Godfather of Soul Dead

ATLANTA (Reuters) - James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," whose voice, showmanship and bold rhythms brought funk into the mainstream and influenced a generation of black music, died on Christmas morning at age 73.

Brown died of congestive heart failure at 1:45 a.m. (0645 GMT) on Monday at Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, his lawyer Joel Katz told a news conference.

Brown went to a dentist last week, who noticed him coughing and recommended he see a doctor. He was admitted on Saturday with severe pneumonia.

"He was having pain before, but then the pain went away and he told me 'I'm going away tonight,"' Charles Bobbit, Brown's personal manager and longtime friend, told reporters.

"I didn't believe him," he said, adding that Brown died quietly soon after.

Brown was one of America's great showmen and band leaders. He created a revolutionary sound that mixed funky rhythms and staccato horns behind his own often explosive vocals.

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