Editing Bobby Brown (section)

== Early life ==
Brown was born in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]],<ref name=allmusic /> as one of eight children. His mother Carole Elizabeth (born Williams) was a substitute teacher, and his father Herbert James Brown was a construction worker.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/yourtown/boston/roxbury/articles/2011/02/02/whitney_houston_shows_for_funeral_in_roxbury/|title=Whitney Houston shows for funeral in Roxbury|work=[[Boston.com]]|access-date=June 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bobby-browns-uneasy-passage-235761/|title=Bobby Brown's Uneasy Passage|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=September 7, 1989|access-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref> Brown grew up in [[Roxbury, Massachusetts|Roxbury]]'s [[Orchard Park Projects]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/more_names/blog/2009/09/from_boy_band_to_bloated_bobby.html|title=From boy band to bloated: Bobby Brown|work=Boston.com|access-date=June 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/bobby-brown-unhurt-gunman-slays-pal-article-1.693986|title=BOBBY BROWN UNHURT AS GUNMAN SLAYS PAL|work=[[Daily News (New York)|The Daily News]]|date=September 29, 1995 |access-date=June 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/sep/29/singer-bobby-brown-uninjured-after-shootout-which/|title=Singer Bobby Brown Uninjured After Shootout Which Killed Friend Brown Was Leaving Seedy Bar Near His Boyhood Neighborhood|date=September 29, 1995|work=[[The Spokesman-Review]]|access-date=June 25, 2015}}</ref> Brown's first taste of performing on stage occurred when he was age three, and one of his childhood idols [[James Brown]] performed in Boston. This performance sparked his dream of becoming a professional singer. Brown joined the church choir, where he recognized and developed his singing abilities. Brown's musical influences also include singer-songwriters [[Rick James]], [[Michael Jackson]], [[Marvin Gaye]], and [[Prince (musician)|Prince]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/artists/bobby-brown/related-artists/?filter=influencedBy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203014847/http://www.mtv.com/artists/bobby-brown/related-artists/?filter=influencedBy|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 3, 2014|title=Artist Influences for Bobby Brown|publisher=MTV|access-date=February 22, 2013}}</ref> Brown is reportedly a distant cousin of [[disco]] artist [[Donna Summer]] and her family, who lived at the multiracial [[Mission Hill, Boston|Mission Hill]] neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0113140/bio/|title=Bobby Brown - Biography - IMDb|work=[[IMDb]]|accessdate=May 17, 2025}}</ref>