Godfather of SOLD! James Brown mementos make £420,000 at auction

James Brown mementoes ranging from his signature capes to a medical bracelet fetched thousands of dollars Thursday at an auction, which the soul icon's children protested.

Fans and collectors packed a Christie's salesroom as more than 300 lots of Brown's belongings were sold, bringing in a total of $857,688, the auction house said.

Bidding rocketed past estimates for many of the items, which included some of the Godfather of Soul's furniture, musical instruments and a poem Muhammad Ali wrote for him.

"Late Show with David Letterman" band leader Paul Shaffer bid $32,500 to win the medical bracelet, which went for more than 100 times its pre-sale estimate, Christie's said.

The bracelet said Brown, singer of hits such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)," was a diabetic and was allergic to penicillin.

Brown died of heart failure on Christmas Day, 2006, at age 73. His estate has been mired in turmoil and contention.

Court-appointed trustees announced in January that the singer's possessions would be auctioned, in part to pay taxes his estate owed.

Unique style: A tight view of a yellow 'SEX' jumpsuit which will be auctioned as part of more than 320 lots offered in 'The James Brown Collection'

Soul man: 18 pairs of the late singer James Brown's boots which went under the hammer

His former business managers tried unsuccessfully to block Thursday's sale, and Brown's children lambasted it.

"We were given a list of things and asked to go through and check off things that we didn't think should go, and we were just ignored," one of Brown's daughters, Deanna Brown Thomas, said. "At end of the day, everything went."

On the auction block went the denim jumpsuit Brown wore for the 1974 concert preceding the "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing bout between Ali and George Foreman.

The jumpsuit, embellished with studs spelling out "GFOS," for "Godfather of Soul," sold for $25,000, Christie's said.

Suits him: A red wool jumpsuit that belonged to the late singer

Hitoric: The outfit he wore to perform before Ali fought George Foreman

Glass act: Brown loved wearing shades

Ali's typewritten poem - "King James Brown by Muhammad Ali, The World's Greatest Poet, King of all Poets, On Behalf of the People of Western New York" - fetched the same price.

Brown was known for donning and doffing elaborate capes during his shows, and some of them were among the auction's highlights.

An intricately beaded, black satin cape went for $47,500; a blue satin one embroidered with "Thy Name Is Godfather of Soul" fetched $35,000.

Fine words: A poem written for Brown by boxing legend Mohammed Ali

Strings of life: An acoustic Epiphone guitar signed by Ozzy Osbourne