James Brown Finally Buried at Ceremony Presided by Al Sharpton

"The Godfather of soul," James Brown, was finally laid to rest in a crypt at the Beech Island, SC, home of one his daughters, Deanna Brown Thomas, pending the completion of a public mausoleum in an as-yet undisclosed location. He was buried at a private ceremony presided over by Rev. Al Sharpton.

His last partner Tomi Rae Hynie wants to build a mausoleum and transform their marital home in a museum, copying the Graceland enterprise.

"This is what James wanted, for the family to come together. Everyone really felt like James was there with us," Brown's partner, Tomi Rae Hynie, told AP.

"He was very private," said Sharpton, a longtime Brown confidant, according to AP. "Where he is now has nothing to do with court proceedings," Sharpton said.

"The children used their own funds to pay for their father's entombment so that their father could be put to rest without further delay," Sharpton, said a statement.

Brown left "a substantial estate and substantial holdings ... which are currently being disputed in court," and Brown's children "wanted to see their father entombed in a resting place without delay, rather than await court decisions," he added.

There was also criticism of the Saturday service. Buddy Dallas told the AP the trustees had made arrangements for Brown to be laid to rest at no cost at a "very prominent memorial garden in Augusta." "Mr. Brown's not deserving of anyone's backyard," said Dallas, who, in disapproval, was not at Saturday's service.

About two weeks ago, attorneys in South Carolina agreed to take a DNA sample from the late singer James Brown to preserve for a possible paternity challenge. "This is just to preserve the sample," Tomi Rae Hynie's attorney Robert Rosen told the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier. "The court hasn't ruled as to whether anybody is entitled to do a DNA test."

Brown died Christmas Day last year at age 73. His will does not mention Hynie or her son.

James Brown's body has moved around at least as much as when he was alive. First it was his triple funeral when his body was carried around for everyone to pay their goodbyes, from New York at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, to his hometown at Augusta’s James Brown Arena.

His body was then put to rest in his Long Beech Island home where it was locked in a temperature-controlled room and was kept under surveillance, Charles Reid, manger of the C.A. Reid Funeral Home in Augusta, Ga., which handled the services, said at that time.

A movie about the life of singer James Brown is reportedly in the works with Spike Lee signed on to direct. Daily Variety reported last December that the picture, which was already in development when Brown Died, was on a track to begin production in 2008, or possibly late 2007.