Finding Inspiration at the Howard Theatre
(Glenwood Jackson Studio)
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Thinking about his favorite summer concert, Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-Go, says: "We got to go back to the old days and the Howard Theatre. The most thrilling thing that happened to me was when I saw Bobby Parker when he was 16 years old on that stage playing with Paul 'Hucklebuck' Williams's band, and then I saw him again with Rick Henderson's band. That inspired me so much that I said, 'One day, I'm gonna learn how to play guitar -- when I decided to settle down and stop getting into trouble!' "
That would be in the early '60s, after Brown served a four-year stint at the Lorton Correctional Complex on an assault charge. "By the time I turned 24, I said, 'It's time for me to get a guitar and learn how to play it.' So that was the most inspiring concert, and I've seen everybody at the Howard: Billy Eckstine, Arthur Prysock, Ella Fitzgerald, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker. That was a great experience when I saw little 16-year-old Bobby Parker 50 years ago."
Parker, incidentally, performs June 30 at Madam's Organ, while Brown will heat up the 15th annual National Capital Barbecue Battle downtown June 23.
