Undercover Black Man

In 1970, a teenage bass player in Cincinnati named Bootsy Collins had a band called the Pacemakers. This group caught the eye of a James Br...

Here’s more of what I heard last Thursday morning (South Africa time) when I tuned in to Joburg’s Talk Radio 702 : At the top of every hour ...

Blogging, to me, feels like a form of ritual magic. You sit alone, focusing deeply, and you thrust your energy out into the universe, not kn...

I kind of fell in love with South Africa during a visit to Johannesburg in 2000. My buddy David Simon had been invited by two South African...

Last week, Alan Leeds posted some wonderful reminiscences of his years as James Brown’s tour manager back in the ‘70s. Check out the “SKATES...

Here’s more of my 1992 interview with Curtis Mayfield, in which we discussed the high points of his career as a writer and producer, and als...

The passing of James Brown reminds me how fortunate I was, during my newspaper days, to interview some of my cultural heroes. James, Curtis ...

Yeah, I’m all about the MP3’s, like I used to be all about the CD’s. But I’ve still got crateloads of vinyl. I’m not out there digging for m...

Bob Davis, creator of the essential Soul-Patrol website, watched the Rev. Al Sharpton deliver his eulogy for James Brown on Friday at the A...

They came not to bury James Brown, but to praise. And to witness. Cartoonist and album-cover artist Ronald “Stozo” Edwards , a member of the...

Dennis Chambers is one of the world's top jazz drummers, but he built his reputation playing funk. P-Funk , to be precise. He joined Ge...

James Brown . That’s all you need to say. I had the privilege of interviewing the Godfather in 1990. My tapes are on the opposite coast, so ...

I’ll introduce myself properly in the coming days. Right now, I gotta get my blog on with a feisty opening salvo. Way out on the far-right f...