US:Tributes to James Brown were led by US president George Bush and the rock and roll veteran Sir Mick Jagger last night, as the music world mourned the loss of its "Godfather of Soul".
The singer, who had been due to perform on New Year's Eve, died in hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, on Christmas Day at the age of 73 after being admitted with pneumonia. He had suffered heart failure.
His death sparked a huge outpouring of grief from his fans. President Bush called him "an American original", adding: "His fans came from all walks of life and backgrounds. James Brown's family and friends are in our thoughts and prayers this Christmas."
The Rolling Stones frontman said Brown's death was a "huge loss" to music, while other industry insiders praised him as a "one-of-a-kind, never-to-be-repeated star" and a "remarkable performer" who had an "absolutely phenomenal impact" on music.
All day, fans flocked to Brown's statue in his home town of Augusta, Georgia, to put flowers on its base, or left candles on the singer's star in Hollywood's Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. His friend and manager, Charles Bobbit, who was at his side when he died, called him a "true humanitarian who loved his country".
He had been himself to the end, at one point saying: "I'm going away tonight," said Mr Bobbit. "I didn't want to believe him."
Brown's daughter, Venisha, said she was touched by the tributes to her father.
"Y'all lost the Godfather of Soul, but I lost my father" she said.
"I know the whole world loved him just as much as we loved him, so we're not mourning by ourselves."
Brown was a huge force in the evolution of gospel, rhythm and blues, soul and funk, and will be recognised as one of the most influential figures in 20th century music.
Renowned for his shouting vocals, feverish dancing and unique rhythmic style, he began his professional music career in 1953. He shot to fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s on the strength of his live performances and a string of hits including Get Up (I Feel Like Being Like A) Sex Machine, Please Please Please and Say it Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud.
Brown was born in South Carolina in May, 1933. He was raised in poverty in Georgia, where he helped support his family by picking cotton in the nearby fields and shining shoes downtown.
After a brief stint as a boxer, Brown turned his energy towards music, where he would use the tricks he learnt in the ring in his stage shows and live performances.
Early success came with The Gospel Starlighters before they changed their name to The Famous Flames.
The group's first recording and single was Please, Please, Please. It was a huge hit.
Nearly all of the group's releases were written by Brown, who took primary control of the band and eventually began billing himself as a solo act, with The Famous Flames as his backing group.
Brown's arrangements and instrumentation began to give way to more improvisation and experimentation. He was still not successful nationally until his self-financed live show was captured on the LP Live At The Apollo in 1962.
The mid-1960s was the period of his greatest popular success with hits such as Papa's Got A Brand New Bag and I Got You (I Feel Good) and It's A Man's Man's Man's World.
In the 1970s his star began to wane, although one highlight was his 1974 performance in Zaire as part of the build-up to the "Rumble in the Jungle" fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
By the late 1980s, Brown met with a series of legal and financial setbacks and, during the 1990s and 2000s, he was repeatedly arrested for drug possession and domestic abuse.
On January 23rd, 1986, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York city, while, on November 14th, this year the singer was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.
Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a few others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years.