James Brown Never Sold His Soul For a Few Pieces of Silver

As "Dreamgirls" opens up in more theaters nationwide, people will be astounded to watch the character played by Eddie Murphy in the visually stunning movie.

As James "Thunder" Early, Murphy does a James Brown imitation, playing a sexy soul singer who refuses to change his singing style to suit the tastes of Curtis Taylor Jr., the black record label owner who is desperate to achieve crossover fame (acceptance by white artists).

Although everyone says "Dreamgirls" isn't based on The Supremes and the founder of Motown, Berry Gordy, anyone familiar with the real-life version will see the parallels — an ambitious entrepreneur who isn't satisfied singing just to black audiences; he desires the kind of money and fame heaped on the likes of The Beatles, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones and other prominent white artists.

There is one such scene when Early is performing at an all-white club in Miami. He starts off tame, but then the music infects his physical being and he beings to gyrate, turning off the crowd, and ticking off Taylor.

In another scene, a hit record is co-opted by a vanilla-sounding group, clearly a rip-off to appeal to white audiences. Such was life during the '50s and '60s, when black musical acts would see a song explode on the R&B charts, but not achieve crossover success. But then when a white artist (Pat Boone, anyone?) would sing the same song, it would skyrocket.

Thank God James Brown chose not become someone else in order to chase a dollar.

As fans celebrate his life and legacy after his death on Christmas Day, anyone who is a music lover can readily identify a James Brown song. Like it or not, his style is unmistakable, and his ability to "do his thing" is legendary.

The native of South Carolina who grew up in Augusta, Ga., made no apologies for who he was: an artist given the gift of turning any stage into his personal oasis, no matter who performed in front or behind him.

Many people would be intimidated by performing in the company of The Beatles or the Rolling Stones, but for Brown, they were simply young pups who were trying to figure out the game he had long since mastered.

Keith Richards told one interviewer that the biggest mistake the Stones ever made was following Brown at the TAMI Show in 1964 (later made into a movie). Check out the video; you'll see Mick Jagger doing a poor imitation of Brown by mimicking his dance moves.

Mick shouldn't have felt too bad. Over the next 42 years, countless artists would try to "do James Brown," only realizing they might be able to accomplish a small portion of what made up the entire man.

There is little doubt that no other artist had more of an impact on music in the past 50 years. Brown was undoubtedly an American original.

What we should carry away from the thousands of shows he put on in his 73 years is that you just have to be you. Forget trying to sing like someone else, imitating another person's dance moves, or trying to dress like them, walk like them or talk like them. As my wife and I love to tell friends, "Just do you."

When Brown was visiting the White House and heads of state from across the world, he released "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)." The defiant song spoke to the millions of African Americans who demanded to be treated like Americans. Negro was out; Black was in, and when Brown proclaimed it — that was the end of the conversation. The song became a signature of the Black Power movement, and even today it resonates among African Americans.

Simply put: James Brown didn't bother with his critics. James Brown did James Brown. If his white fans didn't like him making a sociopolitical statement with his music, he didn't care. The words spoke to his spirit, and he felt it was an important story to tell.

There is no doubt there will never be another James Brown. It's just great that when he could have chosen to go down another path to be more palatable to the mainstream audience, he stuck to his guns. And that's why so many adore him today.

As he said in "Super Bad," He was one "super bad brother."

Roland S. Martin is the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives On Faith." Please visit his Web site at www.rolandsmartin.com. To find out more about Roland Martin and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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