‘The Godfather of Soul,’ James Brown, visited ‘The King of Late Night,’ Johnny Carson. James delivers an incredibly funky performance, but it starts a little rough when James can’t find the stage entrance.
Johnny introduces James, who says, “I believe he’s sold close to 41 million records. Here’s James Brown.” The curtain begins moving on stage, but James can’t find the opening to come out.
Eventually, after 10 seconds, he finds it. James walks through, waves then looks at Johnny in disbelief about how he couldn’t escape the curtain. He steps to the mic stand and starts to bounce up and down to the rhythm of his song.
James sings to the funky music and taps his foot, moving side to side energetically. He’s performing ‘Slaughter’s Theme,’ filling every second with incredible dance moves.
After he performs, he sits with Johnny, who apologizes for the curtain. James talks about the song and the movie it is from titled, ‘Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off.’ James tells Johnny he could put on a great show like James did.
Johnny says, “No, no way. Oh, you tried to teach me to dance one night, and you wiped me out a couple of years ago.” James remembers that and laughs, saying, “I remember that. You did a real good job.”
James Brown was one of the most significant musical figures of the 20th century, often referred to as ‘The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.’ His career lasted over 50 years, and his performance on ‘The Tonight Show’ was a masterpiece of funk and soul.
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