Godfather of Soul leave jail

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, was released from jail today after being charged with domestic violence and ordered not to contact his wife.

The 70-year-old singer, who was arrested yesterday at the couple’s Beech Island home, near Aiken, South Carolina, denied the charge at a brief hearing.

“The main thing is I would never hurt my wife and beat up on her like that,” Brown said. “I love her very much.”

Investigators say Brown pushed 33-year-old Tomi Rae Brown to the floor during an argument in a bedroom.

She had scratches and bruises on her right arm and hip and was taken to a hospital, Aiken County police said. She was not present at today’s hearing.

If convicted, Brown faces a maximum penalty of a £165 (€241) fine and 30 days in jail.

Brown’s lawyer Jim Huff said the charges will not affect the state pardon the singer received in May.

The pardon was for a 1988 drug and assault conviction, for which he spent 2 1/2 years in jail, and a second drug-related offence in 1998.

Last month, Brown was honoured at the Kennedy Centre in Washington as ”one of the most influential musicians of the past 50 years.”