James Brown home to become like Graceland
Last Updated: Saturday, January 13, 2007 | 2:57 PM ET
CBC Arts
Plans are underway to turn the home of late soul singer James Brown into a museum and to construct a mausoleum on the site for his body, says the Brown family attorney.
Debri Opri said discussions about the Beech Island, S.C., location are being held by Brown's children, close friends and the singer's trustee.
James Brown, seen here in a Feb. 22, 2006, file photo from a performance in China, died Dec. 25, 2006. His body still lies inside his South Carolina home while his children work out funeral arrangements.
(Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press)
The Godfather of Soul died of heart failure Dec. 25 at age 73. His body lies in a sealed casket in his home on Beech Island, a community of 3,500, until his children choose his final resting place.
Opri indicated the group might consult with Elvis Presley's family to get their thoughts about how they converted Graceland.
''Mr. Brown was a great fan and truly, truly cared about Elvis Presley,'' Opri said.
Brown's property — owned by a trust since 2000 — is in a secluded area across the Savannah River from Augusta, Ga.
Jack Soden, CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises, says his company often advises the family of deceased entertainers. Soden said Graceland, the Presley Estate and Museum in Memphis, Tenn., gets 600,000 visitors a year and generates "millions in revenue."
Marc Eliot, who co-wrote Brown's 2005 autobiography, I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul, said fans would be able to see rooms decorated in Egyptian artwork and fabrics, and the round, sunken wet bar that is "the core of the house."
Eliot compared it to Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
Brown's death has been in the news for weeks now. Three memorials marked his passing: one in New York City at the legendary Apollo Theatre, a private church event for family and close friends, and a massive gathering at an auditorium in his hometown.
Just this week, it was revealed that his five-year-old son James Jr., his child with partner Tomi Rae Hynie, has been left out of his will.
Lawyers read out Brown's will on Thursday to six of the singer's children. The document doesn't mention Brown's seventh child.
Hynie, a backup singer, has been feuding with the singer's family since his death, claiming she was locked out of the home they shared.
Brown's lawyers say the singer's home was locked up because it is technically owned by Brown's trustees, who control the property — estimated at a value of $422,000 US.
With files from the Associated PressShare Tools
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James Brown, seen here in a Feb. 22, 2006, file photo from a performance in China, died Dec. 25, 2006. His body still lies inside his South Carolina home while his children work out funeral arrangements. 

