James Brown’s Belongings Ready to be Auctioned

A judge in South Carolina gave the okay for the auction of the late singer James Brown’s belongings. The judge lifted a temporary stay that could have held up the auction. Christie’s auction house has it planned for the auction to take place on Thursday and there would be 320 items up for sale, which would include a red jumpsuit and a blue satin cape. James Brown had died on Christmas Day of 2006 at the age of 73 of heart failure.

Death Row Records Auctioned

Death Row Records Company was auctioned for $24 million, which had released albums by Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Tupac Shakur in the past. On June 24^th, Global Music Group Inc. purchased the music label and its black catalog and its current artist contracts because the company had gone down due to debt and mismanagement.

Financial problems came to Death Row Records recently when a former couple, named Lydia and Michael Harris, took the company to court and stated that they had helped found the label. They won a judgment of $107 million and tried to collect it in 2006. The label was not able to pay the amount and filed bankruptcy in April of 2006 and claimed debts of over $100 million. Also in 2006, a federal judge ordered for a bankruptcy trustee to takeover Death Row Records and said that the label had gross management. The decision to file bankruptcy saved the company from the decision of the court to appoint someone to take control of the record label and its assets.

James Brown’s Possessions Auctioned

James Brown’s possessions are set to be appraised and auctioned to pay for taxes that his estate owes. It is not clear which items will be auctioned yet or how much the items are worth. Brown died in Atlanta in December of 2006 and his will stated that he wanted his possessions to be divided between his six adult children. His fourth wife, Toni Rae Hynie, contested the will and claims that she is entitled to half of the estate. His children are also contesting the will, which was signed 10 months before Brown died. Trustees have asked Brown’s children and Hynie to make a list of the items that they don’t want to be auctioned.