Brown's family plans to turn home into Graceland-like museum

The Associated Press

By KATRINA A. GOGGINS

January 12, 2007

People who love and cared for James Brown will do a better job of protecting his legacy.

The children of late soul singer James Brown are planning to turn his Beech Island home into a museum and build a mausoleum on the site for his body, an attorney for Brown said Friday.

The plans for a Graceland-like site are being discussed by Brown's children, several close friends and the singer's trustees, said attorney Debri Opri, an attorney for Brown.

The group wants to sit down with Elvis Presley's family and see how they did Graceland, Opri said.

'Mr. Brown was a great fan and truly, truly cared about Elvis Presley,' Opri said.

No attempt had been made to contact Presley's estate by late Friday, said Jack Soden, CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises. But he said it's not unusual for family members of deceased entertainers to contact the Presley estate.

'We've been happy to give the benefit of what we've learned to heirs,' Soden said.

Soden said Graceland 'is very profitable,' generating 'millions in revenue.' There are around 600,000 visitors each year, he said.

But before Brown's family can open a museum or build a mausoleum, they will have to deal with zoning and land use issues which could stop the idea before it can start, Soden said.

Family and friends would need a building permit to put up a mausoleum and would have to have a review that would include a plan to handle extra traffic before turning Brown's home into a museum, said Aiken County Planner Karen Brown, who is not related to the singer.

The Godfather of Soul died of heart failure Dec. 25 at age 73.

For now, the entertainer's body lies in a sealed casket in his home on Beech Island until his children choose his final resting place. Brown's will has not been filed in Probate Court, but it was read to six of his children on Thursday, attorney Buddy Dallas said.

The woman who said she is Brown's fourth wife, Tomi Rae Hynie, and the couple's 5-year-old son were not included in the will, said Strom Thurmond Jr., another of Brown's lawyers.

Brown's attorneys say Hynie and the singer weren't legally married.

Soden said Brown's children should not be criticized for planning a museum honoring him by people who think they are trying to cash in too quickly.

'Because of the society we live in, his legacy will be exploited for money with or without them, and at least with their involvement there will be control over quality,' Soden said. 'People who love and cared for James Brown will do a better job of protecting his legacy.'

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Brown to be buried in mausoleum

18/01/07 | 14:06

Nearly three weeks after James Brown's funeral, the Godfather of Soul is yet to be buried and his former partner is contesting his will in a bid to receive half of his estate.

The singer's body is being kept in a temperature-controlled room at his home in South Carolina in the bronze and gold-plated coffin used for his funeral in Augusta, Georgia, on December 30, funeral director Charlie Reid said today.

Apparently, the family is building a mausoleum at the home on Beech Island and will bury Brown when it is finished, probably next month. A lawyer involved in the case said the burial would probably attract thousands.

His partner Tomi Rae Hynie Brown received nothing when Brown's will was read out last week but will sue for 50% of his estate with a further seventh of the remainder to go to the child they had together, according to newspaper reports quoting her lawyer.

However, lawyers for James Brown say she was never legally married to him because a previous marriage between her and another man had not been annulled.

http://www.online.ie/Home...sId=588697

AnckSuNamun said:

Its HIS families buziness (crazy or not). This ALL is normal post mortem

fighting and greed. Happens all the time. He doesnt seem to have had a very

iron-clad will that was very detailed. No one plans on dying but we do when

least expected. I hope Prince has it all down. ALL his past proteges etc will

come out of the wall to get anything they can. AND his wives & any kids. Not to

mention how many will CLAIM to have his kid! (get out the DNA tests!) I never

want to see prince dead and disorganized on top of it! Hes too good a business

man. But then hes too good 4 vegas too. However, my MAIN man was ALWAYS JAMES

BROWN since I was 12 yrs old. Always will b. He was SOUL in the strictist sense.

A great performer. MY DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHOEVER

THEY ARE! WE ALL WILL MISS U BRO!

they should call it..."Mother Popcornland"

missfee said:

Mother Popcornland

They could change the street to Hipsters Avenue.

Or they could call it Out of Sight because people are gonna have a time trying to find it.

AnckSuNamun said: