The James Brown vs. Joe Tex debacle has many twists and turns. Hello ,James Porter !
Tell the good people about it , James......
I knew an older Black gentleman who claimed to have performed with the best , as a Little Richard impersonator (Right after Richard got religion. THERE WAS DEMAND FOR SOMEONE WHO COULD DO HIS ACT.). He certainly knew enough about certain performers , I had no cause to doubt him . He even asked me , "Do you know what happened to my good friend in Texas? Esq....ESQUERITA ?". Of course , I had to tell him. But , he told me Joe Tex was the best performer he'd ever seen , and that James Brown got a lot of his schtick from him.
Screamin' Jay Hawkins had a talent for not telling the same story , the same way , twice , or changing his opinion of another performer at the drop of a hat.
I don't knock it , that's human nature.....to an extent , anyway.
When I met Hawkins , he was talking about how James Brown challenged him to a scream - off. He said he told him , "OK , I WILL SCREAM YOU INTO THE GROUND , DOING ONE OF YOUR SONGS !" ....So , they both sang "Please , Please , Please" together , and , when it was over "James Brown has hackin' and coughin' , and I said , "I told you ! It's time for the pupil to meet the master!"......But , in Spin (Yes , Spin was half worth a damn , many years ago.) , Screamin' Jay said he did a bill with Brown at The Apollo ,and the Famous Flames , who were to back everyone , did'nt want any part of him. So , he told them , "OK , you don't have to rehearse with me. I WILL DO ALL JAMES BROWN SONGS FOR MY SET.". So , that's what he did. James Brown appeared backstage ,flanked by two bodyguards , saying "Man , you do a HELL of a job with MY songs !". Jay said , "N***** , why don't you turn one of those gorillas on me , right now ?!". When he did , Jay produced a 357 Magnum , and said , "I'd like to see any motherfucker break thrugh THIS !!!".
WHO KNOWS WHICH STORY IS CLOSER TO THE TRUTH? IT'S ALL IN THE NAME OF ENTERTAINMENT.
As for Ray Davies , there's no doubt he was stressed out , and had a run of bad luck (3 year Ban from The US , anyone?). But , he's probably the luckiest man alive. When he and his Brother went to John Wayne Gacy's house , at least he had'nt begun his killing spree.