James Brown … signing with Federal Records … 1956!

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to see if I am dreaming … how blessed I am to have met, worked with and even became friends with some of my childhood music Icons! It seems like only yesterday that I was watching the likes of James Brown, the Temptations, Four Tops, Supremes. Ben E. King and Lou Rawls on my television, on my favorite shows like the Ed Sulivan Show, Shindig, Hullabaloo and Where the Action Is. Back then I dreamed of meeting them in person and even being on the stage with them and now I reminisce of how those dreams come true. As a drummer and singer, I watched my heroes like James Brown … his moves, his band, his drummers, his singers his whole demeanor on stage … I watched and studied like I was in school preparing for an important test. Then years later I had the honors of meeting and working with the Godfather of Soul Music, the innovator of Funk, the Guru of modern dance. I even received Christmas cards from Mr. Brown which I still cherish. Today is the anniversary of James Brown and his Famous Flames signing with Federal Records … and his signing bonus was a whopping $200.00! Yep, you read that right … $200.00! Could you image an entertainer signing with anyone for that slap in the face amount of money today?! As you probably know, Federal Records was a subsidiary of King records in Cincinnati, Ohio … owned by Syd Nathan. The label had some great Rhythm and Blues artists, the likes of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, the Dominoes, the 5 Royales and James Brown. It also released some rockabilly sounds. That year, James Brown and His Famous Flames recorded several R&B classics like; “Please, Please, Please”, “I Don’t Know”, “I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On”, “No, No, No, No” and Chonnie-On-Chon” and continued turning out classics until they began releasing his Soul classics on the King Label. To this very day I still play his classics on my internet radio show, Johnny Angel’s Heavenly Soul Show … jukinoldies.com … and I still get a smile on my face thinking about the time I spent with him. I had the horons of interviewing James Brown at Three Rivers Stadium while working with 3WS radio and the Summer Oldies Concerts. As I began interviewing/talking with the Godfather I realized it wasn’t like any interview I ever did … it was like talking with an old friend, a very informative friend … I was like a sponge absorbing every bit of soul information he was offering. I still light up when visitors at my Museum ask questions about Mr. James Brown … and a smile comes on my face … and I’m not dreaming!

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