James Brown and Joy

Christmas Day makes one year since the passing of Mr. Dynamite himself, James Brown.

The joy he brought, and brings, will last forever. Way too funky in there wherever he's headlining now.

Here's the program cover of JB's memorial service in Augusta, GA, last December 30. (Thanks to my friend Matt Wells, who covered the proceedings for the BBC.)

And speaking of joy, and rhythm, one of the most charming bits I've seen on screen in centuries occurs in Nani Moretti's 1993 Caro Diario. The celestial Sylvana Mangano shimmers forth (excerpted from her film Anna, where I believe she becomes--ahem--a nun). Whimsical ole Nanni, who stars as well as directs, has earlier in the movie confessed that his "secret dream" is to dance well, except alas he can only watch.

Until he goes to order a sandwich:

And speaking of dancing, here's JB making God jealous. Couldn't open with this clip of "Night Train," it blowtorches anything else away.Too funky. JB was a boxer, you can sense it from his explosive athleticism. Check out those dance pants of his, tight and so high above the ankle to show off his moving feets.

Maybe bring Sylvana up for the encore? Happy holidays.

Appreciations to Uber.com, where this post first appeared on my blog Brain Flakes.

Read more holiday-themed posts from HuffPost bloggers.

Comments

[ChinaCat]

JB's "Funky Christmas" has been a part of our holiday listening repertoire for years (and as a tribute we had it on several times yesterday).

Any chance of a scan of the inside of the programme?

Thanks for posting!

[T.Roll]

Yeah, James was funky, but he weren't no Barry Manilow.

[mightbesane]

Did you notice that all the screamers on the JB video were pimply faced white adolescents? The man was part of a vast conspiracy to ruin the moral fiber of an entire generation. Thanks be to a merciful God that he succeeded!

[fulano]

Shit Barry your hitting me on all cylinders now man!
Sylvana Mangano dancing and singing "Anna"!
As a young horny kid in the 50's she was the inspiration for many a sexual fantasy of mine.
And great song too!

[fulano]

YEah Barry! Merry Christmas Pretty Baby where ever you are James Brown! He was my inspiration since my teens when I saw him live 1962 or 63 at the old El Monte Legion Stadium in LA. We felt him and he torched our young souls singing 'Please Please Please, Try Me, Bewildered". Night Train was our cruising anthem and his Living in AMerica should be the national anthem.
God bless the Godfather!

[Nommo]

I drive between NYC and Atl, Ga. fairly frequently and nothing quite makes road time fly like a bunch of JB tunes. His free assoc. improvising is good for a laugh or a deep thought every now and then.

[Nommo]

Thank you, B, for this tribute to Mr. Dynamite.
Excuse me while I do the boogaloo.