Carrying on the Legacy of my Mentor and Friend, The Great James Brown has been The Most Beautiful Blessing in Life. This April 5th at Prince Hall, I will share that Blessing with all of you at my ‘James Brown Saved Boston’ Show!
I FEEL GOOD! And can you blame me? The days are beginning to get a little longer, the sun is shining a little brighter, and we are joyously welcoming that refreshing spring air back into our lungs!
ALL OF THIS can only mean one thing.. April 5th is just about here and it is time to celebrate my favorite holiday of the year! We’re talking, of course, about the famous night my mentor Mr. James Brown saved Boston from fires and riots during the aftermath of the MLK assassination in 1968 (a story told beautifully by Dart Adams in the very pages of this magazine you are holding in your hands).
And with that it also means it is time to get loose and celebrate as we once again pay tribute to the great Mr. Brown with my favorite show of the year, aptly titled: “James Brown Saved Boston” hosted by and starring yours truly, The Young James Brown himself, Tony Wilson, and with a super talented ensemble of musicians and entertainers ready to have you all Get Up Offa That Thing!
So how does -you might be wondering- one receive that blessing of a lifetime; to be the man carrying on the legacy of The Godfather of Soul?
Well, sit back and get comfortable folks.. and I’ll tell you exactly how things happened!
Long before I became The Godson of Soul I was a young boy growing up in Chicago with very much a Family of Soul. Yes, you can say I even came out of my mother’s womb dancing, that’s how much we all love good music!
Along with my parents and siblings, my Godmother Ms Martha Reeve of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, was a beautiful influence and mentor -always encouraging me to pursue my dreams.
I have been blessed to be able to open for her numerous times throughout our careers and believe me the moment is never lost on me. I love and appreciate it -and her- every time!
The first time I saw Mr. Brown on the television set in 1965 I was absolutely blown away. I had never seen anyone move like that before! And the way the women were reacting to his performance… hey now!
As fate would have it, in 1967 I got my chance to jump on stage with Mr. Brown at the Regal Theater on 79th Stonly Island and, well you could say I was like a little kid in a candy store.. what memories!
Throughout the 70’s I found myself matching another music industry icon move-for-move as I paid close attention to everything a Jackson 5 era Michael Jackson was doing. We were moving & grooving -and even at times looking- so much alike that people who didn’t know any better would sometimes even get us confused for each other.
In fact, that’s exactly what happened in the 1980’s when I was brought into the Jackson team by the patriarch himself, Mr. Joe Jackson, to be an official decoy for the King of Pop! What an experience that was!
I’ve been humbled with so many wonderful experiences to not only rub elbows but also call on as my friends, some of the most talented and gifted men and women in music.
Musicians such as Ron and Ernie Isley, Bootsy Collins, Herbie Hancock Rick James, Smokey Robinson, Dr. Otis Williams, Al Green, Diana Ross and many others have all had a profound impact on my life bringing me endless joy.
But as you know, I’m Livin’ in a Man’s World. And THE MAN who has brought me the most joy of them all is Mr. James Brown himself.
As I grew older and entered junior high and then high school I realized that Mr. Brown was so much more than an entertainer. I began for the first time in my life, actually reading his lyrics. That’s when I discovered what he truly was actually about – Soul Power and Black and Proud – those types of things really got to me.
His soul was and remains speaking to my soul on every level of my being. To this day, I am still taking life lessons from his socially conscious songs. They are as relevant now as they were when he wrote them 50 and 60 years ago.
And then in 1999, my world would forever change. While on the set for the movie Funkblast, where I had been selected to portray the legend, Mr. Brown and I and a few others were jiving, having a good time, and he looked over at me and said the magic words that a full world of amnesia could never make me forget..
“YOU REALLY ARE THE YOUNG JAMES BROWN!”
It was at that moment that I made a personal promise to Mr. Brown that I would not only embrace his name and his persona as my alter ego but I would also make it my personal mission, with passion and dedication, to keep and preserve the vibrant, energetic, visual concert performance legacy of HIM, the one and only Godfather of Soul till my dying day.
In 2004, I once again was honored to portray Mr. Brown in a Tony Scott directed film called Beat the Devil.
He had chosen me as his protege, and was inviting me to concerts and shows all over the map so I could listen and learn what it took to run a “James Brown Show” first hand.
Soon enough, Mr. Brown was watching MY James Brown Tribute Band perform regularly, and dare I say, I may have been entertaining him almost as much as he was entertaining me!
Whether he was entertained or simply proud of how passionate I am to represent him, Mr. Brown asked if my 14-piece band and I would like to back him up on what turned out to be his final tour, “The James Brown 50th All Time Concert” culminating with an energetic and engaging show in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia.
Shortly before Mr. Brown passed away on Christmas Day in 2006 I was able to share a very powerful and personal moment with him that I’ll keep between us. That moment, and him, I will always cherish. He forever means the world to me.
Carrying on the legacy of James Brown is not just about the music and entertainment but embodying everything the great man stood for. His heart was all about bringing people joy and making their lives better.
And it brings me joy to continue to honor that. I travel to China annually to bring the arts to children and I tireless advocate for our homeless veterans. I organize what is called The Stand Down in The Military, which sets up military style tents, beddings, food, and medical jobs for veterans in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
I was honored to perform at The 100th Anniversary of the Army Ball Chaplain Gala in San Antonio, Texas; as well as for the Army USO Military Band in Kileen, Texas. God Bless our troops!
My program, “There Should Never Be Such Thing As a Homeless Veteran” is something I am very proud of.
My entertainment career, which has now spanned five decades, has taken me all over the world, performing with a “who’s who” of legends and hall-of-famers from all kinds of genres.
The show that means the most to me though -my personal favorite holiday of the year- is every April 5th in Boston, “James Brown Saved Boston.”
Among the many wonderful treasures Mr. James Brown gave me over the years, one of my personal favorites is a James Brown doll on which he wrote: “To Tony Wilson, #2, keep being ME.”
There is nothing else I would rather do. Thank you for everything, Godfather of Soul. Thank you for saving Boston. Thank you for saving all of us. Thank you for saving me.
Love, your Godson.
