Danny Ray (1935–2021)

Danny Ray, for forty-six years James Brown’s emcee and cape man, has died at the age of eighty-five. Says the James Brown Estate: “Mr. Ray was the second hardest working man in show business.”

Here’s a 1968 (?) example of the emcee at work, and another from 1974. And from The T.A.M.I. Show (1964), a celebrated instance of the cape routine. And here — why not? — is James Brown’s complete T.A.M.I Show performance. Holy smokes. The Rolling Stones made the ill-advised choice to go on after Brown.

Our fambly was fortunate to see James Brown and company in 2005, with Danny Ray, Tomi Rae, the Soul Generals, and the Bitter Sweets. A night to remember.

[“1968 (?)”: The video seems to have been misdated to avoid detection and removal for copyright infringement. Shh.]