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Please, please, please let James Brown rest in peace

Feb 28, 2007, 06:00 AM | by Joshua Rich

Categories: Music

Brown_l_1 Good morning, PopWatchers! News flash for you: James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, is still dead! Not that I'm making light of that by any means — it still makes me super sad. But I'm made even more depressed by the fact that the music icon still hasn't been allowed to rest in peace. If you haven't been keeping track (perhaps you've been focusing on all that Anna Nicole noise), here's a quick summary: Brown passed away more than two months ago, and yet, thanks to all sorts of legal wrangling and paternity and DNA issues, he still hasn't been buried! Madness! I mean, we all know he was the hardest working man in show business, but that's gotta end sometime, right? When he stops, you know, living is probably a good time to call it a day, don'tchathink?

Look, this is a very serious matter. The whole scenario greatly disrespects the dearly departed and runs the risk of tumbling into a Ted Williams-esque farce. Which nobody wants. Sure, the baseball player's post-mortem cryogenic history will never tarnish his on-the-field legacy, but it comes close — it adds an unfortunate little footnote to his biography. Same goes for Brown, whose legend is, we hope, secure. It's just that, while the music left behind by some of our biggest stars ought to withstand the circuses surrounding their deaths (think: Gram Parsons), it's a shame we have to go down that road again.

cfsea ukibsrd Sun, Feb 24, 2008 at 09:09 PM EST

dkzypgl yparwdosn jeqdsiwh dhymt saplq hketq nhrwu

Sat, Mar 10, 2007 at 11:15 PM EST

Sally, you do realize that you're killing the environment in burning your soulless corpse. How human of you to have your last act on earth be as a consumer of fossil fuels. Shame on you.

furry_tom Wed, Feb 28, 2007 at 06:19 PM EST

RE: Had he been a responsable person while alive, he could have rested in peace.
So could Lenin and Walt Disney's cryogenically frozen head.

Lilly Wed, Feb 28, 2007 at 03:22 PM EST

Had he been a responsable person while alive, he could have rested in peace right after his death. Same goes for Anna Nicole Smith.

Joe C Wed, Feb 28, 2007 at 12:16 PM EST

This is America, dude; nothing should surprise you anymore.

Anna Wed, Feb 28, 2007 at 11:31 AM EST

Cremation wouldn't have helped this situation. He hasn't been laid to rest because he failed to legally marry his wife and now she needs his dna to prove that her son is his so they don't end up living on the street. None of this should be surprising. He was kind of a jerk when he was alive so it kind of makes sense that he would leave things like this.

Ep Sato Wed, Feb 28, 2007 at 10:03 AM EST

It seems part of Brown's legacy somehow. A man who just won't quit even after death seems cool in my book. Now, if he starts releasing records for the next decade like Tupac did, I'm going to go ape poopie!

David Wed, Feb 28, 2007 at 09:05 AM EST

Oh HELL, I misread the headline...and suddenly thought we were talking about Whitney's Ex Husband. PopWatch, don't scare me like that!

Nancy Walker Wed, Feb 28, 2007 at 08:51 AM EST

I loved James Brown,grew up listening to his music. And I wish he would have been buried quickly. The problem with playing the field brings things into question-like paternity. Perhaps he denied some of his children, never bothered to take a paternity test while alive. When a person is dead, there is no say in what happens afterward. Wills need to be complete and accurate.

Sally Wed, Feb 28, 2007 at 07:39 AM EST

That's why people should be cremated. This is absolutely insane and James should have put it in his will, I want to buried IMMEDIATELY.

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