Kill 'Em and Leave

February 8, 2016
McBride, mainly known for his bestselling 1995 memoir, The Color of Water, returns to nonfiction with an investigation into the life, times, and death of James Brown, the “hardest-working man in show business.” Though the soul singer’s musical legacy is ingrained in the collective American unconscious, many details about Brown’s personal life and the lives he touched along the way remain obscure. McBride reveals them while seeking to correct misconceptions perpetuated by the recent film Get On Up. Most notable among McBride’s tales are those involving Al Sharpton, whom Brown unofficially adopted; the relationship shines a light on both men’s lives that is often overlooked. Chasing down Brown’s life story all over the South, McBride enters some shady situations and stumbles on a story even larger than the Godfather of Soul himself: the fate of Brown’s estate, which has been so preyed upon by various lawyers that the poverty-stricken children for which it was meant haven’t seen a dime. McBride’s storytelling is heavily impeded by clichés and trite metaphors, but the power of his subject matter nevertheless shines through in this solid work of journalism. Agent: Flip Brophy, Sterling Lord.

February 15, 2016
National Book Award winner McBride (The Good Lord Bird, 2013, etc.) dissects the career, legacy, and myth of the Godfather of Soul. One of the most iconic figures in pop music, James Brown (1933-2006) is also one of the most unknown and falsely represented figures in American cultural history. Taking the recent biopic based on his life as an example, McBride shows how Brown's late-career downward spiral into drug abuse, erratic behavior, and jail time is exaggerated and how it overshadows his legacy as a hardworking and dedicated singer who was a positive cultural force. Part of this misrepresentation was caused by the mystery of Brown, which he perpetuated during his lifetime. As the author points out, Brown was constantly on the run from himself, careful never to reveal too much of his personality in public or private. As Brown put it to his young protege Al Sharpton, "come important and leave important." McBride traces Brown's philosophy of "keeping 'em guessing" through his upbringing in rural South Carolina and Georgia and back to a telling myth of a local ancestor. As the author sums it up: "you can't understand Brown without understanding that the land that produced him is the land of masks." Anecdotes and digressions are the preferred narrative mode for McBride, as he eschews an overarching, linear structure in favor of the rhythm of vignettes. Through his adventures to uncover the "real" Brown, there is significantly little discussion of Brown's musical career; instead, the author focuses on the people around him and the defining moments of his life outside the spotlight. But for McBride, the story of Brown is the story of money and greed--not on Brown's part, who put his $100 million estate toward the education of poor children, but of his heirs and family members who have tied up that money in years of litigation. An unconventional and fascinating portrait of Soul Brother No. 1 and the significance of his rise and fall in American culture.

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November 1, 2015

National Book Award-winning novelist McBride's first nonfiction book since his memoir, The Color of Water, is about James Brown--the man, myth, the legend.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2016
Sax player and acclaimed author of The Good Lord Bird (2013) and The Color of Water (1996), McBride here tackles the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Whether in Augusta, Georgia, or his real hometown across the river, Barnwell, South Carolina, James Brown is remembered, but remembered differently, by whites and blacks, Hollywood and the people, academic and street historians, and by McBride. This is a superb biography, subtle and sharply attuned to the southern context of Brown's life and music. McBride deciphers Brown's grip on black culture perceptively, and he offers a detailed explanation of the singer's very complex family tree and the genealogy of the Famous Flames, the R&B group with which Brown launched his career. He also provides equally perceptive analysis of Brown's enigmatic decline as disco and rap ascended. The narrative features (and uses as a source) commentary from Brown's most successful follower, Al Sharpton, who was much influenced by Brown, with whom he often traveled. Finally, McBride parses, as few have done, Brown's will. A very powerful book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)