He inspired the Rev. Al Sharpton’s famous hairdo. He influenced the chart-topping music of R&B superstar Usher.

Rap mogul Sean “Puffy” Combs respected him so much that he kissed his ring.

During a visit to Washington, the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond once allowed him to sit in his office chair.

He was given the key to many American cities, from Barnwell to Madison, Wis.

The queen of R-E-S-P-E-C-T Aretha Franklin said he “was as valuable and as rare as any Rembrandt or Picasso.”

Those are just a few examples of the respect “The Godfather of Soul” James Brown commanded during his 73 years on Earth.

Brown’s music career spanned five decades, adding such hits as “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and “Try Me” to American music history.

The eclectic life and legacy of Brown is on display at South Carolina State University’s I.P. Stanback Planetarium and Museum. An exhibit there until September features tons of Brown memorabilia, ranging from his suits to a shiny giraffe statue.



Museum director Ellen Zisholtz doesn’t believe a recent settlement of Brown’s estate will impact the exhibit, which will end on Sept. 3. She said the university will continue to preserve the items until otherwise directed by the court.

The memorabilia at S.C. State came from Brown’s Beech Island estate.

That residence was once a small ranch home before it was expanded to a sprawling mansion.

But Brown was very comfortable in the original house. So, he had a construction crew expand the home around it.

He later grew to become extremely comfortable in the mansion. In fact, Brown was so comfortable there that he refused to evacuate it during a 2004 ice storm. Instead, Brown and his assistant, David Washington, brought a 2-foot-tall heater and waited out the storm.

He loved peacocks and elephants and the decorum in his mansion reflected that.

Brown had two large elephant tusks in his home, in addition to an elephant lamp. He also had a peacock headboard, reminiscent of the NBC logo, in a guest bedroom.

Inside his bedroom in the mansion, Brown would watch the stars with a Tasco telescope.

Brown also possessed a love for astronomy. He received signed pictures from several space shuttle crews over the years. Some of those space crews even set “I Feel Good (I Got You)” as their wake-up call in the shuttle.

Downstairs was Brown’s own beauty salon. He used a wide array of hair products, curlers and combs to get his famous hairdo just right. Brown also placed a cotton plant in his salon to remind him of his upbringing in rural South Carolina.

Once the hair was ready to go, Brown would slip into one of his famous suits. “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” designed all of his flashy suits.

He sometimes wore a black Native America-inspired jacket. Brown said that he descended from Indian leader Geronimo.

At the museum, pictures of Brown and Geronimo are placed together and the two have similar facial structures.

Zisholtz also placed a wall of pictures featuring Brown meeting various presidents and Pope John Paul II. A few feet away is a green and blue checkered bath robe that was torn when police arrested him for an alleged feud with his wife.

Zisholtz said the placement of those items illustrated the ebb and flow of his life. While widely respected, Brown had a life marred by martial troubles and arrests.

However, Brown had met with every sitting president since Richard Nixon at the White House. He has also posed for pictures with everyone from Elton John to NBA star Allen Iverson.

Despite his large-than-life celebrity, music is what put Brown on the map.

S.C. State officials found eight cases crammed full of original music from Brown. In all, the cases contained more than 2,500 sheets of music, some of which spawned top hits of the 20th century.

The S.C. State group also found many pictures that fans painted of him. Zisholtz noted Brown had a great love and respect for his fans.

One form of Brown’s respect was manifested by the fact he called everyone by last name.

Zisholtz said Washington told her that Brown always called him Mr. Washington.

But one day, Brown switched it up a bit and called him David.

Brown asked, “You didn’t think I knew your name did you?”

Washington said that was the first and last time Brown would ever call him David.

According to Zisholtz, Brown’s nomenclature “was a matter of respect.”

T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached by email at ltant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-534-1060. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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