Rick James

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Rick James (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004) was a U.S. funk and soul recording and performing artist. He was born James Johnson, Jr. in Buffalo, New York.

James was the third of eight children of an autoworker and a former dancer. He was the nephew of Melvin Franklin, the bass vocalist of The Temptations. At age 15, James joined the U.S. Naval Reserve. He began missing weekend training because it interfered with his musical career. He was reported AWOL and fled to Toronto in the summer of 1964. There, he continued his musical career, where he formed a band called The Sailor Boys, which also featured future Steppenwolf member Nick St Nicholas. The group evolved in the Mynah Birds at the end of 1964 and recorded a single for the Canadian arm of Columbia Records. In early 1965, St Nicholas was traded for Bruce Palmer. Shortly afterwards, James and Palmer formed a new line up of the band with Tom Morgan and John Taylor on guitars and Rickman Mason on drums. In early 1966, they auditioned for Motown but Morgan was unhappy with the label's attitude towards the musicians and left to be replaced by Neil Young. With Young on board, the group returned to Motown to record an album. When the band fired their manager for pocketing the advance Motown had given them, he told the label James was AWOL. Motown told him to give himself up to the FBI and the album was shelved. James spent a year in the Brooklyn Brig after which he returned to Toronto briefly before becoming a songwriter and producer at Motown, working with Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers and the Spinners. In the summer of 1969, he moved to Los Angeles and formed Salt 'N' Pepper with Canadians, Ed Roth (keyboards), Dave Burt (guitar) and Coffi Hall (drums). Former Buffalo Springfield roadie Chris Sarns played bass for a while before Ron Johnson from Kaleidoscope stepped in the following year. The group recorded a demo for Atlantic Records and played at the Fillmore West with Jethro Tull. In 1971, James and Roth recorded two singles in Toronto for RCA with Heaven and Earth - a band that also featured guitarist Stan Endersby, bass player Denny Gerrard and drummer Pat Little. James left Heaven and Earth later that year and took Roth and Gerrard with him for a new group called Great White Cane, which also featured horn players, Bob Doughty and Ian Kojima, drummer Norman Wellbanks, guitarist Nick Balkou and keyboard player John Cleveland Hughes. The group recorded an album for Lion Records in LA in March 1972 but split up later that summer. At the end of 1972, James and Roth formed the first Stone City Band with Peter Hodgson (bass), Danny Marks (guitar) and Malcolm Tomlinson (drums/vocals). An album' s worth of material was recorded in mid-1973 but was never released. James signed to A&M Records the following year and issued a single 'My Mama'. He later recorded for the Gordy label, first with the Hot Lips and then with a new version of the Stone City Band. In 1977, he returned to the US and went to work with Motown Records, first as a songwriter, then as a singer and producer. He was most prolific during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was a singer, keyboardist, bassist, producer, arranger, and composer. He performed mostly with his back-up band, The Stone City Band.

James' breakthrough single was "You And I", an eight-minute magnum opus from his 1978 debut album Come Get It, also featuring his ode to marijuana titled simply "Mary Jane". 1979 saw James release two albums, Bustin' Out Of L Seven, in January and Fire It Up that fall. After 1980's lackluster Garden Of Love album, he then recorded a concept album titled Street Songs. This album included his biggest hit, "Super Freak" which served as the backing melody for MC Hammer's 1990 Grammy award-winning song "U Can't Touch This". His other hits include "Give it to Me Baby" and "Ghetto Life" (from the same album), "Teardrops", "Cold Blooded", "17", "You Turn Me On" and "Glow", which was his last R&B hit in 1985. In addition he helped launch the careers of white R&B singer Teena Marie and the Mary Jane Girls.

But it was the dark side of James' life that overpowered his music. He was an occasional drug addict, addicted mostly to cocaine. In 1993, James was convicted of assaulting two women, with the first assault during one of his cocaine binges. Serving two years in Folsom Prison did not stop him from writing new songs, even if he did it behind bars. James was released in 1995.

James attempted a comeback with a new album and tour in 1997, but suffered a mild stroke during a concert in Denver, Colorado, effectively ending his musical career, although his last public performance was at the 2004 BET Music Awards.

Unknown to most, James was a man of fans. He desparately tried to see all of his fans, and give back the love they have shown him. Bands that have used this to their benefit include, The University of Waterloo Funk Kings, Hell's Funk and J Funk and Funkalicious Five.

Before his stroke, James was interviewed for the VH1 series Behind The Music, and for the first time spoke openly about his life and his battle with drugs.

Ironically, a Behind the Music-style skit on the sketch comedy show Chappelle's Show looked back on interactions between Charlie Murphy and James in the 1980s. The skit depicted Rick James as an egotistical, misogynistic cocaine addict who constantly reminded people "I'm Rick James, bitch!" which has become something of a catch phrase. The skit starred Dave Chappelle as James and Charlie Murphy playing himself, with interspersed interview segments with James.

James was found dead on August 6, 2004 in his Los Angeles home by his caretaker. James died from pulmonary and cardiac failure with his various health conditions of diabetes, stroke, and a pacemaker being listed as attributing factors. A coroner's report released September 16, 2004 officially ruled his death as accidental, but also reported nine drugs:

"Toxicology revealed the presence of the following drugs: Alprazolam (Xanax), Diazepam (Valium), Bupropion (Wellbutrin), Citalopram (Celexa), Hydrocodone (Vicodin), Digoxin, Chlorpheniramine, methamphetamine, and cocaine," the statement said. "None of the drugs or drug combinations were found to be at levels that were life threatening in and of themselves."

At the time of his death, he was working on an autobiography, Confessions Of A Superfreak, as well as a new album. Although he was married previously (and later divorced), he leaves behind three children, Tazman, Ty, and Rick James, Jr., and granddaughters Jasmine and Charisma.

Scheduled for release in September/October 2004 is the DVD Rick James: Rockpalast Live, which features a 1982 concert performance from Essen, Germany.

Discography

Come Get It (1978)
Bustin' Out of L Seven (1979)
Fire It Up (1979)
Garden of Love (1980)
Street Songs (1981; deluxe edition released 2001)
Throwin' Down (1982)
Cold Blooded (1983)
Reflections (1984)
Glow (1985)
The Flag (1986)
Wonderful (1988)
Bustin' Out: The Very Best of Rick James (1994)
Urban Rapsody (1997)
Anthology (2002)

External links

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