Thursday, August 23, 2007

Papa's Got a Brand New Daughter

My man JB is in the news again: a woman in Houston has had DNA testing done that shows she is James Brown's daughter, probably one of many!

Ms. Brown, a 45-year-old retired flight attendant, may be forgiven if she places particular emphasis on her last name, or if she seems especially eager to claim God’s gifts. Laboratory tests recently confirmed what she was told by her family for years: that her father was James Brown, the Godfather of Soul.

Since Mr. Brown’s death on Dec. 25, about a dozen people have come forward, asking for their DNA to be compared to Mr. Brown’s, said Albert H. Dallas, a trustee for Mr. Brown’s estate. So far, three tests have come back with positive results, Mr. Dallas said. A woman from Florida and another person have declined to go public....

...Lawyers fighting over Mr. Brown’s assets say the news that author of “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” wrote from experience is hardly a surprise.

“I don’t think anybody had any doubt that Mr. Brown might have fathered other children, let’s just put it that way,” said Robert N. Rosen, a lawyer in South Carolina who is representing Tommie Rae Brown, Mr. Brown’s disputed fourth wife and her son, James J. Brown II.

But the discovery of more potential heirs has further clouded the disposition of the entertainer’s estate, and it is unclear what, if anything, confirmation of James Brown’s paternity may be worth.


I find it a bit sad that James Brown lives on not just in his music but in news about the fights over his will-- his wife at the time of his death was not named in his will and is fighting for half of his estate. Also, the managers of a charitable trust his will funded have been accused of abusing their authority and using the money for their own gain.
If there is anything to be learned from this, I guess it is that one should always have an up to date will that clearly spells out all one's wishes... and that using contraception is probably a good idea if you happen to be a Sex Machine!

2 comments:

L. Marie Joseph said...

Whoa now ! JB was getting his grove on. The man has energy!!! I guess he was not cheating on Tammy Rae because legally they was not married!

Anonymous said...

It's kind of sad that James Brown became the poster child for solid estate planning. Now go update your wills, everyone!