Tag Archives: James Brown

Finally a Settlement for James Brown’s Estate?

James Brown was known as the Godfather of Soul, Mr. Dynamite, the King of Funk, Soul Brother #1, and the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, but it seems that settling his estate may end up being the hardest working legal battle in show business. (This image, by dbking, is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License) Brown died on December 25, 2006 of congestive heart failure and complications from pneumonia. Every since then, his estate has been awaiting a settlement. Brown’s will spelled out the dispersion of his music rights, business assets, and real estate. When his attorney Strom … Continue reading →

Turkeys and an Olive Branch

TURKEYS He’s no longer around to personally hand out the holiday birds, but a Thanksgiving tradition the “Godfather of Soul” James Brown started more than a decade ago is still going strong. Brown died of heart failure last Christmas, but today his program, designed to help those less fortunate, kicked off with great success. Brown’s longtime friend and civil rights activist Al Sharpton was on hand in the late singer’s hometown of Augusta, Georgia to hand out the first turkey of the season. The legendary entertainer started giving away free turkeys in 1991 and since then event organizers say more … Continue reading →

Finally, An Ethnic Question That I Can Answer

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I have written a lot about trying to teach myself an African American studies course as I raise four boys whose ethnicity requires that I get myself up to date. I was finally asked an ethnic related question by my oldest adopted son that was a snap to answer. In fact, I was able to convince him that I am an expert on the subject. We were driving into Houston for an appointment with one of his doctors. We go back and forth over who has control of the radio; he had won out this day. We were listening to … Continue reading →

In Memoriam – 2006

Each year, we lose many talented and brilliant celebrities. Some are taken in what seems like an untimely manner while others live to a ripe old age. Here are some of the people we lost in 2006: Lou Rawls, 72 – singer January 6th Rawls was known for his R&B hits such as “”You’ll Never Find, Another Love Like Mine.” Shelley Winters, 83 – Actress January 14th Shelley won two Oscars for supporting roles in The Diary of Anne Frank and A Patch of Blue. Wilson Pickett, 64 – Singer January 19th Wilson was famous for such hits as “In … Continue reading →

The Godfather of Soul – Dead at Age 73

After writing about the death of former Senator Stafford, I am beginning to feel a bit like the grim reaper, but I could not pass the opportunity to write about the passing of The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, James Brown. I read in the news yesterday that Brown had a severe case of pneumonia, but his publicist said he wasn’t in intensive care, so I thought maybe it was something he could recover from, but apparently not. He died early Christmas morning of congestive heart failure as a result of the pneumonia. Brown lived what one comedian called … Continue reading →