JB – Nicknames
In addition to “The Godfather of Soul”, James Brown has a number of other, less well-known nicknames. These names, picked up during his childhood and remaining with him throughout his overlong career, include: Music Box, Mr. Dynamite, The “Please Please Please” Man, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Soul Brother Number One, The Sex Machine, His Bad Self, and The Minister of the New New Super Heavy Funk.
Now I?m sorry but in my limited experience of nicknames, these all appear a little unlikely. Nicknames are invariably given by other people and, as a result, they often reflect your most memorable feature (not necessarily your most flattering – hence the number of boys who, after receiving awful haircuts were nicknamed “Bogbrush”). Whereas, on James? list, there is nothing that you wouldn?t feel self-satisfied about being called. This doesn?t jibe with my own experience. If I think about the nicknames I had as a girl (Tanga Headon, Gives Good Head etc). I was never called “The Groovy Girl” or “Wicked Kid” – not that I?m too bitter about it. Which makes it deeply implausible that Mr Brown managed to garner not one, but NINE different “cool” nicknames. He?s just showing off.