For ‘Soul Brother No. 1,’ a Last Time on the Apollo Stage Where He Reigned

 

For ‘Soul Brother No. 1,’ a Last Time on the Apollo Stage Where He Reigned

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: December 27, 2006

The body of James Brown will be returned tomorrow to the site of some of his greatest triumphs — the Apollo Theater in Harlem — so that the public that saw and heard him leave a lasting impression on music can see him one last time, the Rev. Al Sharpton said yesterday.

Mr. Brown’s body will rest on the stage of the Apollo, at 253 West 125th Street, from 1 to 8 p.m., permitting one more look at a man who steered modern music toward the rhythm-and-blues, funk, hip-hop and rap beats popular today, said Mr. Sharpton, a close friend of Mr. Brown’s for decades.

“It would almost be unthinkable for a man who lived such a sensational life to go away quietly,” Mr. Sharpton told The Associated Press in an interview from Georgia, where he was making funeral arrangements with Mr. Brown’s children.

Mr. Sharpton said the public Apollo viewing would be followed by a private ceremony Friday in Mr. Brown’s hometown, Augusta, Ga., and another public service a day later at the James Brown Arena there.

“His greatest thrill was always the lines around the Apollo Theater,” Mr. Sharpton said.

Mr. Brown, 73, died of congestive heart failure on Monday morning in Atlanta. He had been scheduled to perform on New Year’s Eve at B. B. King’s blues club in Times Square.

Mr. Sharpton said that Mr. Brown always knew his place in history.

“He used to tell me, ‘There are two American originals, Elvis and me,’ ” Mr. Sharpton said. “ ‘Elvis is gone, and I’ve got to carry on.’ ”