We've lost two Godfathers and Ambasadors of Soul and Blues.... .

I had the privilage of Catching his concert last year in Halifax, and was Blown away with the Sound and Energy...

Sadly, James Brown died Xmas morning... and Dutch Mason died Xmas Eve..
I've not been watching any TV, nor listening to any radio, and I had no idea till dad called me last night and told me...

I have to admit, that outside of enjoying their Music, I really don't know much about them outside of that... So, respectfully, I wont try...
But I Cut and pasted these next two articles, word for word, from their respective online papers as my little tribute to them both


12/25/06, 3:15 pm EST

James Brown, 1933 - 2006

Fifty years after recording his first hit song, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business has played his final encore. James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, died early Christmas morning after a brief bout with pneumonia in an Atlanta hospital. By his count, he was seventy-three years old.

One of the most influential performers of the 20th century, Brown’s hard-charging, hypnotically rhythmic signature sound inspired peers and successors from doo-wop to hip hop. Among his many chart successes – more than forty Top Forty hits and dozens more on the R&B charts — were the timeless classics “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” and “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and civil rights anthems such as “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud.” His best-known album, 1962’s “Live at the Apollo,” is often cited as the most exciting live album of all time. One of the original inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, Brown received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 1992.

Brown, as some of his elaborate nicknames (“The Minister of the New New Super Heavy Funk”) imply, was best known for his indefatigable showmanship. His revue-style shows were designed to take his audience to ever-higher levels of delirium, and he was famous for “fainting” near the end of the evening, only to be revived by his band mates.

“He was dramatic to the end – dying on Christmas day,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson told the Associated Press.

His private life was nearly as eventful as his stage act. Born in Barnwell, South Carolina, in 1933 (some sources give 1928 as the year of his birth), Brown was serving jail time by the age of 16. He spent more than two years in prison after a drug-fueled interstate car chase in 1988, and he periodically made news for other incidents involving drinking, drugs, women and firearms.

Onstage, however, Brown considered himself a healer. “I always said I was seventy-five percent minister and twenty-five percent artist,” he once told this writer.

“I went to see the pope, and the pope told me that I should never come to church, because I can do more out there (on the street)… Music is the soul of the people. That’s why I’m the Godfather of Soul. I wouldn’t want to be anything else — wouldn’t want to be a king, or an emperor. I just want to be with the people.”

-- James Sullivan, www.rollingstone.com

original alrticel: http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2006/12/25/james-brown-1933-2006
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Nova Scotia's Own Dutch Mason also passed away....


Blues artist Dutch Mason dead at age 68
Nova Scotia musician known as ‘Prime Minister of the Blues’

By Melanie Patte
the Canadian Press

HALIFAX — Norman (Dutch) Mason, the legendary Nova Scotia musician heralded by friends and fans alike as the Prime Minister of the Blues, has died at the age of 68.

Mason died Saturday at his home in Truro, N.S., after suffering from a number of ailments, including diabetes and severe arthritis, said his live-in caretaker Wade Brown.

The Lunenburg, N.S., native made his name in the late 60s and 70s while touring Canada with the Dutch Mason Trio, along with bassist Ronnie Miller and drummer Ken Clattenburg.

Mason’s talents even caught the attention of blues icon B.B. King, who dubbed Mason the King of the Blues. But a band member — thinking it would sound more Canadian — soon changed the moniker to the Prime Minister of the Blues.

He was nominated for Best Blues Album at the 1994 Juno Awards, and in 2005 was inducted into the Order of Canada for his achievements in music.

“He was just the real thing,” Matt Minglewood, a Nova Scotia rock-blues musician, said Saturday from Glace Bay. “There was nothing fake or phoney about Dutch and the blues. He lived it like he sang it.”

Minglewood is among a generation of musicians influenced by Mason’s style. Mason’s son, Garrett, picked up a 2005 Juno for his debut blues album.

But during a career spanning more than 50 years, Mason was known as much for his colourful personality as his guitar skills and distinctive voice.

“I’ve seen him come on stage practically naked, with just a towel around him,” said a chuckling Minglewood.

“On a whim, he would do that.He was just very funny.”

Minglewood said Mason retained his sense of humour and passion for music even as his health deteriorated.

Brown, who played guitar alongside Mason in addition to serving as his caretaker, said arthritis crippled Mason’s fingers more than 15 years ago and prevented him from playing guitar.

In recent years, Mason used a wheelchair and singing performances became scarce.

In 2005, the annual Dutch Mason Blues Festival was launched. Mason — who spent most of his time in bed — was too ill to attend this year’s event, held in Dartmouth, N.S.


Read this article in its original format at: http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=1318&sc=4
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Musicians and Fans will miss them both...
My condolences to their families...