172 Culture, Identity, and Community: From Slavery to the Presentany other artist; of his hits, 17 reached the top spot, and
43 charted on Pop’s Top 40. His many honors include in-
duction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a special
lifetime achievement Grammy. Th e “Godfather of Soul,”
as Brown was known to millions, frequently appeared on
TV talk and variety shows and made celebrated cameo ap-
pearances in several popular movies. His music has had a
worldwide impact.
James Joseph Brown Jr. was born into extreme pov-
erty in Barnwell County, South Carolina, on May 3, 1933.
Deserted by his mother Susan when he was quite young,
his father Joe Brown left him in Augusta, Georgia, with
his aunt Handsome “Honey” Stevenson. Stevenson ran a
brothel while James hustled change: shining shoes, wash-
ing cars, racking pool balls, dancing and singing for tips,
leading soldiers to his aunt’s brothel, and so on. Brown’s
training to become the “hardest-working man in show
business” started early.
Arrested for breaking into cars at the age of 16, Brown
was sentenced on June 3, 1949, to 8 to 16 years at the Geor-
gia Juvenile Training Institute, a segregated reform school/
prison located in Rome in northwest Georgia. In Novem-
ber 1951, this reform school was renamed Georgia Boys
Industrial Institute and moved to Camp Toccoa, a former
paratrooper training facility on Currahee Mountain near
Toccoa in northeast Georgia.
Fellow inmates named him “Music Box” because he
was always singing and knew all the popular songs. Th rough
his singing, athletic ability, and reputation as a hard worker,
Brown became known to the townspeople, both black and
white, who helped secure his release on June 14, 1952.
Brown was paroled to the family of singer and band leader
Bobby Byrd (1934–2007). Brown joined Byrd’s gospel
group, the Ever-Ready Gospel Singers, and soon was alter-
nating lead vocals with Byrd’s sister Sarah. Byrd and Brown
later featured the same alternating lead vocals on some of
their biggest hits.
Brown also performed with Byrd’s secular group. Th ey
sang nonstop, keeping time by clapping hands and stomp-
ing feet—a technique learned from a local gospel quartet,
the MellowTones. Supplementing the guitar and piano,
Byrd sang the bass part, and he and Brown sang horn parts.
Eventually they added drums and bass guitar. Th e Flames
included a number of vocalists who switched off lead and
backup singing in gospel call-and-response fashion; Brown
assumed the role of featured dancer. In 1953, Byrd enrolledshe discusses two women who, though once close, took
two very divergent paths in their lives. Although the reader
is supposed to feel bad about Sadie’s hard life as a single
mother, Brooks feels that Sadie’s perseverance is commend-
able and leaves a legacy with her children that Maud, who
went to college but lives alone, does not. Th ese simple por-
traits are actually complex discussions of the black women
whom Brooks encountered and knew intimately.
On December 3, 2000, Gwendolyn Brooks died at her
home at the age of 83 aft er battling cancer. In many ways,
Brooks’s death spelled the end of an era. Her life and work
spanned the majority of the 20th century, and she wit-
nessed some of the most important legal, social, and cul-
tural changes for black people in the United States. But her
legacy as an artist and social critic are immense. Her inno-
vative poetry and prose are inspiring, and all of the themes
and observations in her poetry remain salient. Gwendolyn
Brooks left a voluminous endowment to African American
literature and history that are unmatched.
See also: Chicago Defender; Harlem Renaissance
Nicole JacksonBibliography
Alexander, Elizabeth, ed. Th e Essential Gwendolyn Brooks. New
York: Library of America, 2005.
Bloom, Harold. Gwendolyn Brooks: Comprehensive Research and
Study Guide. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 2003.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. Annie Allen. Westport, CT: Greenwood,
1949.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. Th e Bean Eaters. New York: Harper & Row,
1960.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. In the Mecca. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. In Montgomery and Other Poems. Chicago:
Th ird World Press, 2003.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. Maud Martha. New York: Harper & Row,
1953.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. A Street in Bronzeville. New York: Harper &
Row, 1945.
Wright, Steven Caldwell, ed. On Gwendolyn Brooks: Reliant
Contemplation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press,
1999.
Brown, James
Singer, dancer, songwriter, entrepreneur, and performer
extraordinaire James Brown (1933–2006) appeared on Bill-
board’s Top 40 R&B chart a total of 98 times—more than