James Brown statue put on hold

City officials have delayed the unveiling of a statue honouring James Brown until the singer resolves his legal troubles.

Officials scheduled the unveiling for May 7 to coincide with the Godfather of Soul's 71st birthday and the downtown music festival that was named in his honour until recently.

The former James Brown Music Festival has reverted to its original name, the Garden City Music Festival, because of the public backlash after Brown's January 28 arrest for allegedly hitting his wife, Tomi Rae Brown.

Brown has denied the allegations.