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Early life
James Brown was born on May 3, 1933 in Barnwell, South Carolina to Susie and Joseph "Joe" Gardner Brown. His father worked selling pine tar to the local turpentine factory in the woods of Barnwell County, South Carolina. When Brown was four or five years old, his family moved to Augusta, Georgia, where he spent most of his early life. His mother left the family to escape her abusive marriage and moved to New York. Brown dropped out of school in the 7th grade for wearing "insufficient clothes". -
Interesting fact
James Brown was originally supposed to be named Joseph James Brown, Jr. However, his first and middle names were accidentally reversed on his birth certificate. Brown later removed the "Jr." from his name. -
Career
James Brown was arrested on armed robbery charges when he was 16 and served three years at a juvenile detention center in Toccoa, Georgia. While in prison, he created and led a gospel choir and met Bobby Byrd, a fellow prisoner who was an aspiring R&B singer. Brown was paroled on June 14, 1952. In 1955, he joined Byrd's gospel group, The Avons, after one of its members died. The group later moved to Macon, renamed itself The Famous Flames and played R&B instead of gospel. -
Adult life
James Brown married his first wife, Velma Warren, on June 19, 1953. Together they had three sons, Teddy, who was born in 1954, Terry, who was born in 1955 and Larry, who was born in 1958. Just like his dad, Teddy, the eldest son, created his own musical group called Teddy Brown and the Torches. He died on June 14, 1973 at the age of 19 in a car crash near Elizabethtown, New York. Brown and Warren divorced on August 26, 1969. They continued to remain close friends up until Brown's death. -
Career
The Famous Flames released the song "Please, Please, Please" on March 4, 1956. Prior to its release, the group recorded a demo for the song for Ralph Bass, a talent scout for King Records. Bass was impressed and offered them a record contract. This song became the first hit single for The Famous Flames and became known as its signature song, selling over one million copies and reaching #6 on the R&B charts. It also kick started James Brown's great music career. -
Career
The Famous Flames released "Try Me" on October 13, 1958. This song was the group's second hit single and the first in two years. It also reached #1 on the R&B chart and was the group's first song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100. -
Career
James Brown recorded the song "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" on February 16, 1966 and released it two months later. It reached #1 on the R&B chart and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. -
Career
James Brown won his first Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording at the 1966 Grammy Awards on March 15, 1966, for the song "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", which was also #1 on the R&B chart and was his first song on the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. -
Adult life
Having dropped out of school, James Brown was a strong advocate of education. He released a song called "Don't Be a Drop-Out" on October 13, 1966, at a time when dropout rates were high. Proceeds from the song were donated to charities working to prevent school dropouts. Brown even met with Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who was also an anti-dropout advocate and was later endorsed by Brown for his presidential campaign in 1968. -
Adult life
James Brown married his second wife, Deidre "Deedee" Jenkins, on August 22, 1970. Together they had two daughters, Deanna, who was born in 1969, and Yamma, who was born in 1972. They divorced on January 10, 1981. -
Career
James Brown released the song "Living in America" in December 1985, which entered the Billboard Top 40 on January 11, 1986. The song is Brown's last Top 10 single and was heavily featured in the movie "Rocky IV", starring Sylvester Stallone as his famous character Rocky Balboa. It also helped him win his second Grammy in 1987 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. -
Interesting fact
James Brown appeared on the CNN show Sonya Live in L.A. on April 4, 1988 after being arrested on drug possession and domestic violence charges. During the interview, Brown was allegedly drunk or high on drugs and was behaving erratically. Instead of answering questions regarding the charges, he wanted to talk about his professional life and was blurting out his song titles. -
Adult life
James Brown married his third wife, Adrienne Lois Rodriguez, in 1984. They had no children. Their marriage constantly made headlines due to numerous domestic violence incidents involving the two. Rodriguez died on January 6, 1996 at the age of 45 from heart failure after having liposuction surgery at a hospital in Century City, California. -
Adult life
James Brown married his fourth and final wife, Tomi Rae Hynie, on December 23, 2002. Together they have a son named James II, who was born in 2001. -
Career
James Brown was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors on December 6, 2003 for his musical contribution to American culture. -
Interesting fact
James Brown was arrested on January 28, 2004 in Aiken County, South Carolina on domestic violence charges after allegedly assaulting his wife Tomi Rae Hynie. Brown pleaded no contest to the charges in June and instead forfeited a $1,087 bond. -
Adult life
James Brown died on December 25, 2006 at Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 73 from congestive heart failure as a result of complications from pneumonia. Currently, his body is buried at his eldest daughter Deanna's house in Georgia. -
Interesting fact
The movie "Get On Up" was released on August 1, 2014. It is a biogrpahy based on James Brown's life and career starring actor Chadwick Boseman as Brown and produced by Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the Rolling Stones.
