Jackson remembered fondly by James Brown’s daughters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, June 26, 2009
In December 2006, Michael Jackson was living in Bahrain, trying to escape the cloud of reporters covering his trial on child molestation charges, when James Brown died.
Despite the attention it would generate, Jackson made the trip back to the United States to attend Brown’s “home-going celebration,” an effort that touched the hearts of Brown’s family, said daughters Yamma Brown and Deanna Brown.
Associated Press
In this 24, 2003 file photo, Michael Jackson, left, performs with James Brown during the BET Awards in Los Angeles. Jackson later presented Brown with a lifetime achievement award.
“He took it hard; he expressed that to us. He hugged us and told us how much he loved Dad,” said Yamma Brown, 36, a pharmacist living in Atlanta.
The younger superstar, who was probably the Godfather of Soul’s most successful student, spoke at the service, saying, “James Brown is my greatest inspiration.”
Jackson twice visited the funeral home in Augusta to view the body, Yamma said, the second time arriving at 1:30 in the morning. “He spent a couple of hours over there and requested that nobody be in the room except him and my dad’s body. It was his time alone. He looked up to Dad so much.”
There are a few moments when the two shared the same stage, most notably at the BET Awards in 2003, when Jackson presented James Brown a lifetime achievement award.
“Since I was 6 years old, he was the man I looked up to more than any other entertainer, and I still do today,” a tearful Jackson told the audience.
A YouTube clip shows James Brown bringing a young Michael Jackson out of the audience in 1983 and persuading him to sing.
“I had tears watching that clip,” Yamma Brown said. “It brought back a lot of memories for me.”
Deanna Brown, 40, who lives in Aiken, S.C., near her father’s property, said: “Michael was a real genuine person. He had a big heart.”
At her father’s funeral there were many performances, she said, but none by Jackson.
“The audience kept egging him on to get on the stage and dance, but Michael would not dance,” Deanna Brown said. “He didn’t come for that. He came to give honor to James Brown and to be here with the family.”
Like his young protégé, James Brown also experienced legal problems, and Jackson sought his advice.
“When [Jackson] started through these court cases, he reached out to my father quite a bit, just to plead his innocence,” Yamma Brown said. “My dad told him: ‘Michael, I’m here for you. I’m not going to judge. I’m not getting into that.’ “
The death of James Brown triggered turmoil in the Brown family. The lawsuits and acrimony lasted years. Similar times probably lie ahead for the Jacksons.
“Me and my family have gone through a lot in the last four years,” Deanna Brown said, “and my heart goes out to the Jackson family — his children, his mother and father, his brothers and sisters. They are going to have to bear the brunt of this.
“My prayer is they can heal, and people give them breathing room.”
