James Joseph Brown, commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" and "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business", died on December 25, 2006 at approximately 1:45 a.m. from congestive heart failure resulting from complications of pneumonia at the Emory Crawford Long Hospital in...
James Joseph Brown, commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" and "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business", died on December 25, 2006 at approximately 1:45 a.m. from congestive heart failure resulting from complications of pneumonia at the Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, with his agent Frank Copsidas and his friend Charles Bobbit at his bedside.
According to Bobbit, Brown uttered "I'm going away tonight," and then Brown took three long, quiet breaths and closed his eyes. James Joseph Brown is recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music.
He was renowned for his shouting vocals, feverish dancing and unique rhythmic style. In addition to his acclaim in music, Brown was a presence in American political affairs during the 1960s and 1970s, noted especially for his activism on behalf of fellow African Americans and the poor. During the early 1980s, Brown's music helped to shape the rhythms of early hip-hop music, with many groups looping or sampling his funk grooves and turning them into what became hip hop classics and the foundations of this music genre.