James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good)HD
- 13 years ago
Early life
James Brown was born in Barnwell, South Carolina on May 3, 1933 at 5:10pm to Susie Brown and Joseph ("Joe") Gardner (who changed his surname to Brown after Mattie Brown who raised him). Although Brown was to be named after his father Joseph, his first and middle names were mistakenly reversed on his birth certificate. He therefore became James Joseph Brown, Jr.As a young child, Brown was called Junior. When he later lived with his aunt and cousin, he was called Little Junior since his cousin's nickname was also Junior. He was of African American, Native American (Apache), through his father, and had Asian ancestry.As a young child, the family lived in extreme poverty in nearby Elko, South Carolina, which at the time was an impoverished town in Barnwell County. When Brown was two years old, his parents separated after his mother left his father for another man.After his mother abandoned the family, Brown continued to live with his father and his father's live-in girlfriends until he was six years old. After that time, Brown and his father moved to Augusta, Georgia.
His father sent him to live with an aunt, who ran a house of prostitution.Even though Brown lived with relatives, he spent long stretches of time on his own, hanging out on the streets and hustling to get by.Brown managed to stay in school until he dropped out in the seventh grade.
During his childhood, Brown earned money shining shoes, sweeping out stores, selling and trading in old stamps, washing cars and dishes and singing in talent contests. Brown also performed buck dances for change to entertain troops from Camp Gordon at the start of World War II as their convoys traveled over a canal bridge near his aunt's home. Between earning money from these adventures, Brown taught himself to play a harmonica given to him by his father.He learned to play some guitar from Tampa Red, in addition to learning to play piano and drums from others he met during this time.
James Brown was born in Barnwell, South Carolina on May 3, 1933 at 5:10pm to Susie Brown and Joseph ("Joe") Gardner (who changed his surname to Brown after Mattie Brown who raised him). Although Brown was to be named after his father Joseph, his first and middle names were mistakenly reversed on his birth certificate. He therefore became James Joseph Brown, Jr.As a young child, Brown was called Junior. When he later lived with his aunt and cousin, he was called Little Junior since his cousin's nickname was also Junior. He was of African American, Native American (Apache), through his father, and had Asian ancestry.As a young child, the family lived in extreme poverty in nearby Elko, South Carolina, which at the time was an impoverished town in Barnwell County. When Brown was two years old, his parents separated after his mother left his father for another man.After his mother abandoned the family, Brown continued to live with his father and his father's live-in girlfriends until he was six years old. After that time, Brown and his father moved to Augusta, Georgia.
His father sent him to live with an aunt, who ran a house of prostitution.Even though Brown lived with relatives, he spent long stretches of time on his own, hanging out on the streets and hustling to get by.Brown managed to stay in school until he dropped out in the seventh grade.
During his childhood, Brown earned money shining shoes, sweeping out stores, selling and trading in old stamps, washing cars and dishes and singing in talent contests. Brown also performed buck dances for change to entertain troops from Camp Gordon at the start of World War II as their convoys traveled over a canal bridge near his aunt's home. Between earning money from these adventures, Brown taught himself to play a harmonica given to him by his father.He learned to play some guitar from Tampa Red, in addition to learning to play piano and drums from others he met during this time.