I hope that at some point while attempting recussitation, someone in the hospital yelled at him to GET UP! Get on up!"
No insult or disrespect intended. James Brown was an entertainer, and his job was to bring joy. He was good at it. He was an ecstatic singer, so let his passing be marked with ecstatic song; remembering him with mawkish weeping would be an insult.
Good run, sir. Get on out with your bad self.
Notwithstanding the whole stage routine, he never developed the 'star personality'. I ran into him about ten years ago in Burbank. He was in town for the Tonight show, and had gone out to dinner, and there he sat, in a Popeye's Chicken franchise, munching away and goofing with passing fans. Quite a character.
Nice thoughts, R.O.E.
Get on up on your good foot!