Name pretty much any chart-topping song of the past few decades and you can probably trace it back — sometimes directly, sometimes through a more circuitous route — to James Brown. The late, great funk icon’s rise to fame and his turbulent personal life comprise a classic American story that captivates the world to this day. Born into poverty in Jim Crow-era South Carolina, Brown transformed himself into both the “Godfather of Soul” and “The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business.” Here, FOTO celebrates Brown’s unparalleled influence, through pictures and the words of musicians, friends, and those whose lives were forever changed by his music, his example, and his inimitable style.
