This just in....
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Godfather of Soul Brown dies at 73
Press Association
Monday December 25, 2006 9:58 AM
James Brown, the self-styled "Godfather of Soul", has died in hospital aged 73.
Brown was taken to the Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, in the US, on Sunday suffering from pneumonia and died early on Christmas Day morning, it was reported.
The agency quoted Brown's agent, Frank Copsidas, as confirming the news.
It is understood Brown died at around 6.45am on Monday with his close friend Charles Bobbit at his bedside. The exact cause of death has yet to be established.
Relatives of the popular funk and soul singer were being informed of the death.
Internationally acclaimed for his passionate stage performances and groundbreaking musical style, he recorded countless hits including (Get Up I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine and Out Of Sight.
No one at the hospital was available for comment on Monday.
Brown turned professional as a musician in 1953 and achieved popular success in the late 1950s. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he dominated the musical scene with his innovative new style of rhythm and blues.
He was known by a host of titles, often self-bestowed, which included Soul Brother Number One, Mr Dynamite, the Hardest-Working Man in Showbusiness, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, and Mr Please Please Please.
His fast-footed dancing, unique vocal style and creativity in combining musical genres earned him a place in rock history. He described himself as the inventor of soul, a claim challenged by fans of his contemporaries such as Ray Charles and Sam Cooke.
