CNN NEWSROOM

Ceremonies for James Brown

Aired December 30, 2006 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. We have to move on this afternoon. Thank you. Thank you so kindly.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You know, you take in the scene at the James Brown Arena, and it really is as if the man was on stage with so many of these musicians. Christopher John Farley with "The Wall Street Journal," music editor there. Did you see MC Hammer making those moves on stage?

CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY, MUSIC EDITOR, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Well, you know, mc hammer is a guy that's acknowledged in the press that he got a lot of his moves from James Brown, so it seems that, you know, this is the big payback. He's out there showing James Brown his moves, what he learned from him one last time in front of the people that knew James Brown best and loved him the most. So it was entirely appropriate. I see they tried to coax Michael Jackson on stage there as well.

LIN: I don't think that was did go to happen. Do you?

FARLEY: That looked like that was a nonstarter. But Hammer he's always ready, willing, available to dance. He showed us some moves right there.

LIN: And a live picture of Tomi Rae, James Brown's companion, maybe his wife somewhat in dispute standing at the edge of the stage staring down at a man that she, who fathered her child, a 5-year-old boy. The thoughts that must be running through her mind and perhaps even the controversy of this picture as family members look on as well.

Christopher, that moment a very personal moment for Tomi Rae. And you could hear people shouting from the gallery for her to get off the stage.

FARLEY: Yes. Well, a very rough time for her. She's someone who was allegedly locked out of her home. She's someone who's in a dispute about whether she was actually, actually had a legal marriage to James Brown and yet and she's called upon here to celebrate his -- to publicly mourn, to publicly celebrate. So she must be going through a lot of different emotions. We saw some of those on display right there on the stage with her, with her companion of more than five years, James Brown.

LIN: Christopher, you look into the audience there. I've mentioned Reverend Al Sharpton, Reverend Jesse Jackson, pop star Michael Jackson; all of them pretty much front row center near the casket. Who are some of the other notables that you've seen in the crowd today?

FARLEY: We've seen Dick Gregory, the comedian. He's someone, who like James Brown, was very much front and center during the civil rights movement, trying to reconcile, you know, his art with the movement and trying to find a combination that worked for him. So he went through some of the same struggles that James Brown did, someone who is a symbol of entertainment that mattered. And he is in the audience. Of course, we saw Bootsy Collins up on stage, Bootsy Collins a guy who -- looks like there's something happening, so I'm going to pause for a second.

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FANNIE BROWN BURFORD, JAMES BROWN'S SISTER: I've just come to say thank you to all of you all for supporting, all of the band members that have played with James Brown. I see all of you all before every show and after every show because I sell the souvenirs. A couple of months ago, he said, "Fannie, you finally did it right, Fannie." So, with god permission, I pray you all support our families from now on. Thank you all, thank you, world. James Brown loved you all.

SHARPTON: Part of the extended family with me was Fannie, who just spoke. And let's hear it one more time for the man that traveled all over the world and kept him going, brother R.J. Give R.J. a hand. Got to keep the band going, R.J.

R.J.: Got to do it, sir.

SHARPTON: As the family takes their seats, we're going to hear several speakers and we're going to go -- as y'all take your seats, that means, as Mr. Brown says, "It's time for y'all to get off the stage."

(LAUGHTER)
 

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