BATB's Tribute to 'The Godfather of Go-Go'!

As you may have heard by now, "The Godfather of Go-Go" Chuck Brown passed away today at the age of 75.

Long time DC Boxing fans may know that Mr. Brown was a good friend to the local boxing scene -- appearing at numerous boxing events over the years.  What I am just learning is that Mr. Brown stepped in the ring numerous times in gyms to spar with Beltway Boxing legends like Holly Mims and Bob Foster.

Chuck Brown's music has always -- and probably will continue to be -- an integral part of DC boxing events.  It was great to have a soundtrack that was uniquely ours.  But to my recollection (I could be wrong), only one Beltway Boxer continually used a Chuck Brown song as his ringwalk music.  That was Darryll "Terrible T" Tyson who used "Bustin' Loose" as his theme song throughout his career.  That combination brings up two memories that I'd like to share.

The first was when Tyson fought Rafael Ruelas in July of 1993 in Las Vegas.  It was a joy to watch Tyson's walk to the ring and hear "Bustin' Loose" on a pay-per-view telecast.  The second memory came two fights later in August of 1994 at the original Washington Convention Center.  Tyson fought Genaro Andujar in a six-round contest.  Tyson won the bout by fifth-round TKO but suffered a nasty cut over his right eye that looked to jeopardize a TV bout the next month against fellow local Reggie Green at the DC Armory.

Maybe it was out of celebration, or maybe it was anger or frustration, but when "Bustin' Loose" came on after the bout, Tyson started to do a wild dance in the center of the ring. It was so unlike the normally-stoic Tyson, that the crowd sort of froze watching it.   As it stood, Tyson was able to battle Green the next month and won that contest, one of the most memorable in the area in 30 years.

So we thank you, Chuck Brown, for bringing us so much musical joy to so many generations.  Also thank you for reminding us of this, a message we can give to all of our boxers (or anyone else):

"Whatever you do,
Big or small,
Do it well,
Or don't do it at all!"