BOOKS

Rip It Up, Issue 123, 1 October 1987, Page 36

BOOKS

Living in America James Brown: the Godfather of Soul by James Brown with Bruce Tucker (Sidg wick & Jackson, $55) This is a rags to riches story, James Brown's version of his life, his career, and his American Dream. James has always been full of himself, but you gotta be if ya gonna be the single most innovative figure in black music for over three decades, and particularly if you didn't get off to a good start. After being brought up by his auntie, living at a road house, James was arrested and imprisoned at the age of 16 for stealing from parked cars and received consecutive sentences of two-to-four years on four charges. Fortunately he was paroled after three years, released in 1952. Breaking the terms of his parole on several occasions, Brown went close to returning to prison. Brown is known to be a difficult interview subject. often misunderstanding the question or the intent of the writer, readily becoming antagonistic. Some reviewers have criticised Tucker for over-editing and

removing the incoherence often present in a James Brown interview. But as Brown’s music proves, on his own terms, setting his own parameters, Brown is very eloquent. Biographies are given depth by secondary themes —sure it’s a music bio but Brown’s recollections of black life in Augusta, Georgia (where German prisoners of war were treated better than blacks and paid more for labouring) and his remarks on the civil rights issues (which he confronted head on as an upwardly mobile entrepreneur) provide a passionate, eye-witness social history. This biography's richness lies in his fine memory for detail; he reflects on his early appreciation of music, he

loved Louis Jordan, gospel and pop, disliked blues and country, loved the church and the circus. Brown speaks at length on the recording of such crucial albums as Live at the Apollo, Vol 1 and his relations with his record companies, his musicians and his wives. A gripping Southern soul story — sure there’s room for an unauthorised bio sometime in the future, but this book is fascinating as it puts his music in its cultural and chronological context. Plus, Charly Records’ archivist Cliff White provides a 57 page discography. (James Brown is available from Books by Mail, PO Box 5689, Auckland 1.) Murray Cammick

Survival “That’s what everything that went on in that house — gambling, bootlegging, prostitution — was about: survival. Some people call it crime, I call it survival. That’s what hard times bring — makes pimps and prostitutes out of preachers. ” Education & Justice "If you don't allow a man to get an education, don’t put him in jail for being dumb. That’s what they did in Augusta — they sent me to pribeing dumb." The Bomb “When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, we were glad because we knew it meant my father would be coming home soon. Now I think, about it a lot differently because I realise that a bomb like that would never be droppedonwhitepeople.” Air Conditioning "I got a brand new 1959 red Cadillac, we kept the windows rolled up to pretend we had air conditioning, no matter how hot it was. One time we stopped at a

Say It Loud: the Collected Wisdom of JB

service station in the desert. We sat there, and the service station attendant moved real slow so we started to sweat. This little old white lady in her car at the next pump watched us. We smiled and sweated, sweated and smiled. When she couldn't stand it any more, the little old lady jumped out of her car, jerked open one of the doors and yelled, 'Get out quick before all you niggers die in there!”’ Integration “After the municipal buildings opened up [bigger venues] to black performers, most of the black clubs disappeared. By the mid-60s integration killed them off.” Soul “Around this time [1967] I got the name Soul Brother Number One. The word ’soul’ by this time meant a lot of things — in music and out. It was the roots of black music, and it was a kind of a pride thing, too, being proud of yourself and your people. Soul music and the civil rights movement went hand in hand, sort of grew up

together. I think Soul Brother Number One meant I was the leader of the Afro-American movement for world dignity and integrity through music." South Africa “I am' unwilling to undertake a tour of South Africa under any circumstances because of the policies of that country with respect to the black members of the nation.” [1969] Inland Revenue “But I don’t blame the government. I don't hold a grudge. The government hurt my business a lot, a whole lot. But they didn’t destroy me. Polydor did that." Politicians “Vice President Humphrey was my first politician." [1966] Endorsing Richard Nixon “You can either try and get inside and have some influence, or you can stay outside and be pure and powerless. Either way you’re going to get criticised, especially if you’re a black spokesman." — from James Brown: the Godfather of Soul

Remembering Buddy: the Definitive Biography by John Goldrosen and John RpAThpr (GRR/Pavilion,s32) Certainly a definitive biography on Holly, crammed with facts and details, with the best discography ever done, plus a complete list of all his sessions. All in one of the most attractive presentations a rock book ever had. An update on Goldrosen’s 1975 book, with a lot of new text and photos. When it came out Rolling Stone described it as “the best rock biography ever done.” I’d disagree with that, Nick Tosches’ Jerry Lee book Hellfire and Chet Flippo’s Hank Williams psychodrama Your Cheatin’ Heart burns the pants off this one. It’s something in. Goldrosen’s gushy style that irritates — he loves his subject so much he loses his perspective. Excellent at the beginning with explaining Holly’s influence, he begins to lose it when Holly becomes

a big star and genius, like. The text remains informative but you never really get to know Holly because of the pedantic style; like the cop in Dragnet saying, “Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” We are presented with the traditional Buddy Holley, soft, sensitive and a real nice guy, which he was. But there was another side. Here’s Little Richard from Charles White’s The Life and Times of Little Richard:

“Buddy and I were good friends... he would sit there and watch my stage act. And when I got ready to have an orgy, Buddy would come up too. He was huge! I’ve never seen anybody that big in my life!” That’s one thing that isn’t in Goldrosen’s book, but nearly everything else is. Apart from a few reservations, a very solid and well-researched book about a great star and yes, a genius. Kerry Buchanan The Billboard Book of USA Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn British Hit Singles by Paul Gambaccini.Tim Rice & Jo Rice Billboard USATop 1000 Singles by Joel Whitburn (Guinness) Not light reading, but essential for newspaper reference libraries and sub-editors, and a satisfying experience for chart train-spotters are these books compiling the hits since the charts began. Surprisingly up-to-date, they can settle arguments, answer nagging queries, and provide correct spellings. Because of the dominance the US charts have on the rest of the world, the USA Top 40 Book

($39.95) is the most useful (though it’s limited to the pop charts: country and black charts are in other books). It lists every Top 40 hit under artist, with all the relevant details, plus has an extremely useful alphabetical index of every chart hit. It also provides a chronological list of No 1 hits, by year, by decade, and whatever way you can think of. Plus there’s the entertainment value: did you know Bonanza's Lome Greene hit No 1 mid-1964 with a song called ‘Ringo’? That the only hit that ever started with an X is ‘Xanadu’ (No 8, 1980)? Don’t you feel more complete now that you do? Other trivia: comedian Jerry Lewis hit No 10 in 1956 with Rockabye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody’; Led Zeppelin, who only released half a dozen singles in the US, and none (I think) in Britain, had their only Top 10 hit with ‘Whole Lotta Love’ (No 4,1969)— Stairway to Heaven’ was never released as a single. Great, huh? The British Hit Singles book ($32.95) is also useful, because of the similarity our charts have with the UK. It’s also wittier. The British charts are interesting because, although pop still dominates, they never seem to have lost the vaudeville side to their

show biz; TV stars, comedians or cabaret artists seem to dot their charts even to this day. Once you know your way around these books, you can work all sorts of things out. John Rowles made No 3 with ‘lf I Only Had Time’ in 1968. What kept it from No 1 ? ‘Cinderella, Rockefeller’ by Esther and Abi Ofarim, a husband and wife team who now train Lybian guerillas. At the back are lists that interpret the charts in all sorts of ways. Who were the least successful chart acts (one week at No 50)? Believe me, the nine who make it are forgettable. Compand to the others, the thin Top 1000 Singles book ($19.95) is a waste of time. It ranks all the singles in US chart history according to their weeks on the charts, and lists the winners in order. Elvis’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel’/’Hound Dog,’ with 11 weeks at No 1, wins. Sensational.

But did you know that only one fullblooded Red Indian has ever made the British No 1 spot? Marvin Rainwater’s ‘Whole Lotta Woman' stunned Britain in 1958; back home in the States, he only made No 18. But back to the countdown ...

Chris Bourke