The “Godfather of Soul” James Brown has died at the age of 73.

Brown died of congestive heart failure on Christmas morning in an Atlanta hospital. He was admitted to the hospital the previous day suffering from pneumonia.

Brown began his professional music career in 1953. He shot to fame on the strength of his live performances and a string of hits including “Please, Please, Please” and “Say it Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud.” He was known by a host of titles, often self-bestowed, including ‘Soul Brother Number One,’ ‘Mr Dynamite’ and ‘The Hardest-Working Man in Showbusiness.’

The body of Brown will be returned Thursday to the site of his debut — the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem — for a public viewing the Rev. Al Sharpton said Tuesday (Dec. 26). His body will rest on the stage of the Apollo from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

"It would almost be unthinkable for a man who lived such a sensational life to go away quietly," Sharpton told The Associated Press in an interview from Georgia, where he was making funeral arrangements with Brown's children.

"I looked at his body. I was walking in half disbelief and sadness but proud," he said. "I couldn't even begin to describe it, to walk around his house and he not be there."

Sharpton said the public Apollo viewing will be followed by a private ceremony Friday in Brown's hometown, Augusta, Ga., and another public ceremony, officiated by Sharpton, a day later at the James Brown Arena there.

"His greatest thrill was always the lines around the Apollo Theater," Sharpton said of the 125th Street landmark. "I felt that James Brown in all the years we talked would have wanted one last opportunity to let the people say goodbye to him and he to the people."

Sharpton said he had been like a son to Brown since they met in 1973, introduced by Brown's son, Teddy, shortly before the teenager died in a car crash.

He said the son had wanted to encourage his father's support for Sharpton's youth organization, leading Brown to begin a lifelong commitment to Sharpton's civil-rights projects.

"I became the son he lost," Sharpton said.