--Evgeny Zamyatin, author of We
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I remember hearing "Signifyin' Monkey" at home when I was little, and for a long time thought it was a children's song. It wasn't until I was older that I figured out the many dimensions of the song, which led me back to Brown's other works. Brown's early style links him, I think, to figures like Eddie Jefferson, Betty Carter, and Nina Simone, though his voice, which combined a rich tone, precisely enunciated diction and earthy execution, is inimitable; once you've heard him you can always pick his works out, even after he moved more into the soul arena. I always felt Brown was one of those artists whose talents exceeded the boundaries of any one area or artistic form; he also wrote plays, poems and essays, and was actively involved, artistically and politically, with numerous communities in Chicago. Over the years, he performed his music across the globe.
His songs and other works remain, but his death is a tremendous loss, not only for the Chicago area, but for music lovers everywhere.
Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteMendi, thanks for posting. One thing I wish I'd done was to catch Brown and his daughter Maggie when they sang together two years ago in Chicago. I saw them on TV, but missed the show.
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