Pitchfork

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul and the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, died early this morning in Atlanta, Georgia, the Associated Press reports. He was 73 years old.

Brown was hospitalized yesterday for pneumonia, though his agent told the AP that it was unclear at this time what, exactly, was the cause of death.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson, Brown's longtime friend, told the Associated Press, "He was dramatic to the end-- dying on Christmas Day. Almost a dramatic, poetic moment. He'll be all over the news all over the world today. He would have it no other way."

One of the most influential figures in rock'n'roll history, James Brown helped invent the soul, funk, modern r&b, and hip-hop genres, with top 10 hits in four decades and an unparalleled live show. He kept performing until the very end, and was scheduled to play in New York City on New Year's Eve.

James Brown: "I Feel Good"

James Brown was born in 1933 in Barnwell, South Carolina. He joined his first group, which would become the Famous Flames, in the 1950s, and scored his first hit with "Please, Please, Please" in 1956.

In the early 1960s, Brown began to develop his signature lean, hard-driving funk sound. Hits like "Night Train" and "Prisoner of Love" were followed by the landmark 1963 live album Live at the Apollo, which captured Brown at his ferocious onstage best. Throughout the rest of the decade, Brown honed his sound into an unstoppable machine and boosted his reputation as a revolutionary figure with smashes like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)", " It's a Man's Man's Man's World", "Cold Sweat", " Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud", and "Mother Popcorn".

His streak continued through the early-to-mid 1970s, with such hits as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being Like A) Sex Machine", "Make It Funky", "Soul Power", "King Heroin", and "Get on the Good Foot". In 1974, he released The Payback, the biggest-selling album of his career.

Brown's success waned in the late 1970s and most of the 1980s, but there were bright spots: a role in the blockbuster 1980 film The Blues Brothers, a hit with "Living in America" in 1986, and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that same year.

Although the final two decades of his life were occasionally marked by marital and legal troubles, Brown's status as an icon only grew. His music has been sampled countless times, and his sonic signature left its imprint on all that would come after.

The man may be gone, but as long as there is rock'n'roll, James Brown will live on.

[Photo: The Associated Press]