Brown died after being admitted to hospital with severe pneumonia

He was famous for hits such as I Got You (I Feel Good), Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine and Papa's Got a Brand New Bag.

Leading figures from the music industry have frequently cited the "Godfather of Soul" as an influence on their careers.

From Public Enemy's website:

To explain the fever pitch that James Brown records set, of the foundations of hip-hop and rap music, it would [mean] using words still not invented.

Today, hip-hop seems a far distance from the mighty funk the man set upon all of us.

Chuck D (right) shot to fame with hard-hitting rap group Public Enemy

I was speechless when I met him backstage at BET's [Black Entertainment Television's] 20th anniversary.

He was viewing a monitor as he was set to go on with singer Ginuwine, who was dedicating a medley to the Godfather of Soul.

I was fixin' to get my camera, and when I turned around he was gone, ready to do his thing.

I couldn't find him after that. But still, I was blown away that he complimented me on 'my' stuff and even knew my
name.

And to the Associated Press:

James presented obviously the best grooves.

To this day, there has been no-one near as funky. No-one's coming even close.

At the BET Awards in 2003, where Brown received a lifetime achievement prize:

Nobody has influenced me more than this man.

During a ceremony at the Kennedy Arts Center in Washington DC:

He broke down mental and social barriers and made it possible for me, a black kid from Queens, to stand in front of presidents and say: 'Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud.'

From the PBS series American Masters:

When you heard James Brown was coming to town, you stopped what you were doing and started saving your
money.

Interviewed by the NPR radio programme All Things Considered:

I was a disc jockey back in the mid-60s. James Brown was a frequent visitor to Augusta.

He would have sold-out shows at the City Auditorium and I worked the overnight shift, so after the shows, he would come by the radio station.

We would just talk for extended periods of time on the air and play a lot of James Brown music.