tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post5578430790164497193..comments2024-03-17T12:07:45.236-05:00Comments on CITY OF DUST: The House of James Brownjmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-49901191614615911292021-10-26T09:54:29.501-05:002021-10-26T09:54:29.501-05:00Im related to James brown. From what I was told th...Im related to James brown. From what I was told that My uncle Henry Brown was James Brown’s grandfather. That’s what I’ve been told all my life. And my great grandma use to say that James and his father Joseph came by her house with a pink Cadillac Dez S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08070405833952116902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-42187012535360894422021-10-26T07:43:23.785-05:002021-10-26T07:43:23.785-05:00Oh wowOh wowDez Simmonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10746647883797837970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-88209126247791117602020-04-13T23:19:30.482-05:002020-04-13T23:19:30.482-05:00Thanks, Tom Palaima! I appreciate your comment ver...Thanks, Tom Palaima! I appreciate your comment very much. I actually hadn't heard "Like It Is, Like It Was" before, but I'm listening to it now. Great stuff! I had to track it down on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntoEYZXfjb4" rel="nofollow">You Tube</a> after reading that transcript.<br /><br />Coincidentally, I had just finished listening to Bob Dylan's "Murder Most Foul" for the umpteenth time when I received your message. That song covers one or two of the topics you mention!<br /><br />Thanks again, and I hope you're doing well in these challenging times. JMjmhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-54665179826121945422020-04-13T23:03:02.536-05:002020-04-13T23:03:02.536-05:00Thank you for this wonderful return to the roots o...Thank you for this wonderful return to the roots of James Brown.<br /><br />This kind of poverty 'ordinary' young people just do not believe today. <br /><br />My name is Tom Palaima and I am teaching a course on the historical background behind songs of Bob Dylan and of songs that Bob Dylan has covered. <br /><br />The poverty and racism and war-mongering and the devastation of the Dust Bowl and the violence behind Jim Crow and the 'propaganda all is phony' misuse of human beings like Ira Hayes. Vietnam War atrocities. The assassinations of JFK, MLK, Robert Kennedy. <br /><br />All beyond modern comprehension.<br /><br />Play JB's "Like It Is Like It Was" for the whole story<br /><br />Here is my transcript:<br /><br />JB = James Brown and <br />R = the band member who 'responds' to him <br />during this spontaneous 'blues walk' late night jam in the studios in Cincinnati in 1970.<br /><br />JB Have you ever been broke and hungry?<br />R I have really been broke and hungry many times in my life.<br /><br />JB I raised up, I, I come up through that kind of thing, you now, broke and hungry.<br />And every time, I go down the street/ Bronx, New York City,/ San Francisco, Oakland,/<br />Atlanta, Georgia,/ Houston, Texas,/ Mobile,/ Augusta, Georgia—let me get mine in there—<br /><br />R Right on.<br /><br />JB What about it, Jabs [?] ?<br /><br />JB You know I remember when I used to go to reform school, man, jack,<br />you couldn't look at me no way<br /><br />R —look at us—<br /><br />JB uh, okay, you couldn't look at us no way.<br /><br />R That's me and you.<br /><br />JB And mister, and you'd always see the thing, yes sir, 'cause the patches was hanging loose.<br />You know, if people wanna know why a brother can do down, can get down so much and really do the blues, it's cause he lived the blues, he lived the blues.<br /><br />R Right.<br /><br />JB Jack, any time you can't eat. And don't know where you're gonna get your next meal. And if you don't get there early, you won't be able to sleep, in a bed. You'll have to sleep on the floor, or on a pallet.<br />A pallet. Let me tell you kids, a pallet is something that you, it's just uh, what? A sheet<br /><br />R —a cloth—<br /><br />JB a blanket that you spread out on the floor.<br />A pillow. I never had a pillow until I got a little older.<br />You know I got my first pair of long underwears, you know how long I was, I mean how old I was?<br /><br />R How old was you?<br /><br />JB Nine years old.<br /><br />R Oh man.<br /><br />JB The first pairs I got out of a store, you know.<br /><br />Uh, hey man, I felt so good when I got 'em,<br />I ran down stairs, jack, and let everybody take a look at 'em.<br />You know, I was out trying to act like superman, cause I had no other heroes, you understand.<br /><br />R I've lived that, man. You didn't know about Shaft and all them people.<br /><br />JB No, I didn't know about Shaft, and Superfly....<br />And beautiful people like Isaac, brother Isaac Hayes, and Curtis Mayfield, brother Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett,<br />cats like Chuck Jackson and Jackie Wilson,<br />Bobby Bland, BB King, Muddy.<br /><br />Thomas Palaimahttps://sites.utexas.edu/tpalaima/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-27406276200692395182020-02-02T21:29:31.584-06:002020-02-02T21:29:31.584-06:00Wow, Unknown. Were the Gaines kids James's cou...Wow, Unknown. Were the Gaines kids James's cousins? And were the numbers their real names? One through seven and a John Henry? That's pretty crazy. Anyway, that would've been when James was singing with the Famous Flames and just as he was getting some real notoriety. He might've been playing it cool as "Please, Please, Please" was already a big hit by mid-1956. Very interesting indeed.<br /><br />Thanks for your recollections. JMjmhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-16844699203701947262020-01-21T19:27:18.516-06:002020-01-21T19:27:18.516-06:00This is a good read ! I was born in Barnwell in No...This is a good read ! I was born in Barnwell in Nov 1953 . My dad built a meager home 5 rooms I believe in Snellings. From '58 till it was burned down in '61. During this time James Brown came to visit his cousins I think down below us 1/4 mile. The Gaines family the boys were numbered as they were born One Gaines. Two Gaines and so forth lastly Seven Gaines. There also was one named John Henry. We all played with the younger ones and JH would ride us on his back like a horse. and boy did they stink ! We are crackers , they weren't. All in all James Brown was in the mix at our house maybe 3 times, wes didn't know who he was till he made it big . Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15247340091673098151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-12606820943056020052018-10-02T23:02:38.544-05:002018-10-02T23:02:38.544-05:00Hi Anonymous,
Honey's brothel was definitely ...Hi Anonymous,<br /><br />Honey's brothel was definitely at 944 Twiggs. If you watch "Get on Up" you can see a bus with "Twiggs" on the marquee. It's a nod to the street Brown grew up on, although I'm pretty certain no bus ever ran down Twiggs. Ninth Street was certainly part of Brown's stomping grounds, so maybe that's why it got the name. It certainly sees much more traffic than Twiggs.<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by City of Dust! JMjmhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-28951842386769286942018-09-27T01:22:09.266-05:002018-09-27T01:22:09.266-05:00I thought james browns aunt honey lived on 9th Str...I thought james browns aunt honey lived on 9th Street where the brothel was. That's why it was renamed james brown Boulevard.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-62601497604605330612017-05-15T20:36:28.241-05:002017-05-15T20:36:28.241-05:00Thanks for your comment, Kirk G.! Yours is a most ...Thanks for your comment, Kirk G.! Yours is a most interesting question! While there is some uncertainty, it seems likely that James Brown was born in Barnwell County, SC. Sometimes the year is given as 1928, although James himself said it was 1933. Frankly, who knows? In any case, James is quoted as saying that he lived in "shacks" in Barnwell, but does not ever mention working as a servant. The Brown family moved to Augusta when James was 4 or 5, putting his arrival there sometime in the 1930's. James said that in 1940 he was bringing soldiers back to his Aunt Honey's brothel on Twiggs St. So that timeline doesn't quite align.<br /><br />That said, with the way things were back then, it's hard to entirely rule out the possibility that the census was referencing the man we came to know as James Brown. It may be unlikely, but I always leave a little room for the unexpected!<br /><br />By the way, the sources I have at hand are <a href="https://www.amazon.com/James-Brown-Godfather-Soul/dp/1560253886" rel="nofollow">"James Brown: The Godfather of Soul,"</a> his autobiography, and <a href="http://www.lyonspress.com/book/9781599219646" rel="nofollow">"Say It Loud! My Memories of James Brown Soul Brother #1"</a> by Don Rhodes.<br /><br />Hope that helps! Thanks again! JMjmhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-63449395122485201452017-05-15T12:19:59.283-05:002017-05-15T12:19:59.283-05:00I was just looking through the US census records f...I was just looking through the US census records for 1940 for by Grand-father, great-aunt and her husband. They all lived together in Barnwell, SC during the 1940 Census. Also listed as living with them was a male Servant, aged 11, named James Brown. The census is usually done early in the year. Thus the age of 11 would conform precisely to the servant being born in 1928 or very early in 1929.<br /><br />I have found nothing online about James Brown, the musical artist, residing in Barnwell, SC in 1940. Do you know if there is any information that could confirm or dispel the possibility that the James Brown who lived with my relatives was the same person as the famous James Brown, the musical icon. Thanks, Kirk G.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-18585005749446850812017-02-20T23:33:48.589-06:002017-02-20T23:33:48.589-06:00Anonymous, the main source for the address is ment...Anonymous, the main source for the address is mentioned in the text. It's a long article about James Brown written by Philip Gourevitch in 2002 and published by the UK Guardian. The piece is titled, "The Trip of a Lifetime," and can still be found <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/sep/27/artsfeatures" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>. In it, James himself mentions the address and they stop by the building, which was apparently still standing then. But the building shown here as 944 Twiggs St. is NOT where James Brown grew up. In fact, I've since learned that Twiggs was renumbered at some point and Aunt Honey's brothel would've been the next lot to the southwest, an area which was a grassy patch with a few trees the last time I was there.<br /><br />Hope that helps. JMjmhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-67710539646211609842017-02-17T06:44:16.317-06:002017-02-17T06:44:16.317-06:00Do you have sources?Do you have sources?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-29946052865000388932011-10-13T12:40:35.778-05:002011-10-13T12:40:35.778-05:00Thanks for the info, DC Nemesis. That's just ...Thanks for the info, DC Nemesis. That's just the kind of research I like to see! It did occur to me that the structure on the lot was not the actual home James Brown grew up in. I read Brown's autobiography recently and the house was described as being two stories tall with a number of large rooms. Of course, the building in the photo looks nothing like that. I thought it was possible that the top story had been removed, but it never occurred to me that what is numbered as 944 Twiggs St. is really 938 Twiggs St.<br /><br />In the UK Guardian piece that I reference in the post, there's this bit: "Here was 944 Twiggs Street, the former brothel where he (i.e., Brown) lived with his Aunt Honey, the madam - now abandoned and bristling with weeds." The article was published in the fall of 2002. So, my question is: Was the house still standing at that point or was the author adding some embellishment to what was by then just a vacant lot? If the house was there, I'm disappointed not to have seen it because I was living in AGS at that time.<br /><br />Again, many thanks for sorting that out. JMjmhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-45664886146428318012011-10-13T02:16:06.067-05:002011-10-13T02:16:06.067-05:00The building pictured as "944 Twiggs" ac...The building pictured as "944 Twiggs" actually sits on the lot for what is 938 Twiggs now. There is no 944 Twiggs. The building pictured was built in 1957 according to Augusta's property records. (http://gisweb.augustaga.gov/gisweb/PropertyCard.aspx?pin=047-3-357-00-0&MapPath=%5c%5caugweb005a%5cproxyoutput%5c_ags_a03a5882.jpg&OverlayVals=1|Matt%20Aitken|Marion%20E.%20Barnes|103|DYESS%20PARK|||)DC Nemesishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06221821713205231227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-41511018868549453362011-06-18T18:54:28.544-05:002011-06-18T18:54:28.544-05:00Yup, you WERE very close! The 944 Twiggs address,...Yup, you WERE very close! The 944 Twiggs address, while referred to by JB on several occasions, just doesn't seem to be well-known within Augusta at this point. It even took me YEARS to finally visit the place.<br /><br />Well, maybe next time, eh?<br /><br />Thanks for your comment!<br /><br />JMjmhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-13425608142557477152011-06-12T16:13:14.089-05:002011-06-12T16:13:14.089-05:00Man my wife, Cheryl Baisden and myself were in thi...Man my wife, Cheryl Baisden and myself were in this area on Friday and Saturday, June 10-11. We officiated a wedding at Green Grove Baptist church, 1694 was the address. (I think) We saw James Brown Street, and the James Brown arena, and had no Idea we were that close to where the statue was located on Broad st.(we looked for the statue) WOW 944 TWIGGS st...we were right there! JB was the greatest!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-63994245135379972592010-06-12T20:04:04.299-05:002010-06-12T20:04:04.299-05:00cool post!cool post!justinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13974111635922898825noreply@blogger.com