The James Brown Reader: Fifty Years of Writing About the Godfather of Soul (Paperback)

by Nelson George (Editor), Alan Leeds (Editor) "One of the many remarkable things about James Brown was how his long, eventful life mirrored the journey of African Americans in the last century..." (more)
Key Phrases: soul power, original disco man, insurance seminar, James Brown, New York, South Carolina (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Nelson George and Alan Leeds have assembled the first comprehensive collection of writings about the late, great Godfather of Soul, creating a fascinating mosaic of the man and the musician. Known as the hardest-working man in show business, James Brown embodied rhythm and blues, funk and soul, and sensuality. His musical innovations in such indelible grooves as “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine,” “I Got You (I Feel Good),” and “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” transformed American music.

To appreciate Brown’s immeasurable influence, to chronicle his professional and personal triumphs and struggles, and to capture his essence, writers from four decades weigh in on the legendary Soul Brother Number One. What emerges is a tribute to a trailblazer—one that no dedicated fan or music history buff will want to be without.

About the Author
Nelson George, author, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker, has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has written fifteen nonfiction books, including Hip Hop America and The Death of Rhythm and Blues.
Alan Leeds, a superstar networker in the music industry who has worked with musicians from Prince to Maxwell, is one of the leading experts on James Brown. He and George were among the team of writers who won a Grammy for the liner notes of the James Brown boxed set Star Time.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Plume (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452289467
• ISBN-13: 978-0452289468
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #448,981 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the JB reader....and listener, May 10, 2008

By	Phil S. (USA) - See all my reviews

Five decades of JB's career are covered in rare (and long) interviews (one from the '70s with less than flattering comments from the entourage)and concert reviews (which, surprisingly, do not really address the joyous mass rapture evident on the live recordings); plus many photos this serious Brown fan has never seen before. I particularly enjoy the '67 to '75 period and was pleased to find alot of coverage of that great era of creativity, roughly from "Cold Sweat" to "Hustle!". The reader *today* will be astonished to learn that those cataclysmic concerts were something almost routine. Well, in entertainment, as in "real life" (though with James Brown, his public personae was always of the "open book" order), stuff happens, people change: that insistent, pulsating, inspirational aspect seemed to yield, slowly, to just another "greatest hits" revue.
A very helpful single, album, and elected CD section is provided, though I was disappointed by the lack of analysis of strong, later CD efforts like "Love Over Due", a solid effort from '91, and two from the late '90s, "I'm Back" (with "Funk On Ah Roll", "Break Away", and "Peace In The World"), "The Merry Christmas Album", a minor Classic - I say "minor" in that the production values were modest and it seemed to be available only online. George and Leeds could have expounded brilliantly on these lesser-known opuses.
A classy package all the way around by two very important names in publishing and music.