James Brown 1988 Premium Cotton T-Shirt
Mugshot Story
Soul Brother No. 1
In the aftermath of a wild 24 September 1988 incident—when the Godfather of Soul allegedly waved a shotgun inside an Augusta, GA insurance seminar and then led police on a high-speed, two-state chase—55-year-old James Brown was convicted of aggravated assault and failure to stop for officers.
On 15 December 1988 he reported to South Carolina’s State Park Correctional Center to begin a six-year sentence. Intake staff snapped the now-famous, broad-smiling booking photo you see above, the placard reading “SOUTH CAROLINA DEPT OF CORRECTIONS 155 413 88.”
Brown ultimately served about 15 months in prison and ten more in a work-release program before parole in early 1991, but the image endures as a symbol of both his legal troubles and his unbreakable show-biz charisma.
