NAMES IN THE NEWS : James Brown Joins Drug Fight

AIKEN, S.C. — Imprisoned soul singer James Brown said today he turned down hundreds of work-release jobs, including some on radio and television, to counsel youths about drug abuse.

“I hope that together that we can bring a turnaround to some of the problems that we have out there and make the people aware that there is a place to go to get the help,” Brown said at a news conference.

The two-time Grammy winner was transferred last week from the State Park Correctional Center in Columbia to the minimum-security Lower Savannah Work Center near Aiken after serving 15 months of a six-year prison term for aggravated assault.

He will begin work Thursday for the Aiken-Barnwell Counties Community Action Commission, helping the poor and counseling youths about drug and alcohol abuse.

Asked how he felt, Brown replied, “I feel better.” Then he laughed and told reporters, “Oh, you want me to say I feel good. OK, I feel good,” a reference to one of his singles, “I Got You (I Feel Good).”

Brown was imprisoned in 1988 to serve a concurrent six-year sentence in Georgia and South Carolina for failing to stop for police, aggravated assault and weapons violations stemming from a two-state, high-speed chase.