Kill 'Em and Leave
Searching for the Real James Brown
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
'A formidable free-style book that isn't straight biography but a mix of history, street-level investigative reporting, hagiography, Deep South sociology, music criticism, memoir and some fiery preaching' Rolling Stone magazine
A Guardian best music book of 2016
The music of James Brown was almost a genre in its own right, and he was one of the biggest and most influential cultural figures of the twentieth century. But the singer known as the 'Hardest Working Man in Show Business' was also an immensely troubled, misunderstood and complicated man. Award-winning writer James McBride, himself a professional musician, has undertaken a journey of discovery in search of the 'real' James Brown, delving into the heartbreaking saga of Brown's childhood and destroyed estate, and uncovering the hidden history of Brown's early years.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
McBride, mainly known for his bestselling 1995 memoir, The Color of Water, returns to nonfiction with an investigation into the life, times, and death of James Brown, the "hardest-working man in show business." Though the soul singer's musical legacy is ingrained in the collective American unconscious, many details about Brown's personal life and the lives he touched along the way remain obscure. McBride reveals them while seeking to correct misconceptions perpetuated by the recent film Get On Up. Most notable among McBride's tales are those involving Al Sharpton, whom Brown unofficially adopted; the relationship shines a light on both men's lives that is often overlooked. Chasing down Brown's life story all over the South, McBride enters some shady situations and stumbles on a story even larger than the Godfather of Soul himself: the fate of Brown's estate, which has been so preyed upon by various lawyers that the poverty-stricken children for which it was meant haven't seen a dime. McBride's storytelling is heavily impeded by clich s and trite metaphors, but the power of his subject matter nevertheless shines through in this solid work of journalism.
