Godfather of Soul becomes city's rainmaker of summer fun

By Chris Kula

Daily Arts Editor

When the Ann Arbor Summer Festival needed somebody to get up, get into it and get involved, James Brown was the man who got the call.

A true legend in American popular music, Brown is the featured performer for Saturday's "I Feel Good" Benefit at Hill Auditorium, an event which, according to Summer Festival marketing director Colleen Murdock, is integral to the Fest's summer-long activities.

"All proceeds from the concert go toward funding different aspects of the Summer Festival," Murdock said. "We have a number of needs, from hiring students to work as concessionaires to bringing in all kinds of performers."

The Festival, which runs from June 16 to July 9, features a variety of entertainment diversions for summer residents of Ann Arbor. From the open air Top of the Park concert/film screening series to Power Center performances by a wide range of musicians, dance groups and multicultural exhibitions, the Summer Festival "really presents a little something for everyone," Murdock said.

That type of multi-dimensional appeal is something embodied in the music of Brown, who, as the hardest working man in show business, has amassed a recording career spanning five decades and a reputation as one of the most energetic live performers ever to grace a concert stage.

Born in 1933, Brown took a journey to musical stardom as wearying at first as the red-clay dirt roads of his native Georgia. Barely out of his teens, Brown served a prison sentence for armed robbery in the late '40s, but it was during this stint in jail that a young Brown began honing his vocal chops in the impassioned style of gospel music. Upon his parole, Brown formed his first singing group, a gospel-turned-R&B combo that would eventually come to be known as James Brown and the Famous Flames.

From the very start of his performing career, it was clear that Brown possessed a natural charisma that left audiences in awe of his vigorous stageshow. Backed by a precision rhythm section and blaring horns, Brown was a ball of energy onstage, performing wild dance moves while shouting out crowd-inspiring exaltations.

Constant roadwork and a string of respectable singles established Brown as a large draw on the predominantly Southern R&B circuit, but it was the release of 1963's "Live at the Apollo" album that announced Brown as a live force to the rest of the nation. The record reached number two on the album charts, an unheard of feat for an R&B act. The unbridled screams of the Apollo

Courtesy of Universal Attractions

There's still nobody who brings the funk like "Sweet" James Brown.