JAMES BROWN - THE FINAL REVUE

He was as close to true godhood as a mortal can get. The hardest working man in show business... soul brother numero uno... a warrior for love and peace... MISTER JAMES BROWN!

I saw him twice. Once in Rochester, New York; once in Cleveland, Ohio. Both performances were a kind of religious celebration. I felt spiritually enriched besides being entertained. While he was a music icon, greater talent existed in his very being. Like Muhammad Ali, he advanced the cause of personal self-worth for those disenfranchised by mass culture. James uplifted generations with his positivism and artistry. The fact that he was a frail, human soul with mortal faults seemed almost beside the point.

Jesse Jackson said: "He was dramatic to the end, dying on Christmas Day. He'll be all over the news, all over the world today - he would have it no other way."

Little Richard Said: "He was an innovator, an emancipator, an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown. A great treasure is gone."

Now, JB is on the eternal tip, twirling, strutting, sweating, keyboard-jamming, cape-wearing, kicking a heavenly microphone stand and getting down for an audience of soulful saints. Hendrix, Morrison, Albert King, John Lennon, and a host of electrified apostles are with him now.

Rest with God, dear brother. You will be the song that swells our hearts to joy, forever!

RDI
12-26-06