Considering that he claimed James Brown was one of his major influences as a youngster and obviously had a huge impact on his looks, and performances, why wasn't Prince in Agusta to pay his respects?

prince reportedly didn't attend the funeral of his own parents. i don't see this as disrespectful - i just think some people prefer alternate ways of remembering and grieving.

Anx said:

I was writing the same thing .....

He did pay his respects by stating "In Restful Peace James Brown" on his 3121.com site. Also, A lot of celebrities did not attend but that does not mean they did not pay respect in some form or another, for example, by calling the family and doing it in their own way. Besides James Brown's funeral was about JB not Prince, MJ or any other celebrity.

Anx said:

correct. Also, maybe prince wasnt invited. Part of me believes that many peoples disaproval/annoyance ay princes no-show has more to do with them wanting to see prince, yet they hide their frustration my claiming it as dis-respectful for prince not to attend one of his musical influences funeral.
[Edited 1/2/07 10:01am]

It is my understanding (someone please correct me if I am wrong in this) that JW's are discouraged against attending a funeral service (or wedding ceremony) outside of their own faith.

3121 said:

You hit it right on the nose. JB's funeral was about JB and not about how many celebrities attended. People deserve to grieve in their own way. This is why at the Apollo they ushered the celebrities to the back entrance in respect of Dr. Brown, so that the crowd would not lose focus why they (the crowd) were there in the first place ,and not start screaming out celebrities' names and cheering and carrying on, which is probably why othe celebrities stayed away and mourned and showed their respect privately with the family of Dr. J. Brown.
[Edited 1/2/07 12:21pm]

How do people know that he didn't have a private viewing and paid his respects when no one was around. That's how this cat is. Very weird in real public situations, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. Anyways his business.

MuaPetahl said:

church.

if its non denominative there isn't an issue.

Well, from a strictly "practical" angle, consider the logistics: Prince had a show Friday night & performed until about 5am. In order to attend JB's funeral he would have then had to fly to Georgia (keep in mind the +3 hour time difference), attend a 5(?) hour funeral, fly back to Las Vegas in time to perform on Saturday night? Can you imagine if he would have had flight delays, etc. and Saturday's show got messed up or been tired and gave a shit performance? (Pissed fans! lol.)

Aside from that, I've never really heard of him attending funerals--for whatever reason. Like others pointed out, he did change his website (and still has a message on there), we don't know if he contacted the family privately, etc, etc.


Maceo wasn't there either from what I've read--how come no one's all up in his business about not being present? (granted this isn't maceo.org, but you get the point I'm trying to make)

jone70 said:

Thanks for the info. I didn't know he had a performance the night before.

3121 said:

I never said Prince disrespected James, I simply asked if anyone knew why he didn't attend the funeral to pay his respects.

2elijah said:

"Dr." Brown? When did James Brown earn a doctorate?

sosgemini said:

I've attended several funerals for family members that took place in Catholic churches... It's a matter of personal conscience. (I am JW for those who don't know.)

Xagain said:

During his funeral session that was televised. He knew before he passed that this was going to happen when a friend from Payne University spoke with him. His cap, gown and Doctorate degree were given to all 3 daughters. This was during the televised program in Atlanta on Saturday. So he is now "Dr. James Brown" and well deserved.
[Edited 1/3/07 6:49am]

People who receive honorary degrees usually don't use the title. But...whatever...

See JB thread http://www.prince.org/msg/8/212379