The One : The Life and Music of James Brown (Hardcover)

from Caryn.Rose

This is the best rock and roll biography I've read in the last 10 years. The writing is amazing, the scholarship impeccable; there is warmth and tone and voice and the writer is on his subject's side, but does not let him check out or get a pass in some of the more questionable areas of his life....

from shadowofthewind

A thorough biography of James Brown, his world, and his music, R.J Smith combines the history of The Warmth of Other Suns with the rise of Rhythm and Blues. At its center is a man that is very difficult to capture. James Brown was a man who had to hustle all of his life. Smith shows his drive and...

from velopunk

This book was full of surprises. For example, James Brown was friends with Strom Thurmond and Lee Atwater, and admired Ronald Reagan Al Sharpton was friends with Brown's late son, Teddy and was very close to Brown and traveled with his entourage extensively. It was Sharpton who supervised the tra...

from Jeanomario

This is a good biography of an American music legend. What would make it even better would be a soundtrack. After all, that's the epitome of James Brown. His life story is told completely from beginning to end in well-written and vivid language. This is fine work!

from greggchadwick

With the current release of the film "Get on Up" starring Chadwick Boseman as James Brown directed by Tate Taylor, RJ Smith's richly researched volume on the life and times of the consummate showman and singer James Brown should gain new readers. Smith delves into the pith of James Brown's diffic...