The Godfather of Soul...

[Greenhead22]

Legendary singer James Brown dies at 73

By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 1 minute ago

ATLANTA -
James Brown, the dynamic, pompadoured "Godfather of Soul," whose rasping vocals and revolutionary rhythms made him a giant of R&B and an inspiration for rap, funk and disco, died early Christmas morning. He was 73.
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Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia at Emory Crawford Long Hospital on Sunday and died around 1:45 a.m. Monday, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music.

Copsidas said the cause of death was uncertain. "We really don't know at this point what he died of," he said.

Along with
Elvis Presley,
Bob Dylan and a handful of others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolized him, and sometimes openly copied him. His rapid-footed dancing inspired
Mick Jagger and
Michael Jackson among others. Songs such as
David Bowie's "Fame," Prince's "Kiss," George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" and Sly and the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song" were clearly based on Brown's rhythms and vocal style.

"He was an innovator, he was an emancipator, he was an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown," entertainer Little Richard, a longtime friend of Brown's, told MSNBC. "A great treasure is gone."

If Brown's claim to the invention of soul can be challenged by fans of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, then his rights to the genres of rap, disco and funk are beyond question. He was to rhythm and dance music what Dylan was to lyrics: the unchallenged popular innovator.

"James presented obviously the best grooves," rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once told The Associated Press. "To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one's coming even close."

His hit singles include such classics as "Out of Sight," "(Get Up I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine," "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Say It Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud," a landmark 1968 statement of racial pride.

"I clearly remember we were calling ourselves colored, and after the song, we were calling ourselves black," Brown said in a 2003 Associated Press interview. "The song showed even people to that day that lyrics and music and a song can change society."

He won a Grammy award for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as
Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living In America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He was one of the initial artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with Presley,
Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.

He triumphed despite an often unhappy personal life. Brown, who lived in Beech Island, S.C., near the Georgia line, spent more than two years in prison for aggravated assault and failing to stop for a police officer. After his release in 1991, Brown said he wanted to "try to straighten out" rock music.

From the 1950s, when Brown had his first R&B hit, "Please, Please, Please" in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business" and often tried to prove it to his fans, said Jay Ross, his lawyer of 15 years.

Brown would routinely lose two or three pounds each time he performed and kept his furious concert schedule in his later years even as he fought prostate cancer, Ross said.

"He'd always give it his all to give his fans the type of show they expected," he said.

With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince.

[feather]

Bummer..he was the original wild thang

[Ducks be us]

Prayers Sent

[ducman77]

RIP

[KWAKHED]

Papa's got a brand new bag!!

[Don Miller]

A HUGE loss in the music world. He was a one of kind performer.

[Dogzeye]

Can I hit it and quit .... HAwwwwaaaaaa

[mudsucker]

"Papa don't take no mess!" and "Hotpants'! He was the hardest working man in show bidness! Rest my brother, rest!

[bonaire11]

he no longer feels good

[Hole Hunter]

Git up on tha good foot....haaaaa.
He was an original that is for sure. RIP

[sportsman450]

One a the funniest things I ever read in the paper was about the "Godfather" of soul.

He was in jail on a cocaine charge, and his sentence was fairly stiff if I recall. There was a group of democrats that were lobbying to have his sentence reduced. When axed what their grounds for a reduction of the sentence was, the answer was, and I quote, "Cause he gots SOOOOUL."