Rick James

James Ambrose Johnson Jr February 1 1948 August 6 2004 better known by his stage name Rick James was an American singer songwriter and record producer Born and raised in Buffalo New York Rick James began his musical career in his teenage years He was in various bands before entering the US Naval Reserve to avoid being drafted into the Army In 1964 James moved to Toronto Canada where he formed the rock band The Mynah Birds who eventually signed a recording deal with Motown Records in 1966 Jamess career with the group halted after military authorities discovered his whereabouts and eventually convicted him of desertion related charges He served several months in jail After being released James moved to California where he started a variety of rock and funk groups in the late 1960s and early 1970s After forming the locally popular Stone City Band in his hometown of Buffalo in 1977 James finally found success as a recording artist after signing with Motowns Gordy Records releasing the album Come Get It in 1978 which produced the hits You and I and Mary Jane In 1981 James released his most successful album Street Songs which included careerdefining hits such as Give It to Me Baby and Super Freak the latter song becoming his biggest crossover single mixing elements of funk disco rock and new wave James was also known for his soulful ballads such as Fire Desire and Ebony Eyes He also had a successful career as a songwriter and producer for other artists including Teena Marie the Mary Jane Girls The Temptations Eddie Murphy and Smokey Robinson Jamess mainstream success peaked by the release of his album Glow in 1985 and his appearance on the popular TV show The ATeam His subsequent album releases failed to sell as well as their predecessors Rapper MC Hammer sampled Super Freak for his breakout 1990 hit U Cant Touch This which won Best RB Song at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1991 James received his only Grammy for composing the song By the early 1990s Jamess career was hampered by his drug addiction and he was embroiled in legal issues In 1993 he was convicted of two separate instances of kidnapping and assaulting two different women while under the influence of crack cocaine resulting in a threeyear sentence at Folsom State Prison He was released on parole in 1996 His health problems halted his career again after he had a mild stroke during a concert in 1998 and he announced a semiretirement In 2004 James returned to pop culture notoriety after he appeared in an episode of Chappelles Show The segment involved a Charlie Murphy True Hollywood Storiesstyle sketch that satirized Jamess wild lifestyle in the 1980s This resulted in renewed interest in his music and that year he returned to perform on the road He died later that year from heart failure at age 56 Description above from the Wikipedia article Rick James licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia