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Godfather of Soul James Brown was an iconic bandleader, singer, dancer, file producer, musician, and father who died on Christmas day in 2006 on the age of 73. He left behind a powerful legacy in music throughout his many years lengthy profession, together with 17 singles that reached no 1 on the Billboard R&B charts. The South Carolina native was among the many first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York in 1986, and he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award on the Grammy Awards in 1992. In January of 1997, he was awarded with a star on the fabled Hollywood Walk of Fame, solidifying his affect as one of many biggest musicians of all time.
His life and work are set to be explored within the two-part documentary James Brown: Say It Loud, which premieres February 19 and February 20 on A&E. “James Brown basically revolutionized music because he’s one of the few band leaders who made his entire band into percussion, you know? It wasn’t a sprawling arrangement, i.e., Duke Ellington, or, you know, melody wasn’t the at the forefront. Rhyme was at the forefront,” govt producer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson advised Entertainment Tonight in February of 2024. “And, you know, he basically invented the soul, and he also invented what we now call the viral moment.”
But music wasn’t James’ solely real love — he additionally fathered a recognized 9 youngsters throughout a number of relationships, making him one of many music trade’s most prolific fathers. He was married thrice and acknowledged 9 of his youngsters, although it’s been speculated by the many years that he has extra.
Ahead of the documentary’s debut, right here’s what we find out about James Brown’s 9 acknowledged youngsters.
Teddy Brown
Teddy Brown was James’ first son along with his first spouse, Velma Warren, whom he married in 1953 and stayed with for sixteen years. According to Billboard, Teddy died in a deadly automobile accident in 1973.
Terry Brown
Terry Brown was James’ second son with Velma. Little is publicly recognized about Terry, although the Associated Press reported after James’ dying that Terry was named in his father’s will, which six of his youngsters contested.
Larry Brown
Larry Brown is the third son that the musician and his first spouse welcomed. Larry lives a personal life, and little is understood about him.
Lisa Brown
Details on Lisa Brown are sparse — although the New York Times’ weblog The Lede appears to have unraveled a clue about James’ first daughter in divorce paperwork. “There’s a child mentioned in the handwritten divorce settlement between James Brown and Velma Warren Brown that seems not to have been part of James Brown’s public history,” the 2007 report reads. “Her name is Lisa Brown, and she was five when the couple divorced in 1969.”
Venisha Brown
Venisha was the daughter of soul singer Yvonne Fair and James. She died of issues from pneumonia at Augusta University Health Medical Center in Georgia on the age of 53 on September 19, 2018. The James Brown Foundation wrote on the time that Venisha “will always be remembered as one of the few who fully embodied the dance moves of her father,” per PEOPLE.
Dr. Yamma Noyola Brown Lumar
According to Atlanta Magazine, James’ daughter holds a doctorate diploma from the Mercer University School of Pharmacy. She additionally wrote a memoir ominously titled Cold Sweat: My Father James Brown and Me in 2014 — a stark have a look at life together with her well-known dad, wherein she shared uncooked particulars from her childhood with the risky musician.
“As much as I loved my father, and I sure loved him, I hated him during those times,” she wrote of rising up in an abusive family, together with a sister and James’ second spouse, Deirdre “DeeDee” Jenkins. “And I didn’t like my mother much either. If she couldn’t stand up for herself, how would she protect me?”
Deanna Brown Thomas
Dr. Deanna Brown Thomas is the second daughter born to James and DeeDee. She heads up the James Brown Family Foundation, and makes use of her social media account to maintain her father’s reminiscence alive. “At 1:45am December 25, 2006, the world lost a superstar, legend, icon, Godfather… I lost Daddy. Thank you to all for the love and respect coming. The dash – was full of Funk on the One. Your music is STILL touching souls EVERYWHERE. Always have, Always will,” she wrote by way of Twitter (X) on December 25, 2022.
These days, she’s busy selling the upcoming launch of James Brown: Say It Loud. “It was a night to remember! Gather the family to watch this historical documentary on my father,” she added to a re-tweet of an A&E video recap of a screening.
Daryl Brown
Daryl Brown has publicly spoken out about his father, who by no means married his mom, in a 2014 memoir known as My Father the Godfather. “I wanted to show him as a man, not just as the dancer, not just as one of the greatest entertainers in the world,” Daryl mentioned in 2014. “I didn’t want to do that… I didn’t want to put him on a pedestal. I wanted to show that anybody could do what he did.”
Daryl is a musician as properly and was raised in New Brunswick by his mom, musician Beatrice “Bea” Ford, whom James by no means married. Daryl performs drums and guitar.
James Joseph Brown II
James Joseph Brown II has taken after his father and is a musician. The son of James and his accomplice, singer Tomi Rae Hynie, is the James’ youngest son, and he was born in June of 2001. “James thought his son might be president one day,” Tomi Rae as soon as mentioned, per Wikipedia.
James generally makes use of his Instagram account to showcase the musical skills he inherited from his mother and father.