James Brown was a music legend.
His passing in 2006 was a blow to the music world and to his legions of fans worldwide. His death also means that there will be a lot of folks anxious to buy memorabilia related to the artist.
After looking around on the internet in search of a few, I was, quite frankly, surprised that it was so difficult to locate merchandise related to James Brown. Given the weight of his contribution to American culture, there should have been many more easily-accessible products for collectors to locate, even before he died.
These are a few places I found where you can purchase James Brown-related merchandise to add to your personal collection:
80’sTees.com
Website: http://www.80stees.com
Stay In School James Brown Tee-Shirt
This 100% cotton, dark brown tee-shirt comes in four adult sizes- Large, X-Large, 2XL and 3XL.with a silk screen likeness of the singing legend over the slogan, “James Brown Says, ‘Stay In School'”.
Cost: $22.00 ($3.00 more for 3XL size)
Amazon.com
Website: www.amazon.com
50th Anniversary Collection: James Brown
This 2-CD collection includes all of James Brown’s most well-known songs, such as Please, Please, Please, Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag, (I Got You) I Feel Good, Cold Sweat, Say It Loud (I’m Black and Proud), Mother Popcorn, Hot Pants, The Payback -Pt. 1 and more. There are also songs that are lesser known.
Between the two discs, there are a total of 50 songs, enough to satisfy any true James Brown fan who wants to keep his musical legacy alive.
This collection proves that this performer was definitely one-of-a-kind.
Cost: $19.98
Ebay
Website:www.ebay.com
I personally think Ebay is your best bet for James Brown collectibles and memorabilia.
I found items offered for bid, such as original James Brown LPs, autographed photos, signed tee-shirts, concert posters, autographed guitars, a James Brown synchro-motion tech doll (which you could’ve bought for practically nothing in a mall a couple of years ago), canvas paintings of Brown, etc.
The day I looked, there were over 3.000 items up for bid, meaning that anybody with James Brown anything is putting it on Ebay. Don’t expect to get these things too cheaply for now, at least not until the initial desire for them cools off a bit.
The challenge here is to make sure that you are getting the real deal. If you want to bid on autographed items, I recommend that you contact the seller to ask if a certificate of authenticity is included, to ensure that the merchandise was actually signed by James Brown.
Of course, there are all kinds of other online auction sites, if you want to try them, but I found that Ebay had more items to choose from.
Cost: Depends on the final bid
Giving respect at last?
I am still basically floored that there were so few places online where I could locate good resources for James Brown memorabilia and collectibles.
It’s a shame to say, but I guess it took the death of this icon for him to truly be as appreciated as he deserves.
