Cancer-stricken James Brown refused chemo: ‘I don’t wanna lose all my hair’
James Brown was famous for showing self-love and self-respect for his race on his 1968 anthem “Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud.”
But the “Super Bad” singer was also super proud of his hair — whether he wore a natural Afro or a straightened conk.
In fact, after the Godfather of Soul was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004, his tresses were foremost on his mind in his treatment.
“He was like, ‘I can’t do chemo, ’cause I don’t wanna lose all my hair.’ I mean, this was a real thing,” says his daughter Dr. Yamma Brown in the four-part A&E documentary “James Brown: Say It Loud,” which premiered Monday and is now available to stream and on demand.
“Thank God it was in the early stages enough that all he really needed was radiation. It was tough to see him go through that, but it was humbling.”
Despite his diagnosis, the R&B legend known as the Hardest Working Man in Show Business — who also suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure — wasn’t about to stop grinding and gigging.
“I don’t wanna be babied though. I just wanna go to work,” he says after his diagnosis in the doc, which was executive-produced by Mick Jagger and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.
And despite his failing health in the weeks before his death in 2006, Brown was still maintaining his holiday traditions of giving away turkeys for Thanksgiving and toys to needy children for Christmas.
But after being admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, Brown would take his final bow, at 73, on Christmas 2006.
“I was like, ‘Yo, that is the most epic exit of all time.’ Like, James Brown is such a star, ‘I want to take the one most iconic universal day and take it over,’ ” says Questlove. “Like, ‘Even Christmas don’t got nothing on me.’ ”
Brown’s hair obsession was all part of his iconic image. He was as meticulous about his appearance as he was about his performances.
While ’60s Motown stars such as Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson were designed to appeal to “the white gaze,” Brown represented the epitome of black pride.
“Mr. Brown was also very well put together, a perfectionist,” explains professor and psychologist Dr.Sinead Young in “Say It Loud.”
“And he was curated in his own way. It wasn’t a company behind him saying, ‘You need to dress like this and do this.’ He was doing that himself.”
And that peerless presentation extended from his fits to his funk-filled shows, when Brown would fine his band members for missing a single note.
“He believed in perfection and that the audience should get what they paid for,” says his son Larry Brown.
“He was willing to do whatever it took to make sure that the perfection was there. He demanded it — and he got it.”
