Customer Reviews

I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

being a j.b. fan for some three decades now i have all the books about the godfather so his lifestory is not new to me. BUT in this book mr. brown is very open about the downside's.
his drug- and alcohol abuse, relationproblems. the 1988 incident, the incident last year etc. he always denied a lot of stuff and in this book he is honest about those things and that's very positive. if you don't know much about the life of the godfather it's a very informative book and for anyone who loves funk and soul it's a must have !! GET IT !!!

ron roelofsen j.b. collector no.1 (www.greatest-jamesbrown-videotradinglist.com)

I have read several memoirs of famous people and this one has been the best! Marc Eliot provides an awesome 37 page introduction that covers Mr. Brown's life and career. It is obvious that Marc Eliot has much admiration and respect for this complex, yet extra talented "Man's Man" (a term that Mr. Brown uses in the book that was meant to be a compliment).

I have always been a fan of James Brown, but had never known much about his personal life. Once the disconsolate news of his death hit the media on December 25, 2006, the television and papers were chock-full of positive and negative things about Mr. Brown. His fourth wife or companion rushed pell-mell to the media upon his death and caused an embarrassing blitz which has happened to him before and in this book, Mr. Brown provides a logical and probably factual explanation for the previous incidents.

Mr. Brown was the first singer to own his personal private jet and record a live album with no separation of tracks. Life's lessons taught him that the one in power is the one who makes the money and that is usually one who works for himself. The lesson learned is "power" not "rich". James Brown states in the book that Elvis got 75% of his style from him (p. 50). Little Richard discovered James Brown and his Famous Flames and is also responsible for his success.

This memoir contains so much personal and professional information. Mr. Brown gives the reader an inside look into "the good, bad, and ugly" of the music business. The indept overview of the music business that kept most artist broke, the payola scandal, and his radio station ownership experience. Things that he discussed in this book was probably quotidian for his inner circle. However, he did not have to reveal as much about his thoughts, feelings, and life to the public. That is why this is a memoir told as only he could tell it and I appreciate him leaving this book behind for generations to come.

He discussed his affiliations with the United States President and the struggles that ensued to get approved to perform in Vietnam. Not only does the reader get political and business info from The Godfather of Soul, but then he flips to the lighter side of loving cowboys and the western movie channel. Mr. Brown has Apache American Indian in his bloodline (p. 54). The details about his relationship with his birth mother was another sad chapter in his life, but he rose above it all.

Reading this book gave me the feeling that Mr. Brown was actually talking to me, sharing his wisdom, philosophy on life. My dad and James Brown both said, "At threescore and ten and counting, I have lived all the years that God allotted me" (p. 259). Mr. Brown lived his life to the fullest, he kept his pride and integrity no matter what adversity he encountered on his life's journey. The only thing this book left me hanging on was expecting his comments on the singer Lynn Collins and more details on the black movie soundtrack from the 1970s.

In summary, if you are looking for a book about James Brown that is apropos... this is it.

By:
Pam Jarmon-Wade

This book still does not address many areas I find interesting in James Brown's career but I find it a natural companion to the three other JB books in my collection: Cynthia Rose's "Living In America: The Soul Saga Of James Brown"; Geoff Brown's biography "James Brown"; and ofcourse, the Brown/Tucker "The Godfather Of Soul - James Brown". All three dig deep into this metaphysical musician's mind but this one has a stronger narrative, a bit less guarded: his late '80s fall is described in a more contrite way, for example. His scientific study of his audience is perhaps something new in his dialogue - but he broaches the subject of how music motivates women in a different way than it does men, then immediately moves on to the next thought. This subject should have been expanded upon (especially for those studious fans who remark that even by 2005 standards his live albums contain some of the most overt sexuality, obviously directed at the female fans, ever recorded), but he drops it like he does "Mother Popcorn" on stage these days - the audience sits forward to enjoy something very unusual, one of his most engaging opuses rarely revisited, then falls back after about 45 seconds. Similarly, his admonitions to contemporary rap/hip-hop artists are eloquent but must be deemed a bit self-righteous: there is alot of rough, "adult" content in his catalogue which can't be explained away as "art". However, fans can trace his development into more "cerebral" music, with more and more sensitive ballads and socially-conscious tunes being produced from the late '60s on.
I was happy to read his description of Little Richard's assistance in his early career, but a bit disheartened when he suggested that Penniman was basically a Rock and Roll raver - I find it hard to believe that this publication brought out his true feelings about his Georgia neighbor - the influence is quite obvious and not just on "Chonnie On Chon". Another depressing ommission is with Marva Whitney, his popular lead female vocalist from c.'67 to '70. A recent documentary reveals that Marva traveled To Vietnam with the star but here he simply says that he was only allowed to travel with a small part of his musical backup.
Despite the above concerns, with this book James Brown has shown the literary world that he is a writer. Ofcourse this was obvious to the musical world - just listen to "Don't Be A Drop Out", "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing", "The Man In The Glass", "I'm Not Demanding", "It's Christmas Time", and "Peace In The World".

I am a GIGANTIC James Brown fan, I have 100 albums, 130 singles, I've met him 5 times, seen him live over 100 times since 1971, had lunch with him in NYC, and I am the 'Paul' in the JB section of Gerri Hirshey's nice history of soul music NOWHERE TO RUN, but if this book was written by James Brown or if he even had much to tell the writer, I'll eat my refrigerator. It is so full of errors that it is laughable. One of the most glaring errors was when Mr. Brown 'supposedly' said, "SAY IT LOUD was where funk started" or something to that effect. That is so ridiculous. James Brown would NEVER say such a thing! Any student of funk knows that COLD SWEAT was the quintessentional funk piece and it is not even mentioned in the book!!! The style of Mr. Brown's sentences that are attributed to him sound NOTHING like him. I have no idea why this was put out. The other 'autobiography' written over a decade ago was more relevent and much better written, THE GODFATHER OF SOUL by JB and Bruce Tucker. Someone, (Alan Leeds?) needs to write a 600 page comprehensive biography of Mr. Brown with much more detail.

I have not read very many memoirs so it is difficult for me to compare "I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul" to other such works. Having said that I found this book to be quite uneven and at times even tedious. As somebody who is keenly interested in the history of American popular music I gained some pretty valuable insights into the man who would become an American icon. I was particularly interested in James Brown's early years in the music business. His breakthrough recordings with the Famous Flames at Syd Nathan's King Records literally created a whole new genre of music. And of course his "live" performances are legendary. It is no wonder JB has been described for decades as the "hardest working man in show business."

"I Feel Good" gets off to a pretty fast start and I found lots of valuable information and insights in the first half of the book. However, as time went on I found myself becoming less and less interested as Mr. Brown (he likes to refer to everyone as Mr.) rambles on and on about his personal life. There were a lot of things there that I simply did not want or need to know. James Brown is a complex individual who appears to be full of contradictions. He has befriended liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats. He is fiercely patriotic. And make no mistake about it. James Brown is smart as a whip and has committed his entire career to uplifting Blacks in America. He always has and still does present a positive message to black youth in this country. Compare that to a lot of the trash heard on the radio these days and one has to conclude that throughout his storied career James Brown has been a force for positive change in this country.

In the final analysis "I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul" is okay but nothing more. It appears that writing his memoir was important to James Brown and something he has wanted to do for many years. That is his privilege and ultimately important for the historical record.But I believe a biography of "The Godfather of Soul" by a professional writer could be so much more interesting. I look forward to the day when such a book is written.

JB. The Godfather of Funk. Mr. Brown by any measure is one of the most forthright and successful individuals in a biz known for liars, cheats, cons, and downright nastiness.

His story is both inspirational and an amazing accomplishment given the odds stacked against him rom the start. He proves that talent and America can combine in ways that all-but defy possibility, taking someone to the highest levels of society, then dropping them into the depths of prison. Regardless of Mr. Brown's situation, safe to say it ain't no drag. . .

JB doesn't flinch. He takes his bows and his lumps with equal honesty, and this is where his story really validates his longtime standing in entertainment.

How good is this book? Well, I've been listening to nothing else bu Mr. Brown on my iPod for almost three weeks now in the joy of re-discovering the foundations of contemporary music.

Not too short and not too long. detailed and specific. it makes sense, informative, and entertaining.

and this Book comes more direct than His previous Book. when I saw this book i had to get it.James Brown is Arguably the Most Influential Artist over the past 50 years.I Mean He is probably the only cat from head to Toe that other People have emulated.be it His Moves,His Mannerisms on stage, the way He presented himself. there is Only one James Brown&this Book does a Great job of balancing His incredible Journey.He is One of the Mount Rushmore's of Modern Music&culture as we know it.

The story of soul star James Brown has been covered elsewhere before - but nowhere else does it have the authority of Brown's own words. I Feel Good : A Memoir Of A Life Of Soul tells of his childhood growing up black in the segregated South, of his involvements in the music world, and his success at creating a new funk style within the soul world. Brown's later struggles with the law and his own psyche are all detailed in this hard-hitting memoir exposing the 'real' James Brown at last.

A bit unpolished, but that was James Brown. He was a classy, clean, strong, raw genius. This book gets down to the real nitty gritty of "Brown." Highly recommend this book if you want to get the James Brown story in his words and his vernacular.