“I gotcha”: How James Brown ensured his band were faultless
Nobody performed quite like James Brown. The ‘Godfather of Soul’ dedicated himself to high-energy, flawless performances and musical excellence. For many, seeing Brown perform live was akin to a spiritual experience, blessed by the power of infectious soul music. Although his movement and music often felt very organic and improvisational, this could not have been further from the truth; Brown was a rigid perfectionist who ran his backing band like something of a dictator.
Having established himself as a rising star in soul and R&B during the late 1950s, performing alongside the Famous Flames, the 1960s saw Brown bolster his reputation as a truly remarkable live act. Through live releases like the seminal 1963 record Live At The Apollo, Brown live shows amassed a dedicated following, and the songwriter’s performances only got more and more intense.
With an inhuman amount of energy—which, of course, was helped along by a not-insignificant diet of narcotics—Brown put everything into his performance, dancing until he was drenched in sweat and soul. However, not even Brown could achieve such a legendary reputation on his lonesome. The soul master was endlessly indebted to his various backing bands who came and went over the years—even if he ruled over them with something of an iron fist.
During his childhood, Brown was exposed to the world of pimps and the tactics they employed to keep control over a variety of women. So, when it came to his own music career, the musician took on many of the same traits. For instance, one of the predominant ways that Brown kept his musicians in line was with the threat of financial fines. If any singular band member stepped out of line, made a mistake, or displeased Brown, they could be fined five dollars for each and every offence.
Seemingly, during those segments of Brown’s live performances when he danced with his back to the audience, he was often giving hand signals to the backing band, dishing out fines for insolence and mistakes. Although five dollars might seem like a small change to globally successful musicians like James Brown and his band, it must be remembered that five dollars was considerably more expensive during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly when band members could rack up multiple fines per night.
Inevitably, this fostered a sense of bad morale within the band on numerous occasions, but if anybody chose to leave the group, they would also be hit with sanctions. Legendary saxophonist Maceo Parker, who regularly backed Brown, once told NPR, “You gotta be on time. You gotta have your uniform. Your stuff’s got to be intact. You gotta have the bow tie. You got to have it. You can’t come up without the bow tie. You cannot come up without a cummerbund.”
Seemingly, the reason why Brown was so precious over his band’s appearance was because he put those outfits together. “[Brown] bought the costumes.” Parker recalled, “He bought the shoes. And if, for some reason, [the band member decided] to leave the group, [Brown told the person to] please leave my uniforms.”
Obviously, Brown’s treatment of his backing bands were often seen as being overly harsh and oppressive. While this is undoubtedly true, the treatment of his band also culminated in one of the tightests, more awe-inspiring live shows in the history of popular music. His methods were certainly unorthodox and often uncalled for, but it has to be said that the final product was, most often, worth it.
