Feature photo by Caitlyn Hajek
Story by Shauna Reynolds
He was talented. He was complicated. He was influential.
But most memorably, James Brown was funky.
MTSU professor Charlie Dahan wanted to share his extensive knowledge of the legendary American funk musician with a new generation of music lovers. In a class called Living in James Brown’s America: From Doo Wop to Hip Hop, Dahan’s students learned about the life and legacy of the man immortalized as “the hardest working man in show business.”
On Nov. 13, Dahan and his students celebrated the opening of “Mr. Dynamite: The Legacy of James Brown.” MTSU’s Center for Popular music hosts the student-curated exhibit through Dec. 5.
The student curators weren’t authorities on the subject when they first walked into the classroom.
“I mean, they knew him,” Dahan said. “But they didn’t know his music, or they didn’t know his history, except maybe what we covered in a previous class.”
But, as the semester went on, the class began to understand “how his music transcends time and space,” Dahan said.
At the exhibit’s opening, Jacob Lee introduced the exhibit and talked about his experience in the class.
“This is, by far, like, the most fun I’ve had in college working on any project,” Lee said. “Like the whole team was fantastic. I love everyone. I’d like to thank specifically Dahan here for getting all this cool-ass stuff. And then I’d love to thank the Center for Popular Music folks for hosting in this cool-ass place.”
“Mr. Dynamite” packs fascinating artifacts hand-picked by the students into a relatively small space within the center.
“They curated it,” Dahan said. “They designed the poster. They wrote most of the interpretive labels. They decided how to tell the stories, and what stories they wanted to tell.”
Along with records, correspondence and other ephemera, three must-see items anchor the exhibit.
A mannequin wears the custom-made, stage-worn tuxedo of Brown’s saxophone player Maceo Parker. A 1960s microphone from the King Records Studio shines in a display case. And then, there’s a pair of Brown’s shoes. One, propped up to reveal its underside, shows the wear on the Godfather of Soul’s sole.
“His shoes are worn out in a circular pattern,” Dahan said. “And you can see the sweat stains on this shoe and stuff like that still. So that was really neat.”
The circular wear pattern results from Brown’s signature dance moves.
These artifacts are on loan from the King Records Legacy Foundation — Dahan serves on the foundation’s board.
Although Brown died in 2006, his cultural and musical influence remains.
“I wanted to take the class because I’ve seen many artists reference him and accredit him to their sound,” student Sophia Eller said. “… There’s a wide variety of artists who have, you know, praised him. … It’s everybody from Kendrick Lamar to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. So he really has had such an impact in the music world, whether people really realize it or not.”
Mr. Dynamite: The Legacy of James Brown will remain on display in the Center for Popular Music through Dec. 5. The Center for Popular Music is located on the first floor of the John Bragg Media and Entertainment Building, and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Shauna Reynolds is the Lifestyles Editor for MTSU Sidelines.
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