It turns out James Brown was more prolific than we knew. DNA tests have confirmed that Brown had at least two more children than he publicly acknowledged. Brown’s lawyers had at least a dozen people who claimed to be his children DNA tested, and at least two of the tests have come back as positive. Several tests were negative and several are still pending, so the number could rise. Brown’s lawyers did not identify the children, but one came forward to the Augusta Chronicle.

“LaRhonda Petitt, a 45-year-old retired flight attendant and teacher in Houston, showed the newspaper a report that says there is a 99.99 percent probability she is Brown’s daughter.

“She would be the oldest of Brown’s children.

“Brown picked out Petitt’s mother from the crowd at a show in Los Angeles in the early 1960s, and she became the singer’s girlfriend, sometimes ironing his shirts before his shows, Petitt said.

“But when her mother became pregnant, she split with Brown and moved back to Houston. She would point to the television when Brown was performing and tell her daughter the singer was her father, Petitt told the newspaper.

“Petitt said that she met Brown at concerts and spoke to him over the phone, but that he never acknowledged being her father.

“’I was angry that he was out there making all this money, and he wasn’t doing anything for my mother and me,’ Petitt told the newspaper. ‘I could have had a better life.’”

[From the Associated Press]

James Brown died this past Christmas at age 73. His will listed his six acknowledged adult children. It did not mention his six-year-old son James Brown II with sort-of wife Tomi Rae Hynie. The two were married; however the marriage wasn’t legal because Hynie wasn’t divorced from her previous husband at the time. She did finalize her divorce proceedings, but she and Brown never legally formalized their marriage after that. Apparently Brown had serious doubts as to the paternity of James Brown II, and that may have been the reason he was not provided for in his will.

“One possible child of Brown’s who hasn’t undergone a DNA test is 6-year-old James Brown II, the son of Tomi Rae Hynie. Hynie was one of Brown’s backup singers and said she is the singer’s fourth wife. But Brown’s attorneys continue to dispute that claim, and the boy and his mother are not in the singer’s will.

“In court papers filed in recent weeks, [Buddy] Dallas [Brown’s attorney] said Brown told him that James II was not his child and that instead of calling him ‘son,’ he referred to him as ‘little man.’”

[From the Washington Post]

A lot of drama is still going on regarding James Brown’s will. The six adult children filed a lawsuit against his estate’s representatives asking the court to remove them and appoint a special administrator. They accused them of “impropriety and alleged mismanagement of Brown’s assets.” Tomi Rae Hynie also filed a lawsuit to identify her as Brown’s widow, and reiterating the adult children’s request that the court assign a special administrator for the estate. Brown is not even in his final resting place yet; he’s been temporarily buried at one of his children’s estates. It’s amazing how many lawyers this man employed; he had wills for his children and grandchildren which dealt with his personal belongings, and separate trusts to deal with his business holdings and licenses for his songs. He had an army of professionals working for him, yet it appears that he left a lot of loose ends. Hopefully this mess will get resolved and the man can finally be put to rest.

Images thanks to PRPhotos.

James Brown’s embalmed body remains unburied and is in his gold sealed casket in an “undisclosed” location amid questions over who will inherit his fortune, and presumably who has control over the body. His South Carolina mansion was locked shortly after his death by the trustees of his will, his lawyer and accountant, who locked out his last partner and sort-of wife, Tomi Rae and her five year-old son with Brown. Tomi Rae was finally allowed to enter the home she shared with Brown after a judge ordered that she could retreive personal items. She was let into the estate on Friday accompanied by the trustees of the will and three of Brown’s adult children. She left with clothing and items belonging to her son.

James Brown’s long term butler, who probably needed the money after he lost his job, has told The Enquirer that Tomi Rae, 36, was deliberately snubbed by Brown in the will because he thought she was gay. He says it broke Brown’s heart that his wife liked women more than him, and that she was having an affair with one of his female backup singers:

In an astonishingly candid interview, Roosevelt Johnson – Brown’s close companion and personal valet for 40 years – claims the singer died with a broken heart because his marriage was a sham.

Johnson claims that it was Brown’s belief that his last wife Tomi Rae had sex with women – and was having an affair with one of his backup singers…

“People in James’ entourage knew there was something going on between Tomi Rae and Candice. I even saw them kiss on the lips in a dressing room.”

Despite Tomi Rae’s supposed sexual preference and the embarassment it caused him, James did not want to lose her, says Johnson.

“But he told me: ‘She wants me to remarry her. I never will. She’s a lesbian. And I’m cuttig her out of my will, too.’”

[From The National Enqurier print edition, January 19, 2007]

When questioned, the backup dancer Candice told The Enquirer she was gay but said nothing happened with Tomi Rae. Candice did say that she heard Brown call Tomi Rae a lesbian all the time. Rae also denied an affair with Candice.

Brown’s butler Johnson said “There’s no question that’s why he would not legitimize their marriage and why he left her nothing at his death.”

I read that Brown’s will was drawn up before he “married” Tomi Rae and that she was not deliberately snubbed, but it could be true that Brown suspected she was gay but stuck by her anyway.

The Enquirer ran a story in an older edition, I think it was the January 15 print date, showing Tomi Rae out singing karaoke with her friend right after Brown’s funeral. I didn’t mention it as maybe she just needed to blow off steam after the sad event.

James Brown seems to be just as controversial in (recent) death as he was in his very eventful life. The godfather of soul is laid out resting peacefully in his Georgia mansion, where his live-in girlfriend was immediately barred from entering after he died. It seems like his legal vultures are contesting the estate and that no one has jurisdiction over his body yet.

He’s being kept in a guarded climate-controlled environment that sounds quite creepy:

Two weeks after James Brown, 73, died of heart failure, problems concerning his estate, his will and his resting place, are still unsolved. An attorney for the singer said they will all be handled in “due course.”

According to Charles Reid, manger of the C.A. Reid Funeral Home in Augusta, Ga., which handled the services, the soul singer’s body was taken back to his Beech Island home where it lays locked in a casket. Reid also said the room’s temperature is controlled and kept safe by security guards.

The house has been sealed since shortly after his death. His attorney said the move was necessary as a protection measure for his memorabilia, clothing and other items.

It’s mean to bar a man’s partner and the mother of his child from entering her house just so you can get a bigger cut of the memorabilia profits. She seems to be coping with the help of pharmaceuticals.

Meanwhile a rape case against Brown may still go to trial. A woman is fighting the statute of limitations on rape cases and is trying to proceed with a lawsuit that charges Brown with raping her 20 years ago. She says it’s too bad she won’t be able to face him in court, but that she is filing a case against his organization. Her case was rejected in court last year due to the time elapsed since the supposed incident.

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, died in an Atlanta hospital on Christmas morning at the age of 73. He died of heart failure brought on by pneumonia. Brown had diabetes and also suffered from prostate cancer which was in remission.

His death was unexpected and he was scheduled to play in BB King’s Blues Club in NY this New Years. Until he took a turn for the worse, his doctor told him he could make the performance. He was accompanied at the hospital by his close friend, Charles Bobbit.

Mr. Copsidas [Brown's rep] told The Associated Press that doctors do not know what caused the pneumonia, only that Mr. Brown’s illness was discovered by his dentist during a recent appointment in Atlanta. Mr. Brown had diabetes, and he also had prostate cancer that was in remission, Mr. Bobbit said.

Mr. Brown initially seemed to be fine when he was in the hospital and had even told people that he planned to be back on stage for the New Year’s Eve performance, Mr. Copsidas said.

Mr. Bobbit said Mr. Brown grew progressively worse as time passed.

“He had a cold and cough for some time, but he started coughing bad in the last few days,” Mr. Bobbit said.

He added, “The doctor we spoke to that was treating him said we could not do the first couple of shows but that there was a possibility if he got much better and could handle it we could be at B.B. King’s for the New Year’s Eve show,” Mr. Bobbit said.

Brown was from Augusta, Georgia and is known for his good works in his hometown. He gave out Turkeys every Thanksgiving and was just at his 15th annual Christmas present giveaway last Friday. The mayor expressed shock that he had passed away as he seemed fine during the charity event.

James Brown had 98 hits on the R&B top 40 singles chart, well more than any other artist. His career spans five decades and his unique hip-swaying funk style has influenced music of all genres. In the late 80s, hip hop artists started sampling James Brown and his work was seminal in early rap hits like Eric B and Rakim’s “I Know you Got Soul,” and Kid ‘n Play’s “Rolling with Kid ‘n Play.” James Brown was sampled extensively on the Public Enemy album “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.”

Many funk stars including Bootsy Collins and Maceo Parker got their start in Brown’s band.

Unfortunately Brown’s reputation as a humanitarian and the hardest working man in showbusiness is overshadowed by his personal problems. As a troubled orphan, he spent three years in a juvenile correctional home after he was caught stealing clothes out of cars at the young age of 15. He later served two years in prison out of a six year sentence when he was convicted of beating his wife with a pipe and shooting at her car in 1988. He took police on a two state car chase in September, 1988, and was charged with carrying an unlicensed weapon and assaulting an officer.

In death Brown is no less controversial. His lawyer and accountant are said to have instructed his security staff to padlock the gate on his Beech Island, South Carolina mansion, barring his widow, Tomi Rae Brown from entering. Tomi’s name is not on the deed to the home, and she says she has no money and nowhere else to go. She claims that Brown’s lawyer and accountant have “been robbing from him all of his life and they’ll do it in death.” Tomi Rae, a backup singer, is Brown’s fourth wife and is the mother of their five year-old son. Brown has three six children from his prior marriages.

While Brown is said to have passed at the age of 73, some people believe he is older. His real age is unknown as he was not born in a hospital and was raised by his aunt in a Georgia brothel after his mother died in childbrith.

Here’s a segment of Brown singing “A Man’s World”

A compilation of his performances:

And his most recognized song, “I Feel Good”

I was playing James Brown’s music while writing this post and my two year old song was dancing and smiling. RIP James Brown, your work will influence countless generations of musicians.

Pictures from the Augusta Chronicle.