God Has Smiled On Me!

James Brown and Introducing the Reverend Al Sharpton (With the Gospel Energies):
God Has Smiled On Me (Pt. 1) b/w (Pt. 2)

Today's selection is one of the more unusual items in the James Brown catalog. The ever-controversial minister/civil rights activist/2004 Presidential candidate Al Sharpton had known Brown since the '70s, when he was a friend of James' son, Teddy. When Teddy was killed in a car accident in 1973, Sharpton and JB forged a lifelong friendship (Sharpton states that Brown "adopted" him and encouraged him to emulate him in wearing his hair in a slicked-back pompadour) the endures to the present day. "God Has Smiled On Me" was released on the tiny Royal King label in 1981 and it features James and the Gospel Energies doing the traditional spiritual in the choruses and Sharpton doing a sermonette on the verses. Whether or not you agree with Sharpton's politics, it's a pretty inspiring recording. They "take it to church" and it's worth a listen.