rdewald's Journal: SAY IT LOUD!

I'M BLACK AND I'M PROUD!!!

Well, I'm not actually black and pride presents something of a religious problem for me personally, but I was a witness today to the event that was James Brown's final appearance at the Apollo theater on 125th street in Harlem, which is a very short walk from my residence. An impromptu crowd led and followed the Godfather's horse-drawn carriage down 7th Avenue to the Apollo theater today shouting these well-known lyrics.

It was quite the scene when I got there. There were lines stretched both ways down the block and snaking uptown on 7th and 8th avenues. I was going to stand in line myself, but it was clear that I was too late, I wouldn't get in to see his body. I don't believe his body is anything other than a piece of meat at this point anyway, any communion with whatever persists after death is possible anywhere, so I wandered around getting a feel for who was there in the line and the tenor of the gathering (no pun intended).

I last saw James Brown in person in Austin at the now-defunct Austin Opry House. The show was awesome. Every beat was highly orchestrated from the opening announcement to the second encore. He earned the title of the hardest working man in show business both by touring constantly and by refining his show to the ultimate polish. It was slick, it was in tune and on time.

It was also very black. James Brown didn't pander, he didn't try to make his music palatable to the mainstream, he was simply who he was, truly authenic. His show, even to a white-as-snow Austin college crowd, was as black as it was in the chitlin circuit. He did not compromise.

That was evident today. This was a black event, even though there was a smattering of caucasians in the crowd, myself included. It had the feel of a big church service, a homegoing, that mess-o-greens authentic blackness that escapes written description.

In short, he would have approved.

Get up! Get on down!

Hey James!

[BWJones]

"James, Whatchu gonna play now?"

"Bobby,....... I don't know, but whatevah I'm gonna play, it gots to be funky"

"yeah"

I'm...uh...black...

[Some Woman]

And I'm...er...proud?

Re:

[TechnoLust]

I was in AppleBee's in small town east TN at the bar with maybe 2 black people in the crowd, the rest of us white. Someone said something, and I said, "OOww! Good God!" and a guy across from me said, "You know James Brown died today." I said, "Yeah, it's sad, that dude rocked." Everyone at the bar mumbled agreement. I raised my glass and said, "To James Brown!" Everyone at the bar (and a few of the people in the restaurant part that were paying attention to us) raised their glasses in a toast. It ju

I almost missed it

[Doctor O]

I hadn't even heard that he died until 12/27, as I tend not to turn on the TV during the holidays (most beautiful time of the year with the kids *s*), and James is a great loss to me. I didn't get to see him, but being a musician myself, I could never escape from the enormous power of his works. It always felt as if he had found some secret way of distilling the pure joy of life into music. This is a rare gift.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion