Ah, crap.
He was clearly crazy as a loon. His decline both creatively and personally was pretty decisive. And I'm sure that if you knew him, he was an absolute son of a bitch.
But he more or less invented soul, defined cool, and had to be a superhero of some kind 'cause he not only got away with wearing a cape but looked so damn good in it.
And if there's any doubt as to how relevant he remains, my eight-year-old nephew Jed, who was raised in a home that was not especially hip nor worldly, kept running up to the DJ at a bar mitzvah we were at. Thinking he was playing a game, I asked him what he was doing. He told me, "I'm asking for JAMES BROWN!" And sure enough, the DJ announced, somewhat bemused, "This is for Jed." And he played "Sex Machine." And the 13 year olds, and the 30 year olds, and the 60 year olds all went wild.
So long, Godfather.
