James Brown’s back up singer and mother of his child — can she back up her claims?
By Tom Wright
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 6/15/07 — “I go to court every 30 days” said Godfather of Soul James Brown’s controversial widow Tomi Rae Brown.
Yet she does not spend all her time in contest of his estate. Last night in Hollywood, she turned in a powerful club concert in a tribute show to remind everyone of the vocal prowess that attracted Brown in the first place.
“I have had many death threats.” she said about her complex life since Brown’s passing on Christmas day in 2006. “As a mother I knew that I needed to protect our son James Brown Jr, this is what James would want.”
“I’m a full time mother.” And last night she was a working rocker at Hollywood’s Whiskey a Go-Go for the first Sunset Strip Music Festival horning James Brown.
“This is my world, not their world, I didn’t get anything from the estate” she tells Hollywood Today
“We moved to Los Angeles and just celebrated James Brown Junior’s 6th birthday.” It was at the fabled club the Rainbow Bar and Grill in Hollywood, haunt of stars from the Beatles, Stones and Zep to Guns N Roses.
She is in the studio recording a new blues album with producer David Libert, which includes the song “That’s Life.” This is not the first time David has worked with Tomi , back in the day he managed her band Hardly Dangerous an all girls band. “Her talent is rock solid” people don’t know her love affair with James Brown, he loved her and their son,” he told us.
We attended the rehearsals were Tomi was singing with her 11 piece band that included Jimi Hendrix drummer Buddy Miles. She sang “It’s a Man’s World,” flaming red hair, wrap around shades and some of the Godfather’s patented moves. And it was hers this night with a long list of friends including Joey Covington of Jefferson Airplane, who performed “Night Train.”
On stage Tomi is a formidable performer in control — off stage things spin out of control: law suits, lawyers and just being a mother, raising the son of the Godfather of Soul.