USA: Thousands pack arena in Augusta to say farewell to James Brown

Civil rights leaders, entertainers and fans turned out in force on Saturday (December 30) at a funky funeral for James Brown, whose music and message embodied a generation of revolutionary change for black Americans. Even singer Michael Jackson made a rare public appearance, entering the funeral to massive applause as Brown's band, The Soul Generals, performed Brown's old hits to an overwhelmingly black crowd of 9,000. Brown's body lay in an open-topped golden coffin in front of the stage at the James Brown Arena, which was renamed in honor of Augusta's most famous native son in August. He died of congestive heart failure on Christmas Day at the age of 73. The legendary showman, known as the "Godfather of Soul," was dressed in a black suit and gloves with a ruby red shirt. Jewels sparkled on his lapels and the tips of his shoes. It was his third costume change in three days, CNN reported, following a private funeral on Friday and a viewing of his body at the Apollo Theater in New York the day before. Some fans said they had waited since 9 p.m. on Friday for the start of the public viewing of the body. Many more disappointed people crowded the outside of . Brown's music, with its staccato horns and guitars and his often explosive vocals, brought funk into the mainstream and has influenced pop and dance music since the 1960s. Hip-hop artists revered him and dozens have employed his beats as the backdrop to their own songs. Entertainers such as Jackson, who built their careers in part on their dancing, have drawn inspiration from Brown's style. The funeral started with a video of Brown's most recent concerts in London, followed by a rousing gospel set, and included a tribute by civil rights leader Al Sharpton. Sharpton invited Michael Jackson, who has spent little time in the United States since being acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005, on stage. "James Brown is my greatest inspiration," Jackson said, telling the crowd how his mother would wake him up at night so he could watch Brown on television. "I've never seen a performer perform like James Brown and I knew right then and there that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life," he said. Also on hand were civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, activist-comedian Dick Gregory and singer MC Hammer. Brown was born in South Carolina and grew up in poverty in Augusta, beginning his musical career while a juvenile offender in jail.

ITN Source | December 31, 2006

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