Big Picture

Good Morning, Nicki! Plus, Daniel Radcliffe works his magic and Bruce Jenner blasts to the past. Get the latest pics!

MORE PHOTOS +

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.

Fashion Police

Michelle's Major Moment! Plus, Blake Lively and Salma Hayek. Rate the highs and lows!

MORE PHOTOS +

Top Galleries

MORE PHOTOS +

Our Partners

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.

A Private Goodbye to James Brown

Fri., Dec. 29, 2006 3:55 PM PST by Natalie Finn

James Brown always knew how to attract a crowd.

A day after thousands of mourning fans lined up to view the Godfather of Soul's body at Harlem's Apollo Theater, about 400 people showed up to pay their respects Friday during a private funeral service held in North Augusta, South Carolina.

Rev. Al Sharpton, who will also preside over a public memorial at the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia, on Saturday at 1 p.m., shared with the family and friends gathered at Carpentersville Baptist Church a memory he had about the late singer's faith in a higher power.

"I was born with nothing," Sharpton recalled Brown saying. "Nobody wanted me. Now heads of state ask me to come to their house for dinner. I used to pick cotton, and now I have the finest fabrics made for me.

"God brought me from nowhere, and when you think about where He has brought me, I can't be cool. I've got to scream!"

And howl, and croon, and writhe and dance, which is what he did for more than half a century, making him one of the all-time greatest live performers. It seemed as if everyone waiting in line Thursday to bid farewell to Brown at the Apollo had a story to tell, either about seeing the man in concert or having the chance to meet him in person.

"He's an icon and a legend. We will never forget James Brown the man, either. He was the only one who was able to bring calm to the [African-American] community enraged after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King," Rene Wright of Brooklyn told E! Online while standing outside the theater.

"When he started singing, we were sitting in the back of the bus. When he stopped singing we were flying Lear jets," Sharpton said in his eulogy Friday.

"The James Brown that I know, he started singing in the woods of South Carolina. What made James Brown so great was his commitment to a beat that some people tried to kill."

"One word is too much and 10 billion is not enough," comedian Dick Gregory said, trying to come up with the right way to describe Brown's impact. "He took a style and movement to the whole world. He took the black experience, raw and naked, and brought it as a crossover."

Brown died of congestive heart failure on Christmas Day in Atlanta. He was 73 and had been scheduled to perform over the upcoming holiday weekend.

"He was like a father figure to me," Parliament-Funkadelic bassist and frequent Brown collaborator Bootsy Collins told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He basically started my whole career. He taught me what was right and what wrong. I was wild—just like any long-haired sucker. But he kept me in line."

Also in attendance were Brown's partner, Tomi Raye Hynie, and their five-year-old son James, rapper MC Hammer and boxing promoter Don King, who walked into the small brick church right behind Brown's gold casket, which was driven down South from New York overnight. Far more celebrities are expected at tomorrow's public service.

About the scene at the Apollo, where Brown made his big-time debut in 1956, Sharpton said, "It was a mixture of pride and vindication. When I told people how big James Brown was, they didn't believe it. It was very emotional for me to see that many people come out."