Family mourns in private

James Brown, always spectacular in life, transformed a little-known street in a poor North Augusta neighborhood into a grand boulevard Friday.

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Behind the dark blue Mercedes hearse that carried The Godfather of Soul's body in a golden casket, a motorcade of 15 limousines and cars lined the narrow street outside Carpentersville Baptist Church on Friday, where Mr. Brown's family had planned a small, private funeral at his daughter's church in North Augusta.

The magnitude of the crowd outside the plain brick building capped with a white steeple was nowhere near the reception he received in New York at the famed Apollo Theater a day earlier. But what was originally envisioned as an intimate affair still ended up inciting the kind of craze that often followed Mr. Brown during his life, with crowds of reporters and photographers jockeying to document the occasion.

With more than 300 mourners, including several celebrities, on hand to pay their respects, the Rev. Al Sharpton, a close confidante of Mr. Brown's, delivered a passionate eulogy at the funeral closed-off to most news media.

According to some in attendance, the Rev. Sharpton said Mr. Brown should be remembered for realizing the rags-to-riches dream. He also said he should be remembered for his impact on music and on the world, not for the many people who surrounded him, The Associated Press reported.

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

Leading up to the funeral, many of the guests arrived early, waiting for their friend to arrive.

The Tobin family, members of St. Peter's Baptist Church in Williston, S.C., where Mr. Brown also was a member, were some of the first to arrive at noon.

Ruth Tobin, 73, said she witnessed the baptism of Mr. Brown there decades ago. She said the two later served as each other's surrogate siblings, often confiding in each other over occasional lunches.

"It was nice to see him change his life over to the Lord," she said. "Since that night, we became close because he didn't have a sister and I didn't have a brother."

Mr. Brown's body arrived at 2:28 p.m., almost 90 minutes after the funeral was scheduled to begin.

Soon after the hearse arrived, pallbearers carried his casket about 100 yards to the front of the church as dozens of camera shutters chattered in the background.

Deacons dressed uniformly in baby blue ties and navy blue suits - usually only worn on the first Sunday of each month at the church - ushered the long line of mourners into the sanctuary. About 75 were left to stand in the church's courtyard while most of the news media was relegated to a parking lot across the street.

Most of the mourners were clad in traditional black clothing, but some dressed in bright colors and neon ties, mimicking the flair with which Mr. Brown dressed at his shows.

Wearing a lime green suit was Leon Austin, 72, one of Mr. Brown's childhood friends. Called a "peacock" by his wife, he said the service was one that his friend would have been proud of.

The funeral procession filed up to Mr. Brown's open casket lying beneath a painting of Jesus Christ walking on water, according to Charles Bobbit, Mr. Brown's road manager, who was at his bedside when Mr. Brown passed away Christmas morning in Atlanta.

Celebrities present included activist Dick Gregory, boxing promoter Don King and Stanley Burrell - better known as former rapper MC Hammer. Mr. King waved two miniature American flags and said he was there to honor "one of our fallen heroes."

During the service, the Rev. Sharpton also criticized people seeking the spotlight since Mr. Brown died of congestive heart failure at 73, The Associated Press reported.

"If you really are all that you say you are, you don't place yourself in the story, the story puts you in your place," said the Rev. Sharpton, who had accompanied Mr. Brown's body to New York and back. "We don't want to hear your story or your mess; we're here because of James Brown. The reason I am here is because I walked with James Brown."

While uttering the harsh words, he glanced in the direction of Tomi Rae Hynie Brown, who was sitting in the front row with her and Mr. Brown's 5-year-old son, James.

Mrs. Brown says her 2001 marriage to Mr. Brown is valid, but the Godfather's attorneys have said that the pair were not legally married.

Mrs. Brown arrived at the church in a Ford Taurus ahead of the family, who rode in about an hour later in limousines.

After the funeral at 4:50, the Rev. Sharpton, his Bible at his side, led the procession out of the church.

Mr. Brown's body was removed from the church shortly after 5 p.m. and would await the third and final day of farewells at C.A. Reid Funeral Home in Augusta, Mr. Bobbit said.

A public viewing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in downtown Augusta at the James Brown Arena. It will be followed by a 1 p.m. funeral service, where the Rev. Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson will speak, Mr. Bobbit said.

Interment plans for the Godfather are still unclear.

Mr. Bobbit said the body will likely remain in a temporary place for some time before being permanently buried.

"It'll probably be a lot like Elvis Presley," Mr. Bobbit said.

Before the arena opens to the public today, Richmond County deputies will do a security sweep with dogs. Mr. Brown's casket will be placed in front of a stage on the arena floor.

Arena staff has set up 1,008-cushioned folding chairs in three sections on the floor for family, dignitaries and celebrities. The seating arrangement has dignitaries in the section to the right of the stage, family in the middle and celebrities to the left. Not counting the reserved floor seats, the arena has a seating capacity of 8,100.

Black draping is covering the floor-level hockey rink boards for the Augusta Lynx, which has a game Sunday at 7 p.m. That will force workers to scramble after the funeral to remove the chairs and set up the ice for the game.

George Croft, the arena operations manager, said he expects the services to last until at least 3 p.m.

Expected to be part of the program is Mr. Brown's band, the Soul Generals, who did a run-through Friday night on the stage. Sitting in one of the empty floor seats was Marva Whitney, who was with Mr. Brown's touring group from 1967 to 1970. She said he referred to her as Soul Sister No. 1. She had come in from Kansas City to attend the funeral and said she was waiting to practice with the Soul Generals.

"He was a great mentor," said Ms. Whitney, whose 1969 hit, It's My Thing, was co-written and produced by Mr. Brown. "There's never going to be another one like him."

Mr. Croft said he expects a pretty amazing scene at the arena today.

"It's my hope that it's treated the way it's supposed to be treated - like a funeral - and not turned into a media frenzy," said Mr. Croft, the manager there since 1989. "It's also my hope that people who come here are not coming just to see who's here."

Associated Press reports were used in this article. Staff writer Mike Wynn contributed to this article.