PCP, Shotguns, And Creamed Corn: James Brown's Life Was Somehow Even Crazier Than You Thought
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He Pulled Out An Arm During An Insurance Seminar
James Brown was on probation on September 24, 1988, when he randomly went to an insurance seminar in Augusta, Georgia. To clarify: he didn't go there to learn about insurance, and he had no stake in any of the companies there.
He was, however, high on PCP, and he had both a shotgun and a pistol. Brown ordered everyone out of the room, and then left the scene in his pickup truck with the police in hot pursuit.
After chasing Brown through South Carolina and then back into Georgia, the police claimed they shot out Brown's tires to stop him. Allegedly, Brown actively tried to run them over. Brown, however, said he was in the process of surrendering to a Black officer when a group of white policemen arrived and destroyed the windows of his vehicle. He then fled for his life when they began to open fire. Whatever the truth, he was sentenced to six years and six months in prison.
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- MarthaBrown1953
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
Brown's Third Wife May Have Fed Him Creamed Corn Laced With PCP
James Brown had an intense, tumultuous relationship with his third wife, Adrienne Lois Rodriguez. Rodriguez was a hair stylist when she met the soul superstar, and they married quickly. PCP was a massive part of their relationship, and they enabled each other’s addictions to a ludicrous degree. A member of Brown's kitchen staff even claimed that Rodriguez put PCP into his creamed corn and coffee ice cream. Brown himself claimed that Rodriguez stabbed his mistress in the behind.
The couple eventually divorced because of Brown's abusive streak. Rodriguez died in 1996 after a liposuction procedure backfired because of her recreational drug use, coupled with her prescription medication.
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- Heinrich Klaffs
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-S.A 2.0
He Allegedly Shot Six Or Seven People During A Feud With A Fellow Singer
The path to the top of the charts is arduous and littered with collateral damage from bitter rivalries. One of James Brown's earliest public enemies was an R&B singer named Joe Tex. Both men were signed to King Records, but they also had to compete for stage time and record sales and over time their animosity crossed the border from the professional to the personal.
They made covers of the exact same songs, like "Baby You're Right," and Brown allegedly "stole" Tex's ex-wife Bea Ford. Naturally, this led Tex to release the diss record "You Keep Her," wherein he calls out Brown by name.
Things came to a head at venue called Club 15 in Georgia in 1963. Tex had teased Brown about his signature cape during a gig earlier in the day, mocking Brown's performance and pretending to get tangled in the garment. So, the Godfather of Soul pulled out two shotguns.
Brown opened fire on his rival, allegedly shooting six to seven other people in the process. Miraculously, no one was slain. Brown took off, and members of his security team stayed behind to hand out hundred-dollar bills to the injured for their silence. Brown was never prosecuted for his actions.
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- ABC Television
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
He Repeatedly Shot Holes In His Wife's Mink Coat
Some of James Brown's feuds with wives and girlfriends seem almost cartoonish in their scope, but others are just incredibly sinister. Tammi Terrell claimed he hit her with a hammer, and sadly that story is completely in line with numerous allegations made against Brown.
When Brown was married to Adrienne Lois Brown, their sheriff in Aiken, Georgia, frequently received domestic abuse calls. The sheriff even claimed to see many of Adrienne's injuries. In one particularly bizarre incident, Brown took Adrienne’s mink coat and filled it with bullet holes. He then proceeded to shoot up her entire closet.
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- Photo:
- Heinrich Klaffs
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 2.0
He Got A 16-Year Prison Sentence When He Was Only 15
James Brown had little supervision as a teenager, and he stole when he couldn't find odd jobs to supplement his income. At 15, he was arrested for stealing from parked cars. Brown received an 8- to 16-year sentence for the crime, but he honed his performance skills while incarcerated. Everyone loved his singing, and so much so they called him "Music Box." The warden and parole board were so impressed by Brown's good attitude, they released him after only three years.
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- Koen Suyk
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 3.0
He Promoted His Aunt's Moonshine Business
James Brown went to live with his Aunt Honey when he was 6. She became Brown's maternal figure after his birth mother abandoned him at age 4. Like many iconic figures before him, Brown's legend starts at birth.
The singer was reportedly born not breathing, and one of his aunts breathed life back into him. While Honey loved her nephew, she also ran a cathouse and sold moonshine to make ends meet.
Honey did take her young charge to church, though, so Brown received formal musical training from his early in his childhood.
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He Fined His Backup Musicians If Their Stage Outfits Were Wrinkled
James Brown was meticulous about his stage presentation. His brightly colored suits and capes were always pressed and styled. Accordingly, he expected his musicians and backup vocalists to maintain the same level of aesthetic excellence. According to Brown's saxophonists Pee Wee Ellis, "He kept people intimidated. Stupid stuff. We had dress-code fines, shoes had to have a certain shine. There were rules about carrying our uniforms."
Yes, Brown financially penalized his musicians if their outfits were wrinkled. His life was a study in diametric opposites: rigid control on stage and unadulterated chaos the rest of the time.
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- Anna Bleker
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
He Used To Be A Little Richard Impersonator
Before James Brown was a household name, he relied on Little Richard for exposure. The two men didn't look very much alike, but Brown impersonated the famous singer on multiple occasions.
He even accepted payments that belonged to Richard sometimes, but Brown would also just do the impersonations for fun. At one concert, the audience knew immediately that Brown was a fraud, but they stayed to watch anyway because the Godfather of Soul was so talented.
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He Held A Funeral For His Dog, Poojie
James Brown loved his poodle mix, Poojie. And the singer was devastated when his maid accidentally hit Poojie with a door, and cracked the dog's skull. Brown held an elaborate full funeral for the dog at his home in Augusta, Georgia. Poojie was laid to rest in a white casket, and Brown supposedly cried through the entire ceremony.
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- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
He Was Close Friends With Elvis And Arranged A Private Viewing Of His Body
James Brown and Elvis Presley were contemporaries and fierce competitors. Both men vied for the No. 1 spot in soul music, but from public accounts it seems like the two men respected each other. In fact, Brown considered Presley to be the only man worth his competition. They were friends, and after Presley's passing, Brown said, “I wasn't just a fan, I was his brother. He said I was good, and I said he was good. We never argued about that.”
Brown also arranged a private viewing of Elvis, and reportedly wept over the coffin.
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- Cary Bass
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 3.0
His Legs Were Amputated Postmortem In A Paternity Battle
James Brown passed on Christmas in 2006, but the drama of his life didn't end there. A massive battle over his fortune ensued between his children, ex-wives, and widow Tomi Rae. Rae was the mother of his youngest child, but Brown didn't get a chance to change his will to include her or their son before he died.
During the battle, the singer's body was moved a staggering 14 times. The family even demanded a paternity suit to prove the heritage of Brown's youngest son. Because the singer was already embalmed, the Godfather's legs had to be amputated to extract bone marrow for a proper DNA reading. It turned out the boy is his son, but the will dispute continued to rage well into the next decade.
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