rivercrow

James Brown died today.

Christmas has always reminded me of James Brown. Now, the two are linked for everyone else as well.

We lived in Augusta, Georgia, in the mid-70s. A local annual tradition was to go to the James Brown estate where there would be a large Christmas display of animated characters and lights. I remember the decorations and stumbling through the leaves in the dark, asking repeatedly who this James Brown was–I had him confused with Charlie Brown, I think. My favorite song was “Snoopy’s Christmas,” which probably didn’t help with the confusion. I was five or six at the time.

Like all (former) residents of the area, I have a mixed bag of memories around James Brown. The insurance office he toted a rifle into was in the same building as my dentist’s office. My sister supposedly talked to some of “his women” when she was a student nurse and brought back interesting stories.

The fellow’s musical genius is undeniable–and genius has very rarely has a stable, calm life history. I regret my appreciation for his music came so late–but better late than never.

Story on Forbes…hardest working man working right to the end.

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