Brown, Ford, Castro

RIP

The Godfather of Soul, Mr. James Brown, the mouth that roared, the veritable voice of R&B, died on Christmas Day. It was a case of auspicious timing.

Now Christmas will ring with his voice as an alternative to all the Christmas Carols.

In the beginning was the Beat, and the Beat was with James and the Beat was James.

There aren't too many people who can say they personally altered the course of Western music. James Brown, who died early Christmas morning at the age of 73, was one of those people. There is American popular music before James Brown and American popular music after James Brown, and the two sound markedly different.

Pop radio stations will now have to format for Christmas carols and James Brown memorials. James Brown's seminal hits

"It's mindboggling to think about his impact on the world of music. But I think his legacy of giving in Augusta will continue to be giving for years to come," said Augusta's mayor, Deke Copenhaver. "He never forgot where he came from and he loved the city unconditionally."

Brown, known as the Godfather of Soul, died of congestive heart failure on Christmas morning in Atlanta at age 73. He had been scheduled to perform on New Year's Eve in Manhattan at the B.B. King Blues Club.

Brandy Martinez, left, and Nya Bin Ghi sign their names on a poster of James Brown posted outside B.B. King's Blues Club in New York, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2006, after word spread that the legendary soul singer had died of heart failure from pneumonia on Christmas day. Brown told friends that he still wanted to perform at the club on New Year's Eve in spite of being ill and in the hospital, but Brown's heart gave out before he could make it there. The dynamic "Godfather of Soul" was 73. (AP / Kathy Willens)

Commentary: Thank You, James Brown - For Your Genius

THE HARDEST-WORKING MAN IN CIVIL RIGHTS


RIP

The passing of Gerald Ford, the unelected Vice President crowned the unelected and reluctant President of the United States today. Well at least he died on a slow news day. It gave the media something to do. Finally good timing.













At least one blogger will miss the President who Pardoned Nixon and wonders if his funeral will be as big as James Browns. Hmm maybe that wasn't such good timing.....


When Gerald Ford finally does cast off his mortal coil, there had gawddamn
better be a whole week's worth of live coverage, like there was for Reagan.

And I wanna see some fat Mid Westerners burst into tears too. In fact, anybody caught not crying at Ford's funeral should be shipped off to Gitmo without the benefit of a trial.

Unlike Reagan, there seem to be no Gerald Ford fan sites. On the plus side,
that means that there's no racy Gerald Ford fiction floating around the web.

Not Dead Yet.....

Comrade el Presidente; Fidel Castro outlived both of them.......Surgeon clears Castro of cancer

Which is pissing off the CIA and Cuban Terrorist Community in Florida no end.

On Tuesday, a Spanish surgeon who recently treated Castro said in Madrid that the Cuban leader does not have cancer, as U.S. intelligence officials have speculated, and insisted that he was recovering slowly but steadily from a serious operation.

Cuban authorities have not commented on last week's visit to the island by Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, the chief surgeon at Madrid's Gregorio Maranon Hospital.

Garcia Sabrido's statements to news media represented the first independent medical assessment of Castro's condition. The Cuban government has kept Castro's condition a state secret, occasionally releasing photographs and videos of him to show he is convalescing.

See

RIP

Obituary

Castro


Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
James Brown, Gerald Ford, Fidel Castro, Godfather of Soul, R&B, Blues, negro, America, music, celebreties, president, Nixon, VP, RIP, obituary, death, cancer,