Kill ‘Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul

James McBride
Spiegal & Grau, $28
Pages: 256
978-0812993509

Inside Papa’s Brand New Bag

James Brown held a prominent place in my constellation of stars.  His music was the soundtrack of my black girl life.   My middle-school bestie Brunella and I would scoop up tickets to his concerts at the Cow Palace and savor every moment spent shoulder-to-shoulder in the roaring crowd.  The Godfather of Soul was a bad mother (shut your mouth),  taut and compact like a bulldozer, his slender physique poured to overflowing into a black-on-black ensemble,...Read More >