Big Brown

William Clifford Brown (September 30, 1920 – August 30, 1980), who went by the name Big Brown, was a mid-twentieth century American street poet, performer, and recording artist. Prominent among the Beats in New York City from the late 1950s to the late 1960s, his distinctive language and style influenced a number of artists and musicians, including Bob Dylan, who declared Brown's to be the best poetry he had ever heard. Brown also influenced the later genres of hip hop and rap. In 1973, after moving to California, he recorded an album, The First Man of Poetry, Big Brown: Between Heaven and Hell, produced by Rudy Ray Moore. Brown was murdered in Los Angeles seven years later. In 2015, he was the subject of a three-part series on The New Yorker Radio Hour, "The Search for Big Brown." Early life Brown was born in Michigan. According to one report, he was raised in an orphanage in Georgia. Boxing career Known for his eloquence and voice and also for his physical size and strength, Brown made a career as a boxer in the 1940s. One obituary asserted that "Brown was at one time a professional heavyweight contender."