"The Godfather of Soul", aka "The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business," James Joseph Brown, died on Christmas Day of 2006 after he was hospitalized over the weekend to treat his severe pneumonia. The African American entertainer was taken to the Emory Crawford Long Hospital on Sunday to get treatment for pneumonia and died early Monday at about 1:45 a.m.

James Brown had a hard start in life. Born in a poor family, in the small town of Barnwell, South Carolina in the Great Depression-era, he soon became involved in petty crime. Brown was sent to a juvenile detention centre in 1948 after being convicted of robbery. It was in prison he made the acquaintance of musician Bobby Byrd, a long-time friend and collaborator whose influence is credited with Brown turning his energies towards music.

His agent, Frank Copsidas, said his old friend, Charles Bobbit was by his side when it happened. Regarding the cause of death, Copsidas said "We really don't know at this point what he died of." "On Friday he had his toy giveaway, which is his annual toy giveaway in Augusta, Georgia. On Saturday, he went to his dentist up in Atlanta, and his dentist told him something was wrong, and he sent him to a doctor immediately," Copsidas explained.

James Brown first found success with the group The Famous Flames and had a Top 10 hit in 1956 with Please Please Please. In later years his style developed from the more straightforward gospel influence of this early era into the more rhythmic sound that was to become his trademark, notes DPA.

One of the founding fathers of soul and funk music, Brown was a seminal stylistic influence who laid the foundations for many modern genres including disco and hip-hop. Classic compositions included Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, It's a Man's Man's Man's World, and Get Up (I Feel Like Being Like A) Sex Machine.

His 1968 hit Say it Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud) became a civil rights anthem and in the '90s his records were heavily sampled by rap and hip-hop artists. He also played a preacher in the 1980 hit movie, The Blues Brothers.

Brown recorded 119 charting singles and over 50 albums. He won a Grammy award for Lifetime Achievement in 1992 as well as Grammys in 1965 and 1987. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

His career was, however, not without controversy, as he battled drug and alcohol addiction, and was arrested numerous times on charges of hitting his third wife, Adrienne. However, he spoke out on civil rights when not all performers were doing that. He presented himself impeccably on a stage and he personified hard work. He was also an outspoken supporter of Richard Nixon.

The singer also made headlines in 1988 after a drug-fuelled incident that culminated in a cross-state police chase. Brown received a six-year prison sentence but was released on parole in 1991 after 15 months in prison, after which he returned to the global stage.

Brown was married four times. He and his last wife, Tommie Raye Hynie, were married in 2002, but the marriage was later annulled. They remarried in 2004 and had one child together. Brown also had two children by his first wife, Velma Warren, and three more by his second, Deidre Jenkins. His eldest son Teddy died in a car crash in 1973, according to Wikipedia.

At the end of his life James Brown lived in a riverfront home in Beech Island, South Carolina, directly across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia.

In 2004, Brown underwent surgery for treatment of prostate cancer. The treatment was successful, and Brown spent his final years largely on the road, on his "Seven Decades Of Funk World Tour." At the time, he described how he planned to carry on as a performer, saying: "Everyone's got soul, whether it's talking, hip-hop, rap, gospel. We've gotta just stay with whatever we do." "I don't wanna change, because then I'd have to name myself Sam Smith or Ted Wright or somebody. I'm going to be James Brown."