The Godfather of Soul has been dead since Christmas 2006 and his family have reportedly spent more than a hundred thousand dollars to keep him above ground.

William Murrell, who spent his career driving James Brown around, has told The Guardian that Brown's body has yet to be buried, despite it being almost eight years since his death.

"He's been dead since 2006 but he still has been buried - he's been at his daughter's house", Murrell told the newspaper.

"They [mummified] his body so he would never rot, at $140,000 cost. Why? When you got almost 20 kids and six wives it's hard to get you in the ground."

In fact, Brown had closer to three wives and just nine children showing that Murrell might just be prone to a little over-exaggeration but the idea of a mummified James Brown is something we can get behind, in a sort of Scooby Doo villain sense...