Jacko Appears at James Brown's Funeral

[RedGlitter]

Jackson tops bill at Brown's funeral encore

James Bone

Michael Jackson thrilled thousands of fans at James Brown’s funeral at the weekend by bending over the coffin and kissing “The Godfather of Soul on the forehead in a final farewell.

The reclusive pop star, who returned to America last week after 18 months in self-imposed exile after his acquittal on child molestation charges, topped the bill at the ceremony on Saturday in Brown’s home town of Augusta, Georgia. Wearing a black leather jacket and sunglasses, Jackson told the crowd of 8,500: “James Brown is my greatest inspiration, ever since I was a small child. He said that from the age of 6 his mother would make him watch TV whenever Brown came on.

NI_MPU('middle');“When I saw him move I was mesmerised, Jackson, 48, said. “I’ve never seen a performer perform like James Brown, and right then and there I knew that that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. James Brown, I shall miss you and I love you so much.

Anticipating criticism, the Rev Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist and close friend of Brown, delivered a staunch defence of the “King of Pop.

“I don’t care what the media says tonight, James Brown wanted Michael Jackson with him here today, he boomed.

“He said . . . ‘I love Michael’. He said: ‘Tell him don’t worry about coming home. They always scandalise those that have the talent. But tell him we need to clean up the music and I want Michael and all of them that imitated me to come back and lift the music back’. The Soul Generals, Brown’s backing band, performed while others — including his former back-up singer and mother of his youngest child, Tomi Rae Hynie — sang along. Brown’s body was laid out in a black suit and gloves and a ruby shirt — the third change of clothes for the famously flashy performer since his death on Christmas Day.