Sepia Swing Club.

Initially he worked at WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, gaining the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", which was later shortened to "Blues Boy" and finally to B.B. It was there that he first met T-Bone Walker. King said, "Once I'd heard him for the first time, I knew I'd have to have [an electric guitar] myself. 'Had' to have one, short of stealing!"

Career1949–2005

In 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records. Many of King's early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records. Before his RPM contract, King had debuted on Bullet Records by issuing the single "Miss Martha King" (1949), which did not chart well. "My very first recordings [in 1949] were for a company out of Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalled. "I had horns that very first session. I had Phineas Newborn on piano; his father played drums, and his brother, Calvin, played guitar with me. I had Tuff Green on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player. The Newborn family were the house band at the famous Plantation Inn in West Memphis."

King assembled his own band; the B.B. King Review, under the leadership of Millard Lee. The band initially consisted of Calvin Owens and Kenneth Sands (trumpet), Lawrence Burdin (alto saxophone), George Coleman (tenor saxophone), Floyd Newman (baritone saxophone), Millard Lee (piano), George Joyner (bass) and Earl Forest and Ted Curry (drums). Onzie Horne was a trained musician elicited as an arranger to assist King with his compositions. By his own admission, King could not play chords well and always relied on improvisation.

King's recording contract was followed by tours across the United States, with performances in major theaters in cities such as Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, and St. Louis, as well as numerous gigs in small clubs and juke joints of the southern United States. During one show in Twist, Arkansas, a brawl broke out between two men and caused a fire. He evacuated along with the rest of the crowd but went back to retrieve his guitar. He said he later found out that the two men, who died in the blaze, were fighting over a woman named Lucille. He named the guitar Lucille as a reminder not to fight over women or run into any more burning buildings.

Following his first Billboard Rhythm and Blues charts number one, "3 O'Clock Blues" (February 1952), B.B. King became one of the most important names in R&B music in the 1950s, amassing an impressive list of hits including "You Know I Love You", "Woke Up This Morning", "Please Love Me", "When My Heart Beats like a Hammer", "Whole Lotta Love", "You Upset Me Baby", "Every Day I Have the Blues", "Sneakin' Around", "Ten Long Years", "Bad Luck", "Sweet Little Angel", "On My Word of Honor", and "Please Accept My Love". This led to a significant increase in his weekly earnings, from about $85 to $2,500, with appearances at major venues such as the Howard Theater in Washington and the Apollo in New York, as well as touring the entire "Chitlin' circuit". 1956 became a record-breaking year, with 342 concerts booked and three recording sessions. That same year he founded his own record label, Blues Boys Kingdom, with headquarters at Beale Street in Memphis. There, among other projects, he produced artists such as Millard Lee and Levi Seabury. In 1962, King signed to ABC-Paramount Records, which was later absorbed into MCA Records, and which itself was later absorbed into Geffen Records. In November 1964, King recorded the Live at the Regal album at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois.

King gained further visibility among rock audiences as an opening act on The Rolling Stones' 1969 American Tour. He won a 1970 Grammy Award for the song "The Thrill Is Gone"; his version became a hit on both the pop and R&B charts. It also gained the number 183 spot in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2004, he was awarded the international Polar Music Prize, given to artists "in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music."

From the 1980s to his death in 2015, he maintained a highly visible and active career, appearing on numerous television shows and performing 300 nights a year. In 1988, King reached a new generation of fans with the single "When Love Comes to Town", a collaborative effort between King and the Irish band U2 on their Rattle and Hum album. In December 1997, he performed in the Vatican's fifth annual Christmas concert and presented his trademark guitar "Lucille" to Pope John Paul II. In 1998, he appeared inThe Blues Brothers 2000, playing the part of the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys, along with Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Koko Taylor and Bo Diddley. In 2000, he and Clapton teamed up again to record Riding With the King, which won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

2006–2015: farewell tour and later activities

In 2006, King went on a "farewell" world tour, although he remained active afterward during the last years of his life. The tour was partly supported by Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore, with whom King had previously toured and recorded, including the song "Since I Met You Baby". It started in the United Kingdom, and continued with performances in the Montreux Jazz Festival and in Zürich at the Blues at Sunset. During his show in Montreux at the Stravinski Hall he jammed with Joe Sample, Randy Crawford, David Sanborn, Gladys Knight, Lella James, Andre Beeka, Earl Thomas, Stanley Clarke, John McLaughlin, Barbara Hendricks and George Duke.

In June 2006, King was present at a memorial of his first radio broadcast at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, where an official marker of the Mississippi Blues Trail was erected. The same month, a groundbreaking was held for a new museum, dedicated to King. in Indianola, Mississippi. The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened on September 13, 2008.

In late October 2006, King recorded a concert album and video entitled B.B. King: Live at his B.B. King Blues Clubs in Nashville and Memphis. The four-night production featured his regular B.B. King Blues Band and captured his show as he performed it nightly around the world. Released in 2008, it was his first live performance recording in over a decade.

In 2007, King played at Eric Clapton's second Crossroads Guitar Festival and contributed the songs "Goin' Home", to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (with Ivan Neville's DumpstaPhunk) and "One Shoe Blues" to Sandra Boynton's children's album Blue Moo, accompanied by a pair of sock puppets in a music video for the song.

In the summer of 2008, King played at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, where he was given a key to the city. Also in 2008, he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame.

King performed at the Mawazine festival in Rabat, Morocco, on May 27, 2010. In June 2010, King performed at the Crossroads Guitar Festival with Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan, and Eric Clapton. He also contributed to Cyndi Lauper's album Memphis Blues, which was released on June 22, 2010.

In 2011, King played at the Glastonbury Music Festival, and in the Royal Albert Hall in London, where he recorded a concert video.

On February 21, 2012, King was among the performers of "In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues", during which President Barack Obama sang part of "Sweet Home Chicago". King recorded for the debut album of rapper and producer Big K.R.I.T., who also hails from Mississippi. On July 5, 2012, King performed a concert at the Byblos International Festival in Lebanon.

On May 26, 2013, King appeared at the New Orleans Jazz Festival.

On October 3, 2014, not feeling well enough, King had to stop his live performance at the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois. A doctor diagnosed King with dehydration and suffering from exhaustion. Hence, the eight remaining shows of his ongoing tour had to be cancelled. King didn't schedule any additional shows for the remainder of the year.

Illness and death

After the cancellation of the remaining eight shows of his 2014 tour because of health problems, King announced on October 8, 2014 he was back at home to recuperate. On May 1, 2015, after two hospitalizations caused by complications from high blood pressure and diabetes, King announced on his website that he was in hospice care at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. He died there on May 14 at 9:40 PM PDT.

Equipment

"When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille."

B.B. King used simple equipment. He played guitars made by various manufacturers early in his career: he played a Fender Telecaster on most of his recordings with RPM Records (USA). However, he was best known for playing variants of the Gibson ES-355. In 1980 Gibson Guitar Corporation launched the B.B. King Lucille model. In 2005 Gibson made a special run of 80 Gibson Lucilles, referred to as the "80th Birthday Lucille", the first prototype of which was given as a birthday gift to King, and which he used ever since.

King used a Lab Series L5 2x12" combo amplifier and had been using this amplifier for a long time. It was made by Norlin Industries for Gibson in the 1970s and 1980s. Other popular L5 users are Allan Holdsworth and Ty Tabor of King's X. The L5 has an onboard compressor, parametric equalization, and four inputs. King also used a Fender Twin Reverb.

He used his signature model strings "Gibson SEG-BBS B.B. King Signature Electric Guitar Strings" with gauges: 10-13-17p-32w-45w-54w and D'Andrea 351 MD SHL CX (Medium .71mm, Tortoise Shell, Celluloid) Picks.

B.B. King's Blues Club

In 1991, B.B. King's Blues Club opened on Beale Street in Memphis, and in 1994, a second club was launched at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles. A third club in New York City's Times Square opened in June 2000. Two further clubs opened at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in January 2002 and another in Nashville in 2003. Another club opened in Orlando in 2007. A club in West Palm Beach opened in the fall of 2009 and an additional one, based in the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, opened in the winter of 2009.

Philanthropy

In 2002, King signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underprivileged public schools throughout the United States. He sat on LKR's Honorary Board of Directors.

Television and other appearances

King made guest appearances in numerous popular television shows, including The Cosby Show, The Young and the Restless,General Hospital, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sesame Street, Married... with Children, Sanford and Son, and Touched by an Angel. He also had a cameo in the movies Spies Like Us and Heart and Souls. He voiced a character in the last episode of Cow and Chicken.

In 2000, the children's show Between The Lions featured a singing character named "B.B. the King Of Beasts", modeled on the real King.

A feature documentary about King narrated by Morgan Freeman and directed by Jon Brewer was released on October 15, 2012.

King appeared twice on the PBS television series Austin City Limits in 1983 and 1996.

Commercials

King, who was diabetic, appeared in several television commercials for OneTouch Ultra in the 2000s and early 2010s. He appeared in a 2014 commercial for the Toyota Camry with his guitar Lucille.

Personal life

King was married twice, to Martha Lee Denton, 1946 to 1952, and to Sue Carol Hall, 1958 to 1966. The failure of both marriages has been attributed to the heavy demands made on the marriage by King's 250 performances a year. It is reported that he has fathered 15 children and, as of 2004, had 50 grandchildren. He lived with Type II diabetes for over 20 years and was a high-profile spokesperson in the fight against the disease, appearing in advertisements for diabetes-management products along with American Idol season 9 contestant Crystal Bowersox.

King was an FAA certificated private pilot and learned to fly in 1963 at what was then Chicago Hammond Airport in Lansing, Illinois. He frequently flew to gigs but, under the advice of his insurance company and manager in 1995, King was asked to fly only with another certified pilot. As a result, he stopped flying around the age of 70.

King's favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. In his autobiography he spoke about how he was a "Sinatra nut" and how he went to bed every night listening to Sinatra's classic album In the Wee Small Hours. Sinatra had gotten King into the main clubs in Las Vegas during the 1960s, He credited Sinatra for opening doors to black entertainers who were not given the chance to play in "white-dominated" venues.

http://wikipedia.thetimetube.com/?q=B.B.+King&lang=en

#B.B. King

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