Both these books were created in the wake of the deaths of two giants of the culture. When James Brown was passed on Christmas Day 2006, I wondered how I contribute to maintaining his legacy. I knew that Alan Leeds, long time manager and music executive, and ex-Brown employee, had one of the most extensive collections of records, memorabilia and articles about the Godfather in the country. After some conversations with Alan and editor Cherise Fisher, we got a contract to put together The James Brown Reader: Fifty Years of Writing About the Godfather of Soul. This volumne contains articles going back to the firsy pieces on him in the black press to crossover journalism from his rise in the ‘60s and ‘70s to more critical and retrospective pieces from the ‘90s and 21st century. In 2017 Alan would publish a full lenght narrative about Brown called There Was a Time: James Brown, The Chitlin’ Ciruit and Me,’ which is beautiful companion to the JB Reader.
On February 1, 2012 Don Cornelius commited suicide in Los Angeles. I would subsequently be contacted a publisher about putting together a book about the creator of the iconic syndicated television show Soul Train. The decision was made to create an oral history of Soul Train, using existing transcripts and fresh new interviews. The resulting book, The Hippest Trip in America: Soul Train and the Evolution of Culture and Style, published in 2014, really highlights the contributions of the Soul Train Gang of dancers who were the stars of the show, from Lil Joe and Damita Jo Freeman to Tyrone ‘the Bone’ Proctor and Rosie Perez. Though music is the obvious hook for the book, its the stories and creativity of the dancer’s moves and dress that animates the story.
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