We’re shocked by the sudden loss of James Brown, but we’ll never forget the day we spent with him. It was back in the 60’s in Chicago and we were HUGE fans. When it was announced that he would appear at the Regal theater on the South Side of Chicago, we could hardly wait. The Regal was like the Apollo theater in New York – it catered to the black audience and featured the best musical acts of the era. James Brown always drew long lines. Visions of his shiny tight silk suits, pompadour hair and amazing moves, plus that big orchestra, danced in our heads as we got in line in the rain IN THE MORNING at the Regal. In those days we were the only white people there. Brown performed several shows a day with a movie in between. You paid once and could stay all day! We sat through the movie several times and were able to move up to the front for Brown’s evening show. He did the camel walk and the splits. The audience was shrieking and swooning as he fell to his knees wailing and his cape guy came out and wrapped him up. He tossed his rhinestone cufflinks into the adoring audience and we managed to GRAB one (which we still have to this day.) After the exhausting show, we finagled our way backstage, determined to meet our idol. James couldn’t have been nicer. We were surprised that he was wearing pink foam rollers in his hair – and was about to go under the hair dryer to prepare for his next show. We talked about his silk suits, he introduced us around , offered us food, and gave us an autographed photo before we left. It was an unforgettable day. We expect to see Eddie Murphy at the funeral.
