BOP 2006 > Still Photography Winners > Celebrity Picture Story
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Last Days of Fame
Story Summary
Cancer and emphysema so ravaged his lungs that doctors doubted he would live another month. Eight months later, 81-year-old music legend Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown refuses treatment and insists on leading a normal life. He still goes to clubs to listen and play with old friends, stopping afterward to sign autographs. He awaits the birth of his grandson, who will share his name. Almost broke, he borrows money from admirers, including Carlos Santana, who credits Brown with helping shape American music. Playing grows increasingly difficult. Exhausted and unable to breathe for long without oxygen, Brown hopes to make it through one last big show: the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. After a life on the road playing 300 gigs a year, he says, slowing down is the hard part.
Late Night
Tired after performing, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown sits at his kitchen table in Slidell, La., where he has lived for years. With 24-hour-care from his closest friends, he has started to bounce back from a long winter. In February 2005, Brown played at B.B. King's Blues Club in New York. "His hands wouldn't work," said his longtime keyboardist Joe Krown. "He couldn't find the notes. It was heart-wrenching." Brown's manager canceled most of his spring performances, resigned to the possibility he might never play another date.
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