WRITING ARCHIVE (BenOrtiz.com/writing)

EDITOR'S NOTE: When I called my dad on Christmas, he mentioned James Brown's passing, and I could tell by his voice that he was feeling the holiday blues. He told me a story about trying to get into a JB concert, and I asked him to write it up for my journal. So here's my dad's memorial to James Brown, a rock-show recollection.

GOODBYE GFOS
—by Benjamin Ortiz, Sr.

James Brown. He has been called The Godfather of Soul, Mr. Dynamite, Soul Brother No. 1, The Hardest Working Man In Show Business, and many other things. To me he has been the magical music man, an inspiration.

His first hit song, “Please, Please, Please,” came out when I was a young kid, so he has always been there in music, as long as I can remember. When my sister’s boys Richy and Roy were real young and little, they loved to imitate James Brown. They used to do that crazy, fast, foot-shuffling slide, with spinning and splits, like James Brown was so well known for. I couldn’t do the “James Brown.” My feet couldn’t move fast enough.

Then, in the summer of 1967, between my junior and senior high school years when I lived in Kansas, James Brown was coming to town. The buzz in all of Wichita was about the concert at the Wichita State University arena. It had been a long, hot summer. There had been race riots in Wichita, but things had cooled down. And now, everybody wanted to go to that show.

I was washing dishes at a Mexican restaurant, and I couldn’t afford to get tickets. On the big night, my friend Carlos Salazar and I were riding around, trying to find something to do. I told him, “let’s go to the concert arena and just hang out.” We had to park blocks away, and it was a good hike, so when we got there the concert was already about half-way through.

This arena has some big glass windows and doors, so we could look in and see the people (including some of our friends) walking around the back of the center stage where the show was going on. We walked around to one of back side-doors and stood there for a while. I saw Reggie Hernandez, a good friend, inside with some other dudes.

I went up and banged on the glass door to get Reggie’s attention. He saw me, and through the crack between the doors, I yelled: “Hey Reggie, how is the concert going?” He yelled back, “It is WILD!” He made the smoking-a-joint sign and said, “The girls are going crazy!” I thought, “Oh man, I wish I was in there!” We used to think: James Brown would get all of the girls hot, then it would be easy to pick one of them up.

I started banging on the doors and acting crazy. Then, a big white security guard came to the door. I had not noticed that there were about 12 other kids that had followed me who were also trying to get in. I thought that this security guard was going to give me a “thumping” and chase us off.

As the guard came to the door, we all took a couple of steps back. He opened the door and said, “Now, if I let you all in, will you promise to behave yourselves?!” We all said in unison, “Hell yeah!” He answered, “Well, then, go in there and find a seat, and please behave yourselves.” We said, “Sure man!”

We ran in to where we could get a view. The place was packed, and there wasn’t a seat to be found, but nobody was sitting down. The place was jumping — it was electrifying!

I forgot all about the girls, ’cause there he was, on stage putting on a great show, the Man Himself, Mr. James Brown. I wasn’t very close to the stage, but I could see the spotlights were on him.

He looked like a beautiful Chocolate Man, with beads of sweat pouring down his face. He danced like a wild man, just floated across the stage, spinning, and doing signature foot shuffling and splits. He was magnificent! And I was captivated by him. His singing was unintelligible, all yelling and screams, but his voice was like music.

Then, towards the end of the show, he did his famous finale, where he sings “Bewildered” or “Please, Please, Please” (I can’t remember which), and he gets down on his knees, like he is tired and worn out. (Believe me, any other human would have been!) Then an assistant comes out, puts a cape on his back, and helps him to his feet; he walks off like he has had it. Then, he would throw off the cape, come back, and start singing again! He did this several times, and the crowd went wild. At the end of the show I was tired of yelling, jumping, and clapping.

This man not only inspired me, but he has also influenced our country, its music and performers. He was an innovator. Many artists, from Michael Jackson to Mick Jagger, and all of R&B, Rap, and Hip-Hop, were influenced by James Brown.

It wasn’t until I moved to Augusta, Georgia (his childhood hometown) that I found out about the other side of Mr. James Brown. He was also a true humanitarian. Every Thanksgiving, he gave away turkeys and fixings to make a complete Thanksgiving dinner for the less fortunate of the Augusta area. Just last Friday, December 22, he got up out of his sick bed to make an appearance at his 15th annual toy giveaway, when Christmas gifts are given to Augusta’s poor kids.

So, the Augusta area will not only miss the Man and his music, but will also miss his generosity. Here in Augusta, we remember him with James Brown Boulevard, James Brown Square (where his statue stands), and the James Brown Arena.

And the grateful people here will miss their Favorite Son and Hometown Hero.