Celebrities and 8,500 fans crowded into an arena in Augusta, Ga., for the public funeral of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown.
Saturday's event ended a three-day farewell for Brown, who died of heart failure on Christmas morning at an Atlanta hospital. The 73-year-old singer had been hospitalized for pneumonia the day before.
The body of singer James Brown lies in a casket surrounded by flowers at the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Ga., on Saturday.
(Jeff Christensen/Associated Press)
Michael Jackson and the Rev. Jesse Jackson were among the mourners who filed past Brown's casket. They sat and watched a video of Brown's last performance in Augusta and his final concert in London, where he performed a version of Ray Charles's Georgia On My Mind.
Brown lay in front of the arena's bandstand dressed in a black jacket and gloves, red shirt and sequined shoes.
"James Brown is my greatest inspiration," said Michael Jackson to the crowd. Jackson said his mother would wake him up whenever Brown was on TV.
"When I saw him move, I was mesmerized," Jackson said. "I knew that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, because of James Brown."
Thousands of fans lined up in the rain before dawn to enter the building at 1 p.m. local time. Hundreds were left outside to listen to the service broadcast on speakers.
Inside, singers and dancers paid tribute to the man who called himself "the hardest-working man in show business."
A band blasted out Brown's hits, including I Feel Good and It's a Man's Man's Man's World for the mourners who clapped, cheered and danced in the aisles.
'So inspirational'On Thursday, thousands of fans celebrated the funk and soul pioneer at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem. His body was then transferred to North Augusta, S.C., near Augusta. Family and close friends — including boxing promoter Don King and comedian Dick Gregory — held a private memorial at a small church on Friday.
Rev. Al Sharpton, left, Michael Jackson and Rev. Jesse Jackson watch performances during the funeral for singer James Brown.
(Todd Bennett/Associated Press)
"When he started singing, we were sitting in the back of the bus," said Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered the eulogy on Friday and once toured with Brown. "When he stopped singing, we were flying Lear jets."
"He was a God-sent person, almost like an angel," said Vickie Greene, who drove with her husband and grandson on Saturday to attend the funeral at the James Brown Arena.
"He was so inspirational to people about sharing and helping and giving," added Greene, who went to her first Brown concert 30 years ago.
The singer, whose hits include I Got You (I Feel Good) and Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, is credited for bringing a unique and lively brand of funk to the world when he first performed at the Apollo in 1956.
A fan holds a picture of James Brown as his body passes en route to the Apollo Theater in New York on Thursday, where Brown's body was on view for the public.
(Kathy Willens/Associated Press)
Brown went on to record the landmark hit album, Live at the Apollo, in 1962. His style of music is considered a major influence in many genres ranging from dance to hip hop.
As a leading black artist, Brown is also revered as an icon of black rights.
" 'I'm black and I'm proud' was the most influential black slogan of the 1960s," said fan Maynard Eaton, who organized a bus tour from Atlanta to Augusta, referring to Brown's 1968 song, Say It Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud.
City honours BrownBrown was born in Barnwell, S.C.,in 1933, but later appeared in Augusta singing on street corners. The singer had a spotty past, committing petty crimes and spending time in reform school. He was also convicted of various drug-related and driving offences.
Always proud of what he considered his hometown, Brown instituted an annual turkey giveaway providing meals for more than 1,000 families at Christmas as well as a toy drive for hundreds of poor children.
The city named a street James Brown Boulevard in 1993 and erected a statue of the performer at a park last year.
Brown was scheduled to perform on New Year's Eve at New York's Times Square. His agent, Frank Copsidas, confirmed that the singer's 11-member funk band will continue to tour.
Bassist Fred Thomas said Brown continued to push himself on stage, despite his deteriorating health from the effects of heart disease and diabetes. He was still performing about 100 times a year.
Brown's numerous honours include being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 1992 as well as a 2003 Kennedy Center Honour.
"I can hear Mr. Brown now," said Charles Bobbitt, Brown's
tour manager, who was with him when he died. "He's saying 'St. Peter … I don't deal with the middle man. Take me to the main man.' "
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