james brown, a battle over his estate, the payback
James Brown, the self-titled “Hardest Working Man in Show Business”, upon his death left behind the greatest of legacies; as Wikipedia puts it - “James Brown’s career spanned over decades, and his sound and beat profoundly influenced the development of many different musical genres. Brown moves on a continuum from blues and gospel-based forms and styles to a profoundly Africanized approach to music making.”
It goes on - “Brown’s recordings influenced musicians across the industry, most notably Sly and The Family Stone, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Booker T. & the M.G.’s and soul shouters like Edwin Starr, Temptations David Ruffin, and Dennis Edwards. A then-prepubescent Michael Jackson took Brown’s shouts and dancing into the pop mainstream as the lead singer of Motown’s The Jackson 5. Those same tracks were later resurrected by countless hip-hop musicians from the 1970s onward. As a result, James Brown remains to this day the world’s most sampled recording artist, with “Funky Drummer” itself becoming the most sampled individual piece of music.”
So it is sad to read today this headline in the NYT - Suit Tangles Issue of James Brown’s Estate. And to read this - “Now, a lawsuit filed Tuesday by two court-appointed trustees of his estate accuses his longtime business managers, including a retired judge, of stealing millions of dollars from Mr. Brown. The suit, filed in South Carolina state court, also accuses the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, one of its lawyers, and a South Carolina bank of breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and conspiracy to defraud the legendary soul singer.”
It’s been well documented that early blues and R&B musicians were cheated and defrauded by their managers, promoters and record labels. They also went uncredited and unpaid by musicians such as Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, who “borrowed” their riffs and lyrics with impunity and only later in their careers did they agree that they had stolen from black musicians and made some attempts at reparation. Granted these early black musicians were not business savvy, but they deserved more from the people who surrounded them who were offering to help guide their careers. Once trust was cemented, a pact enjoined, they should have been able to be confident that these people would do right by them. But no, a pervasive racist streak drew those very people to rifle through the pockets of those performers who knew no better. As we see by today’s news, it was and still is a shameful scandal.