The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, died Christmas morning at the age of 73. After seeing a top 10 single every year from 1959 to 1976 except for 1967, Brown set records and standards for many genres of music to follow.
The New York Times wrote in his obituary that “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.”
After a routine dental appointment showed sever pneumonia, Brown was hospitalized and died two days later of heart failure, said his agent Frank Copsidas. He had been treated successfully in 2004 for prostate cancer and had diabetes, but was spending his time performing.
Brown’s most recent tour, “7 Decades of Funk World Tour” was to kick off New Years Eve weekend with shows in New York and New Jersey. The 2007 tour was scheduled through August. Billboard.com reports that Brown was the hardest working man in show biz right to the end, telling friends from his hospital bed that he would be in Times Square for New Year’s Eve.
"I ain't got the same energy," Brown had told the New York Post a week earlier as he discussed his planned tour, "but I'm sharper. Father Time, knowledge and prayer -- I pray a lot," Brown had said.
The late 80s were not the best of times for Brown, who spent nearly three years in a South Carolina prison for aggravated assault and failing to stop for a police officer, according to the NY Times. Brown had been in and out of the tabloids for drug related drama as well as domestic disturbance issues throughout his life.
Most recently his estate has made headlines as the mother of his five-year-old son, Tomi Rae Brown, has been denied entry to the Beach Island, SC home. The two were married in 2001, but it was later discovered that she was married to another man in Texas. Even after the previous marriage was annulled, the two never remarried. Brown left his estate in a trust for his sons, including five others from previous marriages.
The two Browns have had problems in the past, as James pled guilty to domestic violence charges for pushing Tomi to the floor and threatening to kill her, according to People.com. Brown was fined $1,388 for the incident.
He joins his contemporary Ray Charles who also died at age 73, and who had been touring right until the end as well. One of the first to be inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame at the opening ceremony, James Brown’s influence will be felt for decades to come.
