Posted by db on 12/27/2006, 3:43 am
63.21.208.6

I don't have Bootsy's number but I called Catfish at 10:30pm CST and we talked about what a great loss Mr. Brown is to the world. Cat said he had been on the phone all day about Mr. Brown and that he was waiting to get word on the funeral because he was going to pay his respects. I saw Mr. Brown in 1968 at the Bushnell Auditorium in Hartford, Ct. I knew after that show that I wanted to be an entertainer. Even though my father made me proud because he was a civil rights leader in Connecticut, I secretly wished James was my father. When he released 'Say It Loud I'm Black & I'm Proud' that "sealed" it for me. He was more than a mere entertainer, he actually cared about the plight of his people and like my father and Dr. King, was prepared to stick his neck out for us. After the second show that I went to at age 11, my father got me and my brother backstage to meet Mr. Brown and he signed my program. I took the program to school the next day and my best friend asked if he could borrow it to show to his friends in "the hood". I grew up feeling guilt about the fact that my father lived at home with my family while many of my friends had no fathers at home so it was a true show of brotherhood when I let him take my newly signed program home that night. I never worried about it coming back in one piece because I trusted that my friend Kenny had the same appreciation for Mr. Brown's aotugraph that I did. It was like our "Shroud of Turin" I accompanied Bo Diddley to the 1997 Alachua County Harvest Fest where we went onto Mr. Brown's tour bus and I sat next to Bo as he and Mr. Brown rehashed the most recent of their memories since last crossing paths. Bo introduced me as his producer and I, humbled, took Mr. Brown's strong handshake and said "It's a pleasure to meet you sir". Because of my friendship with Bo, I have been in the presence of many famous people but James Brown was THE "reason" for me standing there at that moment. An assistant graciously informed us that Mr. Brown would need to get ready for his performance and we obliged by saying goodbye. As we were walking out Mr. Brown said "I'm a man in G" and Bo said "Oh! Yeah!" We were taken to a spot on the stage reserved for guests of Mr. Brown and in a small town like Gainesville, Florida.... we were it. After Mr. Brown went through many of his best-known songs, he introduced Bo to the crowd of roughly 60,000. He talked about their parts in the Blues Brothers movie and he said their friendship went back to the 50's. Mr. Brown instructed the band to play 'I'm A Man' which they started too fast and Mr. Brown quickly instructed them to slow it down and "Funk it" so Bo could perform it as I stood next to Bo's third wife, her son and my wife on the stage. Bo Diddley backed by the JB's with Mr. Brown conducting, performed I'm A Man. A memory I will cherish for life.