<p>At a gathering filled more with joy than sorrow, thousands of James Brown's fans and friends packed into an arena bearing his name to pay one final tribute Saturday to a homegrown legend.</p><p>The farewell tour for Brown _ loved in Augusta as much for his generosity and influence as for being the godfather of soul _ was to wind down with an afternoon funeral, two days after a boisterous viewing in the famed Apollo Theater in New York.</p><p>More than 8,500 fans packed James Brown Arena, where Brown lay in front of the bandstand in his third outfit in three days _ a black jacket and gloves, red shirt and sequined shoes.</p><p>Michael Jackson caused an uproar throughout the arena, arriving and taking his seat just as Brown's latest backup band, the Soul Generals, prepared to play during the service.</p><p>As the service began shortly after 1 p.m., dozens of friends and family members filed slowly past the casket.</p><p>The procession was followed by a video of Brown's last performance in Augusta and his final concert in London _ where he performed a slow, soulful version of Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind."</p><p>Earlier, a cheer broke out in the arena as Danny Ray filed past. Ray, Brown's master of ceremonies for years, famously would drape a cape over Brown's shoulders in a routine in which the singer would pretend to be too exhausted to keep singing and begin shuffling offstage _ only to throw the cape off and run back to the microphone to sing some more.</p><p>"It breaks my heart because that is the man," Ray said. "He was Number One. But James doesn't want us to be sad. James was a happy person."</p><p>Brown died of heart failure on Christmas morning in Atlanta while hospitalized for pneumonia. He was 73.</p><p>Saturday's public funeral will be the third memorial event held in as many days for Brown, whose hits like "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" inspired generations of soul, funk, disco, rock and rap artists.</p><p>About 20 Atlantans left on a tour bus early Saturday to attend the funeral, saying they wanted to pay their respects to the man whose music grooved their adolescence and whose political commitment inspired their own.</p><p>For Maynard Eaton, who helped organize the bus group, Brown was a political figure above all.</p><p>"'I'm Black and I'm Proud' was the most influential black slogan of the 1960s," he said, referring to the chorus of the Brown standard "Say It Loud."</p><p>Michelle Edwards, 50, of Atlanta walked through the line in Augusta waving a poster with the words, "We Love James Brown" and the names of several Atlanta neighborhoods.</p><p>"He made you feel proud of yourself," she said.</p><p>On Friday, in a small brick church in nearby North Augusta, S.C., about 300 family members and close friends _ including boxing promoter Don King and comedian Dick Gregory _ gathered for a 90-minute service where the Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy.</p><p>A day earlier, thousands of fans poured into the Apollo Theater in New York for a sometimes raucous celebration of Brown at the Harlem venue where one of his trademark high-energy concerts launched him into the international spotlight in 1956.</p><p>Vickie Greene had driven to Augusta from Avery, Ga., about 40 miles away, to view Brown's body with her husband and grandson. She said she saw her first Brown concert more than 30 years ago, but that he was more to her than just another singer.</p><p>"He was a God-sent person _ almost like an angel," Greene said. "He was so inspirational to people about sharing and helping and giving."</p><p>Even when he became an international superstar, Brown always considered Augusta his home. It was a place for highs, like his annual tradition of handing out Thanksgiving turkeys to needy families, and lows _ such as the drug-fueled police chase that landed him a 15-month stint in prison.</p><p>Brown was born in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933 and spent much of his childhood in Augusta singing and dancing for change on street corners. At times, he committed petty crimes that landed him in reform school.</p><p>Far from the typical low promise of a youth spent in what he once described as an "ill-repute" area of the city, Brown's mark on his hometown was indelible and impossible to ignore.</p><p>Besides his turkey giveaway, which provides meals for more than 1,000 families each year, he hosted an annual toy drive that brought in Christmas gifts for hundreds of needy children. He had participated in the latest toy giveaway just three days before he died.</p><p>The city named a street James Brown Boulevard a decade ago and last year erected a statue of him in a downtown park nearby. Earlier this year, the city's main auditorium was named in his honor.</p>
