Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0025174304, Hardcover)

The autobiography Godfather of Soul was originally published before James Brown's late-'80s brushes with the law, so those looking for the man's thoughts on his drug problems and subsequent incarceration will walk away empty-handed. Seekers after the fine blend of social responsibility, cranked-up ego, and pronouncements on his own music and its place in the world, however, will be amply rewarded. Fascinating tidbits--from the claim that Elvis Presley once hoped to record with the JBs to the story of being able to find only white and Asian kids in a last-minute recruiting effort for the shout-along on "Say It Loud--I'm Black and I'm Proud"--abound. But you probably guessed as much of the auteur of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," Live at the Apollo, and "Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto." --Rickey Wright