James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, has passed away at the age of 73.

Brown's music - funky, cool, soulful, passionate and gritty - had broad appeal. His raspy voice, clipped grunts and immediately recognizable songs made irrelevant distinctions such as age, race and class that create genre and subgenre distinctions in music. He was a uniter, tagged "the Funky President."

"God had a special job for me," Brown wrote in 1991 in the liner notes to his career-spanning Star Time box set.

"He gave me a special talent to relate to people of all cultures. I found that the common denominator among all people was love. Because regardless of all the obstacles which we fight, the social problems and the poverty problems, it all boils down to the love factor. And I believe I was able to create that in my life."