50 Years Ago, James Brown Took an Unlikely Stage: Rikers Island

The New York Times, March 15, 2022: 50 Years Ago, James Brown Took an Unlikely Stage: Rikers Island

“On March 16, 1972, Brown headed to Rikers Island with his full revue to entertain, advise and encourage hundreds of detained 16-to-20-year-olds, most being held at the jail while awaiting trial. ‘The inmates asked us to come to Rikers, and we’re going!’ he said in a statement at the time.

“The reception was electric: ‘The kids at Rikers went absolutely wild,’ said John Brickman, who attended the concert when he was executive director of the New York City Board of Correction. ‘They were screaming, they were yelling.’ The roar reminded him of crowd reaction he’d heard on Johnny Cash’s live ‘At Folsom Prison’ album, he said.

“The story of Brown’s Rikers show has largely gone untold for the past five decades. So how did the Godfather of Soul wind up playing for an audience of youths at one of New York’s most notorious jails?”

Additional reading:

Open Culture, March 18, 2022: When James Brown Played Rikers Island 50 Years Ago (1972)

The New York Times, October 11, 2021: Inside Rikers: Dysfunction, Lawlessness and Detainees in Control

The New York Times, February 29, 1972: Rikers Island Prison Known as‘Monstrosity’