He could give out Christmas gifts but he couldn't include his son and the son's mother or partner or wife (whatever she is, shes still the mother)?

Unfortunately,it makes me think that the news media wasn't the only one questioning the boy's paternity.I'm not implying the mother is lying, I'm just saying that it's not the boy's fault if she was. Reguardless of whether that's James' biological son or not, he did help raise the boy until his recent passing.

As for leaving the mother out of the will, James knew their situation better than we do so I can't really comment on that one.

I agree. I think I need more information before making a judgment. The media doesn't tell us everything.

frankly i could care less about tommie raye as she for me, falls into the catagory of those 40 years too young 'johnny come lately wives' that always show up when a man is in the harbor of his life about to set sail for the final journey.

however, the interesting twist for me is that the wife has said that she is not only readily available for a paternity test, but would like to see all of his other children who control his estate take tests as well, as no one knows for certain that they are really his biological children . which, given the reputation of james as a ladies' man, i can see where she's coming from even though she strikes me as one egg short of a dozen. all in all, if it is proven that the child is actually his, i think that's a rather sad state of affairs to leave him out in the cold no matter how the relationship ended with the child's mother.

I feel bad for the child. It says a lot about James Brown the human being. No wonder his body still hanging in somewhere waiting for burial.. well he better be prepared for judgement day the guy upstairs will decide what do to with his soul based upon his deeds on earth and I don't think he is gonna rest in peace.

Ottensen said:

How many children does he suppose to have from previous marriages or flings.???

reina30 said:

Yikes.

reina30 said:

This does not say anything about James Brown. You dont think JB will rest in peace because of what's in his will??? I hope your prepared for judgement day.

I am very well prepared and I hope it comes very soon as soon as today, I have no fear I spent all my life providing for others with great happiness....A lot of people living in this planet forgot that we are here to make this a better place but are too concerned about material stuff that you are not taking with you.. Only the love and good memories will prevail...AND I AM NOT FOLLOWING ANY CULT EITHER!!!!!
[Edited 1/15/07 8:58am]

reina30 said:

good for you, now can we not spit on JB graves.

PurpleKnight said:

"A piece of garbage" is little too much don't u think???

Supposedly he had instructed his partner/wife, to take $80,000 from his trust fund for the 5 yr old son....
[Edited 1/17/07 13:26pm]

PurpleKnight said:

Since he was a musician lets talk about his music. I dont care if everyone in the world thinks hes a monster. I never meet him so i wont go that far all i know is his music...

Duggs said:

What about beating women with lead pipes and sexual assault?
It's hard to get past that stuff.

Hey at least he didn;t rape anyone like bob marley.

dogmaiswrong said:

Thats lookin at the bright side . Its not as hard as you think to get pass that stuff. This country was built on sex an violence its the american way.

I believe JB sung a song about America...

The personal stuff should be off LIMITS.

Astasheiks said:

Too much? Not at all. If there was a story posted in the GD Forum about a random stranger who beat his wife with a lead pipe or committed sexual assault, all the Orgers would respond with pure disgust and be hard-pressed to consider the guy anything but what I just called JB.

PurpleKnight said:

dont forget about the little

icons posted all over the place.

If it went to a greedy wife, I'm sickened he couldn't think with anything but his dick.....

We also dont really know what James Brown had left to give, i dont really know what his estate was worth at this point but im sure its not as much as we think. I remember hearing that when Elvis died he really didnt have what people would think someone of that stature would have but it did go on to say that his career and sales were at a low point and that was the reason he was playing vegas at that point to make quick money. Almost all of his money was made after death, even graceland wasnt what it was till after his death.As for James i dont really know what he had, i do know he had legal issues in the past, tax evasion so he was paying alot of things back, he also was not PAID alot of times for use of his music in samples and rereleases, so the 80,000 that was told to go to the 5 year old, might have been a large amount to James at this time.

As for the other issues with James as a person, it seems that alot of artists from that generation, James,Marvin,Al,Elvis,Jerry Lee,Ike etc..All seemed to have womanizing,brutalizing issues, which there is no excuse for.

why are you thinking about james brown's money at all?

Not wishing to defend alleged domestic violence, etc, but I'd like to see a lot of people go thru what James Brown went through in his life, especially early on, and come out the other end a fully balanced human being -

It seems both his parents abandoned him by the age of four (= obvious anger and trust issues for life just there), growing up a dirt poor black child in depression-hit Jim Crow America (as many many other blacks did I grant you), having to go out as a little boy and get men to come into his aunt's whorehouse, sometimes getting beaten up by the male clients, getting a low-grade education, going to jail for petty thievery in his teens.

And all that before the age of 20.

I ain't saying that made any bad deeds he did right. We all have a responsibility to our god (if we have one), our families, communities and to ourselves, to behave as well as we can. But, rather than just judge a dead man you've never met, I think it's best to at least try to understand the under-lying causes. Any anger JB may have had was more often focussed on making something out of a life that was never meant to go anywhere.

Maybe that's the price of being 'the King of Soul'. He could sing that stuff so well, because he'd seen it and done it; good, bad, indifferent.

Nobody's perfect, certainly not me and certainly not JB. But we should never throw stones in glasshouses.

True but at the end of the day we are individuals, and we make the final choices between right and wrong. Surroundings can be the worst thing, but there just comes a time when we take responsibility for our actions and not blame society,parents,lifestyles and things like that for our actions.

Miles said:

I understand what you're saying, but I just don't see it that way. I grew up poor, my dad is a pathological liar, my mother has a social anxiety disorder, etc. etc. Many of us have grown up in dysfunctional circumstances. That doesn't make crimes like domestic abuse any less reprehensible, or the person who committed them any less responsible.

People always excuse the crimes of artists they love. They connect so much to the person's music that they feel this emotional attachment. It happens all the time. I'll maintain forever that if a stranger who grew up with the same circumstances as JB committed these crimes, a lot of people would be calling for him to be shot.

From what I understand via Al Sharpton, his surrogate son, JB never got proof that the boy was his child. He kicked Tommie Raye out of the house when he found out that she was already married and he annulled his marriage to her. Over time they began getting along again but it was never clear that she was back in the picture as his partner and that the child was his son. His remaining family does not acknowledge her as his wife because according to him, she isn’t.

I've been thinking about this a lot recently.

What is the legacy when someone dies? What do they truly leave behind?

Money, reputation, the good or bad they did when they were on this earth, and what else?

James Brown was an influential musician who you probably didn't want to work for or be married to.

Like most celebrities, the public work is longer lasting than the private life.

In the end, cats like Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, James Brown, Prince, and others will be judged on their work. Not on whether they were nice guys. Barry Manilow is supposedly one of the nicest guys ever, but his musical legacy will never be held in the same regard as James Brown.

Since we're quick to be on a defence roll for Soul Brotha #1. How about this cat?

Well, I hope Spike Lee tells the whole story when he makes his JB film.

dogmaiswrong said:

so you were there first hand to witness all of these things that "allegedly" happened? you were the eye witness? it really kills me that you talk and judge celebrities personal dirt just like you are God almighty your self. if these celebrities were still alive, I seriously doubt, if you were to meet them in person how you feel, hell, you'd probably ask for an autograph. Sweep around your front door first before you start to point out dirt on somebody else's door step. i'm sure you have made plenty of mistakes in your life that you regret, just like EVERY human being on this earth. no one is perfect.