The music world is in mourning after one of its greatest showmen, the “Godfather of Soul” James Brown, died yesterday at 78.

The pompadoured R&B pioneer, whose half-century career inspired funk, disco and rap, had been admitted to hospital in Atlanta with pneumonia.

His many showbusiness friends and admirers paid tribute the performer known affectionately as “Mr Dynamite”. He grew up in a brothel and started his first group behind bars, but went on to become a huge influence on popular music in the 20th century.

“He was dramatic to the end — dying on Christmas Day,” said the Rev Jesse Jackson, the civil rights activist who had been a friend since 1955. “Almost a dramatic, poetic moment. He’ll be all over the news all over the world today — he would have it no other way.”

The rock’n’roll star Little Richard, another long-time friend, said: “He was an innovator, an emancipator, an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown. A great treasure is gone.”

The Rev Al Sharpton, who toured with him in the 1970s and has imitated his bouffant hairstyle ever since, said: “James Brown changed music. He made soul a world music.”

Brown was in Atlanta for a dental appointment when he was admitted on Sunday to Emory Crawford Long Hospital with pneumonia. He had hoped to recover in time for New Year’s Eve, when he was scheduled to appear at the B.B. King Blues Club in New York.

However, he passed away at about 1.45am local time on Christmas Day, with his friend and manager Charles Bobbit at his side. The star’s management firm said that he had “congestive heart failure as a result of pneumonia”.

Born on May 3, 1928, the son of a petrol station attendant, he recorded more than 50 albums and had 119 singles in the charts. His influence on popular music for the past 50 years ranks alongside Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and John Lennon. He was a charter inductee in 1968 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with such legends as Presley and Chuck Berry.

Brown’s eye make-up and fancy footwork onstage inspired Michael Jackson and Prince, while his rhythms and vocal style influenced singers from David Bowie to George Clinton. His songs have been reworked by Ice-T, Public Enemy and a host of other rappers.

Trevor Nelson, a Radio 1 and MTV presenter, said: “It’s hard to imagine hip-hop being the force it is today without James Brown and all the grooves he has supplied.”

Mark Lamarr, the comic and Radio 2 presenter who had interviewed Brown at length, said: “There is not a more influential black artist in the last 50 years.” Andy Peebles, the former Radio 1 DJ and Soul Train, presenter, said that he was a “one-of-a-kind never-to-be-repeated” talent. “He will be remembered not just for his musical ability or as a prolific producer of new songs, but also as a remarkable performer. There will never, and could never, be another James Brown.”

Brown, who was married four times and fathered at least six children, had a troubled relationship with the law all his life.

In 1988, high on PCP and carrying a shotgun, Brown threatened an insurance seminar next to his office in Augusta, believing its participants had used his lavatory. Police shot out his tyres after a high-speed chase. He was sentenced to six years for attempted murder and served 15 months in prison and 10 months in a work release programme.

Greatest hits

1956 Please, Please, Please

1962 Mashed Potatoes

1965 Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag

1965 I Got You (I Feel Good)

1966 It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World

1967 Cold Sweat

1968 Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud

1969 Ain’t It Funky Now

1970 Funky Drummer

1970 Get Up, I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine

1971 Make It Funky (Part I)

1972 Get on the Good Foot

1974 The Payback

1975 Sex Machine

1985 Living in America

Times Recommends

• Henning Mankell: ‘If Wallander was alive, I wouldn’t be a friend of his’
• Secret society's skull and crossbones for sale
• Nigerian leader vanishes after medical treatment