The One Audiobook By R. J. Smith cover art

The One

The Life and Music of James Brown

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The One

By: R. J. Smith
Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Senior editor at L.A. Magazine RJ Smith saw his first book, The Great Black Way, win the coveted California Book Award. With The One, Smith profiles one of the 20th century’s most innovative musical icons, the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown. Drawing on extensive research and captivating interviews, Smith chronicles Brown’s rise from abject poverty to the pinnacle of fame, while also detailing Brown’s work as a civil rights activist and entrepreneur.

©2012 R.J. Smith (P)2012 Recorded Books, LLC
Cultural & Regional Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity Civil rights
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The One

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    50
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    43
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    52
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent writing + delivery

I really enjoyed this book. Definitely recommend. The writer seemed to have researched well and weaved it together into an excellent piece of work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very Detailed

Very detailed reporting. Many unexpected background historical details about music. Very interesting. A labor of love.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

I was captivated by the story that revealed so much about the life of this remarkable and complex man. As a long time fan, I was surprised by how much I did not know about him.

The performance was also outstanding. Five stars.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good

A strong, hard working man for his times, not perfect of course. Great book and great story .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Why he became the hardest working man in show biz.

An illuminating look at how James Brown became an icon of the 60s, a musical pioneer, and an eccentric character frequently in trouble with the law. Complex, thorny, and very much a product of the time and place he was born into, James Brown became a musical revolutionary and a player in the civil rights movement despite a childhood of deprivation. This book is a welcome investigation into the life of a man who has still never gotten his due as a musician and band leader, and a man for whom success was never enough to erase the effects of a life lived as a poor African American in the early part of the 20th century. Well written, well read, and well worth the time it takes to listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

pitiable, lovable, despicable,understandable

i've never been a hip-hop happening kind of a guy
pencil-neck white-bread suburban kid is closer to the truth
but james brown has fascinated me since i was a child

his penetrating funky hot-blooded music was like no other
but i sensed that there was more to the story than that
r.j. smith's story and kevin free's narration brought it to life

his horrible childhood invites pity / that he overcame it invites love
the way he treated women and co-workers makes him seem despicable
but at the end of this great book i felt i understood him as a person

what makes the story profound is its' uniquely american foundation
james brown never apologized for who he was or where he was from
he just wanted respect and a spot at the table / he more than earned it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Politics & Racism! Not much about music :(

If you're looking for a book on James Brown music career, look elsewhere. This book is loaded with politics and racism. Then more politics and racism and after that even more racism. Only maybe 20% of this book is about music.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!