Michael Jackson took James Brown’s death much harder than fans may have ever imagined. Sometimes people view celebrities as being much different from average people because of their public status, but MJ’s grief proved yet again, that they’re just normal people, like the rest of us. In fact, Michael reportedly went to great lengths to have time to grieve alone, following the death of his idol. According to WRDW, Charles Reid, of the C.A.Reid Funeral Home, shared details about Michael’s night at the funeral home with James Brown.
He Needed Time To Grieve
Apparently, Michael needed time with James Brown, even in death, so he spent hours with the ‘Godfather of Soul’s’ body – FOUR hours to be exact. No one else was in the room for much of the time, just Michael and James Brown’s body. Reid, a veteran funeral director, revealed Michael’s visit was quite different from most, because mourners usually view the body of the deceased in passing. But, Michael paid his respects for a much longer period of time than expected. The King of Pop also expressed numerous concerns about Brown’s funeral preparations:
“He actually stayed here for about 4 and a half hours,” says Reid. “The time he spent with him was out of the ordinary because normally a person comes in views and that’s pretty well the end of it. There was various things he was interested in. He had a lot of questions that he had to ask in reference to Mr. Brown also preparation and stuff of that nature.”
Al Sharpton Also Described Michael Jackson’s Visit As
Reverend Al Sharpton, also spoke of the visit, by Michael Jackson, to the Augusta, Georgia, funeral home. In a book, by James McBride, Sharpton said that MJ sat up all night with the body of his musical godfather and spent hours talking with Brown’s first wife.
Despite Michael Jackson’s rare visit with James Brown, Reid had nothing but great things to say about him. Like most fans, Reid, (the funeral director), was also left with a lasting impression of the King of Pop:
“Michael, I only met him once, a first impression is a lasting impression and I admired him,” said Reid. “You would think that a person with that talent would never die, but I guess in theory, what he has done, will never die.”
Well said.
