Richard Shaw Brown

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Rick Brown
Rick Brown in Bangkok - 2006
Rick Brown in Bangkok - 2006
Background information
Birth name Richard Shaw Brown
Also known as Hrisikesh
Born April 26, 1947 (1947-04-26) (age 61)
Origin Florida, United States
Genre(s) Acid rock
Progressive rock
Blues rock
Psychedelic rock
Art rock
Hard rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s) Harmonica
Years active 1965-1967 / 1982-1985
Label(s) Fontana Records
Cherry Red Records
Ugly Things Records
Associated acts The Misunderstood
Influence
Website richardshawbrown.com

Richard Shaw "Rick" Brown was the lead singer, harmonica player, and song writer of the 1966 anti-war Psychedelic rock group, The Misunderstood[1][2]. "The Misunderstood were one of the most innovative and enigmatic bands of the Sixties and one of the psychedelic era's best loved groups."[3] Brown's most well-known songs, I Can Take You To The Sun and Children of the Sun, are considered psychedelic music classics[4]. While working successfully with the band in London, Brown was drafted by the US Army to go to Vietnam, but being opposed to the war, he escaped from boot camp and left the country for India[5]. Creem magazine, in a September 2004 review, write, "The saga of the Misunderstood is one of the most unbelievable, heartbreaking, and unlikely stories in the entire history of rock."

Contents

[edit] India

In 1967 Brown was initiated as Hrisikesh Das by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada[6] He also lived as a monk and received instructions in Krishna bhakti from Swami Bon Maharaj in Vrindavana, U.P., India for six and a half years.[7]. Brown departed from Swami Bon and returned to his original Guru, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in late 1973. He held private discussions in Bengali with Swami Prabhupada, and was instrumental in Prabhupada's translation of Sri Upadeshamrita into English[8]. During his time in Asia, Brown learned to speak Bengali, Hindi and Thai, and read Sanskrit and Hindi[9].

[edit] Welfare activities in Asia

During his stay in India with Swami Bon Maharaj Brown was engaged in the establishment of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Academy, a primary school, in Nandagram, U.P.[10], as well as expanding the Institute of Oriental Philosophy in Vrindavan, U.P.[11] Before returning to America Brown was also instrumental in establishing Sri Hari-siddhi Primary School in Dhulikhel, Nepal, under the direction of the late Nepali sadhu, Sri Hari-siddhi Kali Baba.[12] In 1999 Brown was a co-founder and is currently Acting Secretary of the Institute of Planetary Gemology in Bangkok, Thailand,[13] a school that teaches the Navaratna system of Asian birthstones[14]. The current status of these 4 schools is active.

Through Swami Bon's educational service Brown moved in the highest circles of Indian society, even being received twice by India's President V.V. Giri at Rastrapati Bhavan in 1972;[15] and he successfully organized two high society functions in Bombay and Delhi during 1971-1972 which were supported by India's elite, such as Scindia Shipping Mogul Sumati Morarjee, Industrialist Jai Dayal Dalmia, and Delhi Mayor, Hans Raj Gupta[16].

[edit] Amnesty

In 1979, after 12 years in exile, Brown returned to America where he was granted amnesty as a conscientious objector and discharged from the Army.[17][18]

[edit] Post-Misunderstood music

In 1982, Brown reunited with his steel guitarist, Glenn Ross Campbell, as "Influence" and recorded two self-penned tracks, viz., No Survivors/Queen of Madness, for UK's Rough Trade Records in 1983. They disbanded in 1985 when Campbell moved to New Zealand and Brown moved to Thailand.[19]

In 1998, Cherry Red Records (UK) released a full album of their later material under the name of "The Misunderstood: Broken Road" (CDM RED 147).[20]

Recently, in 2004, Ugly Things Records (USA) released another full album of previously unreleased tracks named, Misunderstood: The Lost Acetates 1965-1966, that received International media coverage.[21][22]

A motion picture screen play (The Misunderstood: WGA 977444) about the Band and Rick Brown's adventures was written by Rock Historian, Mike Stax (Editor of Ugly Things Music Magazine) in 2002,[23] and is under revision. A novel: "Like, Misunderstood" - based on the script was published in October 2007[24][25]. In a Jan 2008 review Terriscope’s Phil McMullen writes, “"There's no disputing that it's an extremely entertaining read - and I can't wait to see the promised film.”[26]

[edit] Musical recognition

  • In his "Peelenium" (Greatest Songs of the 20th Century) John Peel lists Brown's song for 1966, as follows, PEELENIUM 1966: 1. Leonard Cohen - The Sisters of Mercy, 2. The Beatles - And Your Bird Can Sing, 3. The Misunderstood - I Can Take You To The Sun, 4. Jimi Hendrix - Red House, 5. Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness[27].
  • "I Can Take You To The Sun / Who Do You Love" was number six in "100 Greatest Psychedelic Records", a 2004 book published by UK's Record Collector Magazine[28].
  • In September 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine called the Misunderstood, "the American Yardbirds".
  • In a recent release of early John Peel "Top Gear" shows on BBC he is recorded as saying on air, "This ("I Can Take You To the Sun" by The Misunderstood) is to my mind the best popular record that's ever been recorded"[29][30][31].
  • Hartbeat! magazine #20: "Top 100 Singles" - lists The Misunderstood.
  • British music critic Nigel Cross lists the Misunderstood twice, at third and fourth places (ahead of their mentors, The Yardbirds). [32].
  • Mojo's "100 Greatest Psychedelic Classics" lists The Misunderstood in 1966[33].
  • Ptolemaic Terrascope's Top 100 Albums lists The Misunderstood[34].

[edit] Recent activities

The Queen Sirikit Navaratna accepted by Her Majesty, the Queen of Thailand in 1993
The Queen Sirikit Navaratna accepted by Her Majesty, the Queen of Thailand in 1993

In 1983 Brown graduated from the Gemological Institute of America. Brown's book Ancient Astrological Gemstones & Talismans[35] received the "1996 Benjamin Franklin Award"[36] from the Publishers Marketing Association (PMA). He is currently working as a gemologist and designer in Bangkok, Thailand, creating fine gems-jewelry based on the Navaratna belief in Planetary Gemology[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. “Drawn to gemology for over 27 years, Richard Shaw Brown has applied his experience and astrological knowledge, which is Asian by tradition typified by a belief in stars, to the creation of jewelry. The result is a collection of jewelry from nine gemstones known as Astral Gemstone Talismans representing the nine astrological stars.” [46]

Brown has 13 published books. He has appeared on television in Thailand over 36 times.[47] Over 200 articles about and also by Brown have been published in various magazines and newspapers in Bangkok, Asia and abroad[48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57].

[edit] Published books

  1. Richard Brown (1975). Sri Chinta Mani. Astro Jewels Co. Bangkok, Thailand.
  2. Richard S. Brown (1982). Handbook of Planetary Gemology. AGS Inc., Laguna Beach, California.
  3. Richard S. Brown (1988). Handbook of Planetary Gemology II, Mckinney Intl., Hong Kong.
  4. Richard S. Brown (1995). Ancient Astrological Gemstones & Talismans. AGT LTD. ISBN 974-89022-4-2
  5. Richard S. Brown (2000). Astral Gemstone Talismans Designs 2000. AGT LTD. ISBN 974-87630-5-6
  6. Richard S. Brown (2002). Astral Gemstone Talismans 2002. AGT LTD. ISBN 974-88562-9-1
  7. Richard S. Brown (2003). VOOM Collection. Hrisikesh Ltd. ISBN 974-07-1633-4
  8. Richard S. Brown (2004). Six Collection. Hrisikesh Ltd. ISBN 974-91395-7-7
  9. Richard S. Brown (2005). Sri Chintamani Collection. Hrisikesh Ltd. ISBN 974-07-1643-1
  10. Richard S. Brown (2006). Akash Collection. Hrisikesh Ltd. ISBN 974-93383-9-1
  11. Richard S. Brown (2007). Mangala Collection. Hrisikesh Ltd. ISBN 974-07-1853-1.
  12. Rick Brown & Mike Stax (2007). Like, Misunderstood. UT Publishing, USA. ISBN 0-9778166-1-3.
  13. Richard S. Brown (2007). Ancient Astrological Gemstones & Talismans - 2nd Edition. Hrisikesh LTD. ISBN 978-974-8102-29-0

[edit] References

  1. ^ Unterburger, Richie (May 1998). Unknown Legends of Rock n Roll. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0879305345. 
  2. ^ Stax, Mike (September 2007). Like, Misunderstood. UT Publications. ISBN 0-9778166-1-3. 
  3. ^ Review by Terrascope Online – Jan. 2008. Retrieved on 2008-09-03.
  4. ^ "100 Greatest Psychedelic Records" (2005). Record Collector ISSN 1746-8051. 
  5. ^ MISUNDERSTOOD Website.. Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
  6. ^ Disciples:H.
  7. ^ Lalitananda Vana (1971). Sri Bepin Sakhi Vilas. OCLC 31935694. 
  8. ^ Stax, Mike (September 2007). Like, Misunderstood. UT Publications. ISBN 0-9778166-1-3. 
  9. ^ Ranard, Andrew. "Gemologist Focuses On the Spiritual", International Herald Tribune, October 31, 1994, pp. 20. 
  10. ^ "True Story Of Krishna's School In Nandagrama" - Vaishnava News Network (VNN) - Feb 4, 1999 Website.. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
  11. ^ Stax, Mike. Ugly Things (Music) Magazine Issue 22 - 2004, pp. 46. 
  12. ^ Info on schools established by Richard S. Brown. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
  13. ^ "Vedic Gemology Gets Organized" - Vaishnava News Network (VNN) - Feb 19, 2000 Website.. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
  14. ^ Weblink. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
  15. ^ Stax, Mike. Ugly Things (Music) Magazine Issue 22 - 2004, pp. 58. 
  16. ^ Weblink. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
  17. ^ Daniel P. Reid (1988). Rishi. 
  18. ^ Mike Stax (2002). Screenplay: The Misunderstood WGA 977444. 
  19. ^ Influence at Rate Your Music. Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
  20. ^ Ref. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-28.
  21. ^ Entertainment-Reuters (Yahoo News) (June 18, 2004). "New Label Sheds Light on the Misunderstood". Billboard. 
  22. ^ Rolling Stone Magazine Issue 956 (September 2, 2004). "The Misunderstood: The Lost Acetates 1965-1966 by David Fricke". 
  23. ^ Mike Stax (2002). Screenplay: The Misunderstood WGA 977444. 
  24. ^ Like, Misunderstood web page. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  25. ^ Stax, Mike (October 2007). Like, Misunderstood. UT Publications. ISBN 0-9778166-1-3. 
  26. ^ Terrascope On-line Reviews “Like, Misunderstood” review by Phil McMullen– Jan. 2008. Retrieved on 2008-09-03.
  27. ^ Peelenium List. Retrieved on May 13, 2008.
  28. ^ Record Collector Magazine’s 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: Web link. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
  29. ^ Unterberger, Richie (May 1998). Unknown Legends of Rock n Roll. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0879305345. 
  30. ^ Record Collector Magazine, et al. (2004). "100 Greatest Psychedelic Records". Record Collector Magazine. 
  31. ^ "John Peel Quote" (Nov. 8, 1968). Top Gear (BBC Radio). 
  32. ^ Hartbeat! magazine Top 100s Weblink. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
  33. ^ Mojo Weblink. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
  34. ^ Terrascope Top 100 Albums Weblink. Retrieved on 2007-03-14.
  35. ^ Richard Brown (1995). Ancient Astrological Gemstones & Talismans. A.G.T. Co.. ISBN 9748902242. 
  36. ^ Benjamin Franklin Awards. Publishers Marketing Association website. Retrieved on 2007-01-27.
  37. ^ Ranard, Andrew. "Gemologist Focuses On the Spiritual", International Herald Tribune, October 31, 1994, pp. 20. 
  38. ^ "The 9 Royal Gems", Bangkok Post Newspaper, December 1, 2006. 
  39. ^ "Thai Dealers Designs are Out of This World", Jewellery News Asia (Hong Kong), September, 1990. 
  40. ^ "Profile: Richard S. Brown - Gem Expert Charts Path to the Stars", Bangkok Post (Business News), May 19, 1997. 
  41. ^ "Executive Life Style-The Accidental Gemologist", Singapore Business Times, October 30, 1993. 
  42. ^ National Jeweler Magazine (1990). Gems Jewelry Looks to the Stars. National Jeweler USA. 
  43. ^ Colored Stone Magazine (1996). Gemstone Guru. Colored Stone USA. 
  44. ^ Hong Kong Standard (1988). Exploding Rock Mythology. Hong Kong Standard. 
  45. ^ Jewelers’ Circular-Keystone (1991). What’s New In Jewelry. JCK USA. 
  46. ^ Article by Thai Airways Kinaree Magazine. Retrieved on June 8, 2008.
  47. ^ Thai and English TV appearances. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
  48. ^ Magazine and Newspaper Articles about and also by Brown. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
  49. ^ Asia Magazine (1991). Astral Fashion with Gemstone Talismans. Hong Kong. 
  50. ^ Asia Magazine (1992). Cosmic Gemstones. Hong Kong. 
  51. ^ Asia Magazine (1993). Faces of Asia: Richard S. Brown. Hong Kong. 
  52. ^ Outlook (1992). Top Designer Gives Planetary Gemology Talk. The Bangkok Post Newspaper (Thailand). 
  53. ^ Bangkok Gems & Jewellery Magazine (1993). A New Addition to the Crown Jewels of Thailand. BGJ Bangkok. 
  54. ^ Reid, Daniel. Chi-Gung: Harnessing the Power of the Universe. Simon & Schuster, pp. 312. ISBN 0-684-82125-7. 
  55. ^ Amatyakul, Sinsap. "The New Science of Planetary Gemology", Outlook in Bangkok Post Newspaper, June 1995. 
  56. ^ Look East (English) Magazine (Thailand) (May 1995). From Monkhood to Astral Gemology. 
  57. ^ Jewel Siam Magazine (September 1991). Personalized Planetary Jewelry. Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 98. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links