James Brown was probably the single most popular black artist among blacks until Michale Jackson came along.
James Brown began performing gospel and R&B at an early age, but his entry into the professional music business ironically came from a prison stint -- while serving a sentence for armed robbery at the age of 16, he met one Bobby Byrd, whose family engineered Brown's release provided he get a job. James soon found himself in Byrd's group, The Avons, who became The Famous Flames in 1955.
James had more hits (116) than any other performer and is second only to Elvis Presley.
James Brown had many nicknames, and he earned each and every one of them: "Soul Brother Number One," "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," "The Godfather of Soul," "Minister of Super Heavy Funk," and "Mr. Dynamite." And still others referred to him affectionately as "that crazy man jumping around and screaming on stage." According to family legend, James Brown "was born dead," or a stillborn, only to be resuscitated by his aunt. As he came back to life, James let out a loud shriek reminiscent to the scream that he would later make famous as a soul icon. Brown had a tough childhood, growing up in utter poverty in Georgia, where his aunt, a brothel owner, raised him. Incarcerated by the age of sixteen, Brown overcame great adversity to gain fame and fortune. According to Brown himself he is the King of the Apollo theater.
Many think that it was Michael Jackson that held that title, but in actuality it was James Brown. Harlem's Apollo Theater held a tribute to Michael Jackson that held more people than it ever did before in the Theater's history.
