The "Godfather" of Soul is dead

James Brown singer and songwriter has died today December 25 at the age of 73 after being admitted to the Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta suffering with pneumonia. Brown first became aware that he was seriously ill when he visited his dentist at the weekend.

Brown was responsible for both key moments in soul music's evolution: being at the birth of both R&B and funk, earning him the name "The Godfather of Soul". Subsequently, he became one of the most sampled artists by a new generation of rappers and producers.

Brown was given the BET Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. He won a Grammy award for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living In America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He was one of the initial artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.

After his death Brown leaves his fourth wife Tommie Raye Hynie, whom he remarried in 2004. The couple had a son, James Jr, and Brown also has five children from his first two marriages.

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