James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, Extols Some Odd Virtues of Ronald Reagan in New Animated Video

“Sir,” says James Brown to a reporter who had just made the mistake of calling him James, “I’m going to call you by your last name as long as you call me by mine. One thing I fought for was respect, Okay? I didn’t have that all the time.”

So begins the latest animated feature from Blank on Blank, a nonprofit project that brings forgotten interviews back to life. In this episode, ABC radio journalist Rocci Fisch takes us back to a little interview he and a few other reporters had with Brown before a concert in 1984. The location was Washington D.C., so perhaps it should come as no surprise when the brief interview veers into politics. At one point Fisch asks Brown what he thinks of the man who was president then, Ronald Reagan.

“I think he’s the most intelligent…I think he’s the most well-coordinated president we’ve ever had in history,” says Brown.

“You think he’s going to win again?” says Fisch.

“I’m not here to endorse. I just know he’s the most well-organized president we’ve ever had in history. His acting ability taught him the whole structure of the country.”

“Communication, you mean?”

“Huh?”

“Communication?”

“He knows what everybody wants. You see, every American, every American man is still a cowboy. See you’ve got to remember that.”

Related content:

James Brown Brings Down the House at the Paris Olympia, 1971

Animations Revive Lost Interviews with David Foster Wallace, Jim Morrison & Dave Brubeck


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