Promoter Bob Patton kept James Brown on the good foot
Tribute to Bob Patton
with Heaven Davis, Jo Jo Bailey, Princess Bailey, Eddie Tigner, Rita Graham, Sammy Blue, Deacon Blues and more. Free. 6 p.m.-1 a.m. Sun., Nov. 22. Mudcatz Bayou Bar and Grill, 5500 Chamblee Dunwoody Road. 770-828-0335.
When James Brown wanted to give Bobby Kennedy his endorsement for president, Bob Patton was the guy Brown chose to deliver the message. Patton's skills as a music promoter attracted the biggest names in music, including such clients as Al Green, Jerry Lee Lewis, B.B. King, Solomon Burke and Otis Redding. Known as the go-to guy for getting artists exposure in Georgia and beyond for nearly four decades, Patton died Oct. 7 at the age of 70 from an aortic aneurism.
Originally from Ohio, he first worked as a DJ at radio station WDOH in Dayton, playing race music — the tag laid on blues-based music performed by black artists before the term R&B came into vogue. He met Brown while handling promotion for the station and so impressed the Godfather that Brown hired Patton to be his promoter and booking agent from 1968-’77. Brown was in the midst of inventing funk during that era with such hits as “Cold Sweat."
Brown considered Patton family, often saying that Patton’s daughter was “the Godfather’s goddaughter.” Brown even agreed to buy the promoter a Cadillac after Patton dropped a few hints about not being able to afford one. “So Bob went down and got himself a ’68 Eldorado, baby blue, and drove it home,” Patton biographer Phil Jones reveals. But Patton discovered that as good as his promotional skills were, the Godfather was still in charge. “The next month his paycheck was short and he went to Brown and said, ‘What happened?’ And Brown said, ‘Well, I bought the car and now you pay for it.’”
Three years ago, Patton teamed up with Atlanta bluesman Sammy Blue, joining Blue’s Georgia Legacy Foundation, which aids and promotes Georgia musicians. “He loved black culture in America,” Blue says of Patton, “and he gravitated towards the music.”
But while Patton felt very comfortable within black culture, “it was never a [race] thing with him,” Blue says. “He just seemed to move in that world very easily. He was very comfortable with everyone.”
More than a mere promoter, his support helped cement the legacy of black music during an era when America was still coming to terms with its intolerant past. “He was a pivotal person in the development of popular music,” says Jones. “Bob was the Forrest Gump of music. He was everywhere.”
COMMENTS
RE: Promoter Bob Patton kept James Brown on the good foot
Posted by alanwalden@bellsouth.net on 11.17.09 @ 10:32 PM
I just recently met Bob at Newton Collier's birthday party so I did not know him well. He was very friendly and seemed to know a lot about me. I had always delt with Ben and Jack Bart in relations to James Brown but never had the opportunity to meet him. I regret that we never crossed pathes until recently. He obviously had a very strong impact on the SOUL scene. May Bob find his place in "Soul Heaven" along side of the so many great artists who have passed on from this world, Rest Well.......
RE: Promoter Bob Patton kept James Brown on the good foot
Posted by newt on 11.17.09 @ 04:03 PM
THANKS FOR THE KIND WORDS. BOB WAS A GREAT MAN AND CAME TO MACON ON AUG.15 AND WAS THE HOST AT MY BIRTHDAY PARTY. HE WAS IN HIS WORLD, WORKING THE PEOPLE AND KEEPING THINGS MOVING. WE COULD JUST WATCH AS HE PULLED THE MAGIC RABBIT OUT OF THE BOX AND THE PEOPLE WATCHED HIM MOVE THE SHOW. THANKS, MR. MOVING FOR YOUR WORK AND TELL MR.BROWN HE DID MAKE THE RIGHT MOVE IN '68. HE WILL ALWAYS BE ON OUR MINDS AT THE GEORGIA LEGACY FOUNDATION AND THE PIONEERS AND LEGENDS FOUNDATION.
RE: Promoter Bob Patton kept James Brown on the good foot
Posted by Courtney Patton on 11.17.09 @ 02:35 PM
Bob Patton was my father. I have struggled over and over to find the words that can adequately express how devastated I am at his passing, and how great a loss this is for everyone who knew him and loved him. I have decided that those words do not exist. Nothing I can say is strong enough, or good enough. I am overwhelmed with sadness, but I know that I am very fortunate to have had him in my life at all, much less for 34 years. I wish he could be there to walk me down the aisle at my wedding next spring. I wish I could see him again, talk to him again. But I know it would never be enough. I would always want more.
I will keep him in my heart always.