James Brown Honored in Harlem

By The Village Voice

Filed 12.28.06

Thousands of New Yorkers sang and danced in the cold Thursday to give James Brown a final goodbye. The Godfather of Soul died over Christmas at age 73. Early yesterday morning, a white carriage pulled by two horses brought Brown's body to the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

By noon, hundreds of visitors had arrived; thousands more would come before nightfall. Record stores along 125th Street blasted Brown's hard funk into the chill air. I stood in circle of people, watching a homeless woman flap her knees as we whooped and hollered. A man joined her, then another until we stopped watching, stepped in, and rode Brown's rhythms with our hips, grinning wildly.

(Click & Read on courtsey of The Village Voice)

Photo Captions & Credits: "Mourners for James Brown during services in Harlem, NY Thursday" by Cary Conover for The Village Voice