James Brown Camp Responds to Suit

Battered by a multitude of charges in a lawsuit filed late last week, James Brown's camp has fired back, calling former James Brown Enterprises employee Lisa Agbalaya's wrongful termination and sexual harassment lawsuit "extortion."

"When you get a letter from someone that says either pay me a lot of money or we're going to file a suit against you, it's akin to what kidnappers do," said Brown's attorney Buddy Dallas. "This is a disgruntled employee from the West Coast office. And against his advisors advice Mr. Brown kept that office open three years longer than he should just so those people would have a job."

Among Agbalaya's claims were that the Godfather of Soul said that she was "built like a stallion, just right for riding." Agbalaya also reported that Brown attempted to make her wear a set of zebra-print underwear and give him a massage with oil.

"He's very hurt by this," Dallas said. "It is factually incorrect, and Mr. Brown will be able to prove it. He's old-school in so many ways, but women he respects."

Following an office fire last month that destroyed numerous JB relics, including capes, gold records and master recordings, and the subsequent revelation that a JBE employee (who turned out to be Brown's cousin) was the arsonist, Brown had been knee-deep in bad news. But in a small break from bad news, Dallas told RollingStone.com that a vote passed yesterday to change the name of the Augusta Richmond County Coliseum in the singer's hometown of Augusta, Ga. to the James Brown Civic Arena.

"He just paused and said, 'I am so humbled,'" Dallas says of Brown.

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Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

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