James Brown: Get on the Good Foot

EDUCATION THE APOLLO THEATER STUDY GUIDE published by the Education Program of the Apollo Theater in New York, NY | Volume 3, Issue 1, October 2013

The Godfather of Soul

J

ames Brown was born in South Carolina in 1933 but moved to Georgia when he was four to live with his Aunt Honey who ran a brothel. He began singing early, winning first prize at the Lenox Theatre when he was just 11 years old.

After he got caught breaking into cars in 1949, Brown was sentenced to 11 years in prison. While in prison, he formed a gospel band and was given the nickname “Radio” because of his love of singing and of listening to the radio.

When Brown was released from prison in 1952 due to good behavior, he immediately joined a gospel group led by the singer Bobby Byrd. The group would later become known as The Famous Flames.

They sang Rhythm & Blues, with Brown as the lead singer. James Brown and The Famous Flames recorded a number of hit records in the 1950s and 1960s, including such songs as “Please, Please, Please” and “Try Me”.

Brown had many nicknames throughout his career, including “Mr. Dynamite” and “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.” However, none was more popular than “Godfather of Soul.”

Brown was also an influential figure during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and performed a live concert in the wake of riots that erupted following the assassination

of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The concert, which was performed on April 5th, 1968, is the subject of a documentary called “The Night James Brown Saved Boston”. Brown was also credited with beginning the Operation Black Pride movement with the release of “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.”

By the 1970s, Brown was an internationally known and celebrated performer. In the 1980s he had a cameo appearance in the movie The Blues Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. That same year, the song “Living in America” from the movie Rocky IV was released and climbed to #4 on the charts. It became his most successful single since 1968.

James Brown burst onto the entertainment scene during the 1950s transforming his Gospel background and innovating the world of Rhythm & Blues. Brown taught himself to play the harmonica and he learned to play guitar, piano, and drums by observing other musicians.

His influences were varied—the great saxophonist Louis Jordan and the Rhythm & Blues singer Little Willie John, and Little Richard, who he was once called upon to fill in for early in his career.

Brown was an important contributor to the development of Soul and Funk music. His music has also been a major influence on Hip Hop. Many rappers and DJs still sample his recordings.

Michael Jackson considered Brown a major influence on his career. Contemporary artists Usher, Chris Brown, Bruno Mars, and Janelle Monaé also display the influence of James Brown’s choreography and energetic style in their performances.

Brown received two Lifetime Achievement Awards, as well as a Kennedy Center Honors in 2003. He continued to perform up until what would become his final concert in 2006, at The Festival at the Golden Gate in San Francisco. He was inducted into the UK Hall of Fame that November but passed away a month later, on December 25th while hospitalized for pneumonia. On December 28 th, his body was on view on stage at The Apollo Theater, back to the place he so often called home.

James Brown was inducted in the Apollo Theater Hall of Fame posthumously in 2007.

WORDS TO KNOW...

Posthumously : An event or action that occurs after a person’s death.

Rhythm & Blues : Sometimes called R&B, this genre of music originated in the 1940s and was influenced by the Blues and Jazz.

Soul Music : A style of music that combines elements of R&B and gospel music with an emphasis on vocals.

Funk Music : A style of music that blends soul, jazz and R&B together and is often characterized by a strong rhythm.

Choreographer: A person who arranges the movements of dancers in order to create an artistic work.

Composer: A person who writes and arranges original music.

Soul Funk Rhythm & Blues

A LASTING LEGACY:

James Brown and the Apollo Theater James Brown first performed at the Apollo Theater in 1959 with the Famous Flames.

In 1962, they returned to the Theater to record the album “Live at the Apollo”. The record went on to sell millions of copies and established Brown as one of the leading entertainers of his generation.

James Brown returned to the Apollo countless times throughout his career. He holds the record for the largest number of performances at the Theater having appeared on the Apollo stage for over 200 shows. His name is in some ways synonymous with the Theater.

On December 28, 2006, three days following his death from pneumonia, his body was brought to the Apollo stage in a gold plated casket. The line to pay respects to the Godfather of Soul started to form the night before. Much like his sold out performances at the Apollo, thousands stood in lines along 125 th Street for a chance to pay their respects. This time the lines extended as far as 12 blocks north of the Theater. As his music played loudly outside of the famed record store, Bobby’s Happy House, hundreds of people gave their testimonies of having first seen James Brown perform at the Apollo Theater.

Opportunity, Inclusion and Hope:

PHILADANCO

Photo Credit: Richard Finkelstein.

T

he dancers featured in Get On The Good Foot are part of the Philadelphia Dance Company, also known as PHILADANCO. The company was founded in 1970 by Joan Myers Brown, who wanted to provide opportunities for Black dancers, who were often denied entrance in many of Philadelphia’s local dance schools. Established on principles of providing opportunity, inclusion and hope, PHILADANCO bridges cultural divides and consistently performs for sold-out audiences representing an amalgamation of people from diverse ethnicities and communities. Today, PHILADANCO has grown to be a nationally and internationally recognized professional dance company known for its artistry, superbly trained dancers and electrifying performances. Even though the company travels the world, its home-base is on Philadanco Way in West Philadelphia.

Photo: Lois Greenfield

ARTIST PROFILE:

Derick K. Grant Get On The Good Foot, A Celebration in Dance, brings together choreographers from around the world. Each one has their own special style of dance to show the influence of James Brown’s music on their work.

Boston–born choreographer Derick K. Grant expresses the influence of Brown’s music through Tap Dancing.

Grant has had an extensive career in dance. He started training as a dancer at the age of just two and a half.

One of his big breaks came in 1995 when he was selected as an original company member and Dance Captain for the musical Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk at both The Public Theater and on Broadway. His choreography has been featured on Fox’s hit series So You Think You Can Dance and he has performed and recorded with

Grammy Award winning musician Dan Zanes. Mr. Grant was the recipient of the Princess Grace Award for Upcoming Young Artists, The Helen Hayes Award (Washington D.C.) for Outstanding Featured Actor as well as two additional for his role in Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk.

Sometimes you don’t need words in order to speak; even if words are neither spoken nor sung when he performs, Mr. Grant can convey his thoughts, feelings and world views through tap. He uses it as a form of expression and identity. He says, “My steps are like words. They’re like vocabulary so it’s my way to communicate with an audience or a listener for how I feel at that moment.” He can express happiness, frustration and thoughts through how he emphasizes different movements and the ways he uses his feet to produce different sounds as he taps.

Music All Around You:

City Life

Can you hear music in the soundscape of the City? Whether it is a group of people laughing loudly, a noisy construction site, the sound of cars passing by, or the tones of the subway doors closing and opening, rhythm surrounds you every day. You might not realize it, but these sounds and tones have their own rhythm to them.

Choreographer Derick Grant says “Rhythm is life” and that “Everything I feel on a daily basis is musical”. If you keep your ears and mind open, you never know what you may hear!

Photo: Lois Greenfield

T

ap dance is an African American cultural development that began in the 1800s.

It combines African drumming and dance movements with European dances. Its roots are much earlier than the 1800s though. Enslaved Africans brought their dances with them. They patted, hopped, and shuffled their feet as they moved in time with drummed and chanted music. The shuffling movement, in which they brushed the balls of their feet back and forth on the ground, is similar to the brush movement in tap dance. Tap dancers also borrowed from Irish jigs, reels, and clog dancing, which all emphasize footwork and fast beats.

William Henry Lane is credited with inventing tap dancing. He was born a free black in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1825, and later moved to New York City. Lane began performing in minstrel shows in 1839. Touring the United States and Europe until his death in 1850, he was called the “greatest of all dancers” and was known as “Master Juba.” Juba is an Afro-Caribbean dance in which dancers shuffle their feet as they move

TAP

TAP

TAP

In the early 1900s, tap dancers like the Four Covans were tapping to the new rhythms of ragtime, jazz, stride, and stomp. Willie Covan, the leader of the group, created the rhythm Waltz Clog, developed acrobatic moves, and perfected the Buck and Wing, a series of classic tap steps. John “Bubbles” Sublett perfected rhythm tap, a combination of heel and toe taps that highlight the beat in jazz music. With Ford “Buck” Washington, he was part of the famous duo of Buck & Bubbles that played the Apollo Theater regularly.

counterclockwise in a circle. During the second half of the 1800s, tap dancing became part of minstrel shows.

DANCING AROUND THE WORLD –

M

Choreographer Aakash Odera, was trained in the dance styles of Kathak and Bharat Natyam in India and in the

Tap dancing has continued to change and adapt to new musical styles. Today, tap is often combined with hip-hop to form a new beat.

(Excerpted from “Tapping at the Apollo” a Study Guide published by the Apollo Theater Education Program)

movements while Jaipur is known for complex and powerful footwork and multiple spins.

KATHAK any cultures use different forms of dance to tell stories using their bodies. One such form can be found in a classical dance style from India called Kathak, a Sanskrit word that means “story”.

Sanskrit is the language of Hinduism, which is the main religion found in India. Although Kathak was first used to tell religious stories, it has since been adapted to tell all types of stories.

These were variety shows in which white entertainers painted their faces black and sang, told jokes, and danced.

These imitations were considered offensive by most African Americans.

Beginning around the 1880s, vaudeville shows replaced minstrel shows and lasted into the 1940s.

Dancers often wear small bells tied around their ankles to make noise while they dance. These bells hang from a leather strap that is then tied to the ankle. These bells are called Ghunghru and there are 100 bells on each ankle.

United Kingdom. Kathak is featured in the dance he choreographed for Get On The Good Foot and draws on the music of James Brown.

There are a few schools, or gharanas, of Kathak. They are characterized by the emphasis placed on the different types of movement. The school of Lucknow is characterized by graceful and elegant

Costumes vary for male and female performers. Female costumes range from traditional Indian and Hindu garb like saris or karmeez. Costumes are usually elaborately decorated and embroidered and can include skirts that are tighter to the body or skirts that spin out dramatically when the dancers spin.

Males are usually bare chested and wear pants that also flare at the bottoms.

What does a composer do?

Meet Ronobir Lahiri Even though James Brown first wrote and sang the music that all these pieces are based on, choreographers asked composers to create new music inspired by those original pieces in order to better suit the different dance styles they used.

A composer is a person who writes music. They can write a variety of

music meant for a wide array of uses.

In this case, Ronobir Lahiri re-imagined two classic James Brown songs for Aakash Odedra. Because the piece is choreographed from a traditional Indian dance, Kathak, Mr. Odedra wanted his music to reflect it and asked Lahiri to re-imagine two of Brown’s most famous songs for his piece.

See Me Do

The James Brown While James Brown is known mostly for his music, he was also admired for his dancing. A former boxer, Brown’s dance style was athletic in many ways.

He would run, jump, and do splits during his shows as well as some of the popular dances of the day.

Part of being in the audience at a James Brown concert meant you would soon be dancing. But what kind of dancing would you do? In his song “There Was a Time”, Mr. Brown talks about different dance moves that were popular. Take a look at the lyrics – the bold words are the names of different dances. Which one do you like the best?

There was a day, There was a time, When I used to dance, There was a time, When I used to prance But dig me now, Don’t worry ‘bout later Dig the dance I used to do They call the mashed potato There was a dance, They call the jerk Everybody relax And watch me work There was a day back in my home town Where I used to stay The name of the place, Is Augusta, GA Down there We have a good time We don’t talk

We all get together Any type of weather Then we do the camel walk Now there was a dance That I used to do The name of the dance, They call the boogaloo I may not do the dance As well as you, But baby, you can Bet your bottom dollar You’ll never hear me holler I’ll do the best That I can do There was a time Sometime I danced Sometimes I clown But you can bet you Haven’t seen nothing yet Until you’ve seen me do The James Brown

Vocabulary Dance: Moving to music, usually following a rhythm or pattern with your feet and arms Prance: To move with a spring in your step The Mashed Potato: Pretend like you’re mashing potatoes with the toe of one foot and then repeat with the motion with the other. Make sure to make an up and down swinging motion with your arms.

The Jerk: A dance where a jerking motion is made with the arms and hands, as though you are conducting an orchestra.

Camel Walk: Just like it sounds, pretend that you are walking like a camel by putting your weight on one foot and raising the opposite shoulder and then repeat with the other side.

Boogaloo: Lock your knees together and sway in a circle, making a popping motion with your shoulders.

Now Try This!

Brown rhymes the names of the dances in his lyrics -- At one point he even fits in the town he grew up in, Augusta, Georgia (GA) What are some of your favorite dances?

Can you think of words that would rhyme with those dances?

James Brown Rhymes: Dance - Prance Jerk - Work Stay - Augusta, G.A. Talk - Camel Walk

LET’S SEE HOW MUCH YOU’VE LEARNED! 1

Name:__________________________________Date:__________

3

2 5

4

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7 8 9 10

crossword puzzle

Across: 5. This song was written for the movie Rocky IV (3 words) 7. One of James Brown’s nicknames, The Godfather of ____ 8. The movement James Brown began with the release of “Say it LoudI’m Black and I’m Proud” (2 words) 10. Bells that are tied around the ankles, used for certain types of dance

Down: 1. A choreographer trained in Kathak and Bharat Natyam 2. The ____ ____ Movement occurred in the 1960s (2 words) 3. James Brown joined this singing group, The ____ Flames 4. A dance from India meaning “Story” 6. Get on the ____ Foot

1. aakashodera, 2.civil rights, 3. famous, 4. kathak, 5. living in america, 6. good, 7. soul, 8. black pride, 9. philadanco, 10. ghunghru Photo credits: Aakash photo: Lewis Major; Derick Grant photo: Laura Domnar; James Brown Photos: Apollo Theater There Was a Time lyrics by James Brown and Buddy J. Hobgood Generous support for Get on the Good Foot provided by the Ford Foundation Fund for Global Programs, JoAnn Price, Earl W. and Amanda Stafford, and the Reginald Van Lee New Works Fund.

This project is partially supported by a grant from Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, a program developed and funded by The Heinz Endowments; the William Penn Foundation; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency; and The Pew Charitable Trusts; and administered by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

Apollo Education programs are supported by the following generous donors:

and the Ronald O. Perelman Family Foundation Additional support from the Bay and Paul Foundations, the BTMU Foundation, Con Edison, Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, General Motors Foundation, the Hearst Foundations, Insperity, the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, the QBE Foundation and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

The Apollo’s 2013-2014 season is made possible by lead support from The Coca-Cola Company, Folonari Wines and Cavicchioli 1928, the Ford Foundation Fund for Global Programs, the Hearst Foundations, The Parsons Family Foundation, the Ronald O. Perelman Family Foundation, JoAnn Price, Rockefeller Cultural Innovation Fund, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Earl W. and Amanda Stafford, Time Warner Inc., the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, the Reginald Van Lee New Works Fund, the Apollo Board of Directors and many other generous donors.

Lead annual support is also provided by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Apollo Theater Education Program 253 West 125th Street New York, NY 10027 212-531-5360 www.apolloeducation.org