Brown, who died in an Atlanta, Georgia hospital on Christmas Day due to heart failure, was laid in a golden casket and drawn up 125th street by two white horses.
Onlookers filled the sidewalk along the avenue and pressed against the barricades, trying to steal a final glimpse of the casket as the procession passed by. A storefront next to the theater blasted Brown's hit songs from two speakers positioned outside, while some fans imitated the late singer's energetic dance moves.
Once inside, the casket was positioned on the Apollo stage under a red and white floral arrangement around a sign that read "Godfather". Brown's body was dressed in a shiny blue suit.
Visitors who came to see Brown formed a line outside the theater that stretched around all four corners of the large city block.
Al Sharpton, who considered the singer his surrogate father, stood on stage beside the body, consoling visitors who were allowed three minutes to take photos and pay their final respects. When asked about Brown's death at the age of 73,Sharpton remarked to VIBE, "I'm not even here right now. This is my father."
VIBE's Tribute coverage to the late, great James Brown includes:
- A Slideshow
- A Video Tribute site featuring classic James Brown performances from the Ed Sullivan Show, with Aretha, and more - check it out!
VIBE has also created a special James Brown playlist - featuring some of the Godfather's greatest jams:
You can also comment on the passing of James Brown on our comment boards:
tell us YOUR opinion of what the Godfather's legacy will be.
Please check back with VIBE.com throughout the day and week for more on the passing of a music legend.
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Comments
1.
princess says:
there has been WAY much more coverage of James Brown here than there has the president!!!! we cant turn on the tv without seeing something about James Brown. If any of you bothered to watch the funeral you would have seen that there were many celibrities there to pay their respect in Augusta. that was his hometown & his final resting place so why not go there?
December 30, 2006 at 7:42 pm
2.
DEE says:
Do you really know how much myself and others are devastated by his loss?? I don't think the media has done a good job in covering this especially in Wisconsin where I am from, of course the white man would up and die and try to upstage him AS USUAL. There is a whole in my heart for the Godfather, for luther for barry for gerald and as far as I am concerned there will never be another one like him nor any of the others! I love him to death
December 29, 2006 at 11:08 am
3.
Debra Erwin says:
I agree with beleeedat. Why is there no extensive press coverage for the Godfather? He was more of a national symbol than Gerald Ford ever was (no disrespect to the President). Not only that, I want to know why the Godfather's peers did not show up at the Apollo? I'm talking about cats like Little Richard, BB King, Sly Stone, Mick Jagger, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, the Ohio Players, War, Mandrill, and some of the youngbloods whose careers are rooted in the Godfather's music like MC Hammer, Snoop Doog, Nas, Michael Jackson and Usher? These cats ought to give this great man the props he deserves. They would not be where they are today but for the Godfather's music. Rest in peace, Mr. Brown. Heaven will be a better place with your soul in it.
December 28, 2006 at 8:40 pm
4.
beleedat says:
OK, here's my question: why did the press give President Gerald Ford's death way more coverage than James Brown's death?
Fact: James Brown kicked waaaaaay more ass than Gerald Ford ever did. And a lot more people idolized James Brown. No diss to the ex-President. Just keeping it real.
December 28, 2006 at 6:15 pm