James Brown: The Godfather of Soul

Audience participation in church is something the darker race of people has going because of a lot of trials and tribulations, because of things that we understand about human nature. It’s something I can’t explain, but I can bring it out of people. I’m not the only person who has the ability, but I work at it, and I’m sure a lot of my stage show came out of the church.

My father had a very hard time trying to bring me through. He worked hard just to take care of his child, but the system really went against him because he didn’t have very much knowledge. They deprived him of knowledge, and that’s probably the greatest sin in the world.