James Brown was called many things. The "Father of Funk, Godfather of Soul, and hardest working man in show biz." All of this was true. The reason why he flourished into the entertainer, and person, he was had a lot to do with his childhood, and the era in which he was born in. From his gospel-like voice, turbulent relationships, creation of his music, and his belief in ownership of his music.

Brown was born on May 3, 1933. He was born into poverty and into a family that could not raise him. His mother and father were so poor that they had to move in with his aunt, whom ran a brothel. They had left SC to live in Augusta, Georgia. There he witnessed his father repeatedly beat his mother. James Brown's mother left in the middle of the night, and fled to New York to escape the abuse. Brown's father would beat him as well. As you can see, Brown learned how to treat women through his father. We might see the seeds that would grow in James Brown's life, and the stories of physical abuse in his own relationship.

James Brown was raised by the streets. He dropped out of school at the age of ten, and his Father joined the Navy during World War II. As a result, James Brown hustled in the streets when he was a young teenager. He became a boxer, learned how to play instruments, and learned how to sing. He did anything to earn money for himself. By the time he was sixteen, James was convicted of robbery and sent to juvenile detention.

While James was incarcerated, he met Bobby Byrd. This changed his life forever! Byrd had James join his gospel group "The Flames." James became the lead (so to speak). There, he learned from Bobby Byrd how to arrange and create songs. Remember, James didn’t know how to read music, but he did learn how to put a song together under the mentorship of Byrd. Byrd signed Brown, and then worked to get him out of juvenile early so he could go on tour with "The Flames."

James Brown's ambition, and maybe his lack of a home life, led to his strong work ethic. Once the Flames started doing small tours on the "Chitin' Circuit," Brown became a star. His unique voice and dance moves even in gospel made him stand out. Their manager told the group they could make more money if they went to the Rhythm and Blues genre. The band wasn’t too keen on it, but James pushed for this, knowing that he could showcase more of his natural talent.

This was a busy moment for James. He got married, signed a new record deal, and became the defected leader of the band. He kept "The Flames" on tour most of the year and never looked back. His wife had his first child, and his career was taking off. During this time, he finally performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.

By the 1960s, the whole world was changing. The blow back from the Vietnam war was brewing, the civil rights movement was at its peak, the counterculture of peace, love, and drugs was here, and the sense of black pride was expressed without apology. In that decade of profound change, James Brown's music changed too.

James Brown was considered the creator of "funk." The "funk" was a new genre of music that was more rhythmic than the rhythm and blues of that time. Basically, it had more to do with the beat than with melodies. As Brown would explain about what he called the "One." James would emphasize the beat on the upbeat instead of the down beat. He would then have several different rhythms going on at one time, but all meeting on the one later in the song. The song “Papa Got a Brand New Bag” is the first example of this new style of music that James created. From 1963, all the way to the early 70s, black music leaned more on the funk side. You could say that James was king.

James Brown was now making real money. He was the first black artist to buy a private jet. He was the first artist to buy his own radio stations. He was also the first black artist that would rent out a venue, instead of just performing to get paid. James whole movement was about ownership and black pride.

After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the nation was angry and afraid. There was talk of race riots, and talk of blacks just being silent until things simmered down. People of all walks of life were afraid to be the nail that sticks out. That was when James Brown released the song “I’m black and I’m proud.” The song became the theme song the movement of the Civil Rights Movement. Brown received so much praise and scorn for this song, at the time. To most, this would be the last hit during reign. When the 70s came, disco was the new thing. Brown's music had fallen out of style.

The rest of James career would be in decline. He was convicted of the payola scandal. After the conviction, no record label would touch him. It was hard for him to get the same amount of work at the pay he was getting at his peak. The IRS took his planes. James Brown also lost his radio stations. He went through several divorces, and was arrested for domestic violence. James Brown did have a small revival of his career when he got involved with movies in the 80s, but he would never shine as bright as he did in the mid-60s. Brown died on Christmas Day in 2006, at the age of 73.