RIP to the GFOS
You can have Elvis and Louie Armstrong and Sinatra, I'll take the Hardest Working Man in Showbusiness every time. Rest in Peace to the greatest American musical entertainer of the 20th century.
Update: Kelefa Sanneh on JB in the NY Times
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posted by Jesse Thorn at Tuesday, December 26, 2006
6 Comments:
Ehh.. there is the issue of his wife beating and alcoholism
last I heard from him he was feeling good.
Jenny - I hate wifebeating as much as the next guy, but that doesn't change Brown's status as the greatest american pop musician of the 20th century.
Jesse, the only word I would delete in your reply is American. He established the DNA, the vocabulary of everything that followed... everything worth mentioning, at least. Yet still, very few dared to copy him outright, and certainly none succeeded. What us youngins don't fully appreciate is that he had 20 solid years of incredible original output, and another 10 of being at least relevant. Never seeing him live is a great regret of mine, which I justify only by the absence of Maceo, Fred Wesley, etc. Yet somehow I would imagine that JB did his best to keep those later bands as tight as he could. Let's not forget that in his prime he had to replace his band on a moment's notice, plucking people like Bootsy Collins out of obscurity and ushering them into greatness.
If he were only the musical director of the JB's, I'd be mourning his loss, but he was so much more. To the previous comment, I think we have the luxury on considering him, both as a person and a musician, up until 1980 or so... a life I'd be happy to put against just about anyone's.
I agree completely Mike. I really know nothing about non-US music (excepting the UK, of course), so I'm hesitant to say anything other than American. I mean, I'm not Mexican, so I'd have a hard time judging the impact of Los Tigres del Norte or something.
I think Alan Leeds would make a TSOYA guest. On his myspace blog he has some spectacular JB stories
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