James Brown - 'Star Time'

My parents were in the restaurant/bar business in Brooklyn, NY.  They had an Irish bar/restaurant called 'Molly Maguire’s Pub' and an Italian restaurant called 'Mario’s Trattoria'.  Neither of my parents were Irish nor for that matter Italian.  I remember my older brother cracking wise, telling my father, "You should open a Chinese joint, and call it: Sum-Dum-Fuk" to which my father replied, "Why would I name a restaurant after you?"

In 1963, when I was sixteen, my parents opened a nightclub called Bentley’s, which attracted a mixed gay/straight African-American crowd.  Mom and Dad weren’t African-American, either.  My father was a mild-mannered WASP, originally from Kennebunk Maine, and my mother was a feisty French woman, who was born in Marseille, and grew up in Québec City, Canada.

One afternoon, I was out with my father, and we stopped by Bentley’s.  Inside there was a long horseshoe shaped bar, an area with tables and a large dance floor, it had lots of lights and speakers hanging from the ceiling.  There was a table on a raised platform at the end of the dance floor, that had audio equipment on it, and the largest speakers I had ever seen on the floor.  The waitstaff were preparing to open, and setting tables. There were noises and aromas coming out of the kitchen.  Standing behind the bar was a six-foot six African-American man, who reminded me a little of Little Richard.  This was the first time I met Blue, who smiled at me and said, "You must be Babs, would you like a coca-cola, my dear?"  I nodded my head and replied, "You must be Blue, the DJ!" At home, I heard stories about what a character Blue was, so his reputation preceded him.  My father went into the kitchen, and Blue said, "Let's play some records" he put on a record, and asked, "Do you dance?" so I started dancing.  He watched me, clapped his hands, laughed and said, "What was that girl, the damn Bunny Hop?  I’m going to call you Babs Bunny!" and did so for the rest of his life.

My father came out of the kitchen with Alton who was Bentley’s manager he was also African-American, and looked like he played middle linebacker for the New York Giants.  Blue introduced me to Alton as Babs Bunny and told me, "Alton’s my roommate".  Later that evening, I told my brother about meeting Blue and Alton. My brother said, "You know what they are, right?" and I said, "Yeah, they’re Gay, so what?" this surprised my brother, and he said, "My little sis is growing up!  They’re a pisser, right?"  My brother was a world-class wise ass, but a very cool one, especially for the time.

Around this time, my parents thought it was time for me to start learning the family business, so most afternoons after school, I went to one of the businesses.  My favorite place was Bentley’s because Blue was there.  In the kitchen I leaned to do food prep, and cook.  In the main room, Blue taught me how to mix drinks, open wine bottles, set up tables and how to use the sound system.  Every afternoon, Blue gave me a dance lesson, while R&B 45s played.  He always yelled, "Let your backbone slip, girl! Let it SLIP!".  We had a dance routine, we did to James Brown’s "Night Train".  Bentley’s was known for its music, which was very much "right now" so every few weeks Blue gave me a pile of 45s he referred to as "over" and "tired".  Blue also taught me to sip cocktails and smoke cigarettes, but that was our secret.

Throughout high school on the weekends, I was waiting tables at Molly Maguire’s Pub and Mario’s Trattoria, which were all along the same subway line, as was Bentley’s which was off limits to me at night.  So one night instead of going home, I dropped by Bentley’s to see what was going on, and to see if all the stories I heard were true.  I could hear the music from a few doors away, and when I went inside the place was going wild.  At the end of the dance floor was Blue spinning records, when he saw me, he waved me towards him.  As I walked toward him, a large hand grabbed my arm, it was Alton, who told me, "You ain't supposed to be here at this time of night, in this neighborhood, Miss Babs!"  Blue said to Alton: "Just one dance."  He picked up his microphone and said, "I’m going to dance this one with my girlfriend, Babs Bunny" which caused everyone to laugh.  Blue played "Night Train", and we did our dance routine.  Afterward, while Alton was escorting me out, to put me in a cab home, a woman said to me, "That was pretty good.....yeah, for a white girl".

When I went away to college, Blue and I wrote letters to each other, and every so often a package of 45s would arrive.  During the summers when I returned to New York, Blue and I would party, only now weed entered the mix along with cocktails, Dexamyl, and cigarettes.  One magical Sunday in the summer of 1968, we dropped acid in Central Park, and on our way to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, we did our Night Train routine by Bethesda fountain to the amusement of the hippies.

In the 70s, Alton and Blue moved to San Francisco, where they opened a Disco. Whenever I hear James Brown, I think of Blue.

Star Time is a 1991 71-track, 4-CD box set by James Brown.  Its contents span most of the length of his career up to the time of its release, starting in 1956 with his first hit record, "Please, Please, Please", and ending with "Unity", his 1984 collaboration with Afrika Bambaataa.  Its title comes from the question Brown's announcer would ask concert audiences, as heard on the album 'Live at the Apollo, "Are you ready for star time?"



For the freeload, tell us what was the last thing you bought that wasn't food or drink?