Michael Jackson News

Just like all the other devoted family, friends and fans in attendance, Michael Jackson had no problem talking about the way James Brown makes him feel.

The elusive pop star was one of more than 8,500 people who packed the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia, Saturday for a public "homegoing" service honoring the late, great Godfather of Soul. Speakers were set up outside the venue to accommodate the overflow crowd that wanted to listen in.

Making his first public appearance in the U.S. after a year and a half of living abroad, Jackson was invited by the Reverend Al Sharpton to address the crowd, which was obviously stirred by Jackson's arrival.

"James Brown is my greatest inspiration," the Thriller artist said, adding that, when he was a child, his mother would wake him up whenever the soulful singer was on television, no matter the hour.

"When I saw him move, I was mesmerized," said Jackson, whose signature Moonwalk was inspired by the cutting-edge moves of Brown. "I've never seen a performer perform like James Brown, and right then and there I knew that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

"James Brown, I shall miss you and I love you so much. Thank you for everything."

"I don't care what the media says tonight," explained Sharpton, who also officiated at the crowded public viewing of Brown's body at Harlem's Apollo Theater on Thursday and then again at a private ceremony Friday. "James Brown wanted Michael Jackson with him here today.

"He said,…'I love MIchael.' He said, 'Tell him don't worry about coming home. They always scandalize those that have the talent. But tell him we need to clean up the music and I want Michael and all of them that imitated me to come back and lift the music back.' "

Sharpton and Jackson shared a hug as Brown's latest backup band, the Soul Generals, started to play. They delighted the crowd, who stood up and danced in the aisles, with hits such as "Soul Power," "I Feel Good" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World."

Brown, lying in the gold coffin that will be his final resting place, was decked out in a black jacket and gloves, a red shirt and sequined shoes.

"We come to thank God for James Brown, because only God could have made a James Brown possible," Sharpton said.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson, MC Hammer and Bootsy Collins also paid tribute to Brown, with Collins sitting in on bass and Hammer dancing during the Soul Generals' rendition of "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine." After that tune was over, in a salute to Brown's in-concert routine, his famous shiny cape was laid across the casket.

"I can hear Mr. Brown now," Charles Bobbitt, Brown's longtime manager, said. "He's saying, 'St. Peter…I don't deal with the middle man. Take me to the main man.' "

A private burial followed the service.

Late Saturday night, the Soul Generals showed up at the Soul Bar, a downtown Augusta nightclub, for an impromptu jam session dedicated to their departed frontman.

"We are talking about the possibility of continuing as a tribute band," trumpet player Hollie Farris, who played with Brown for 26 years, told the Tribune news service "But we don't want to be like an Elvis impersonation band. We want to honor him and carry on his legacy."