Rick James (born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004) was an American musician and composer.
Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his teen years in various bands and groups before entering the U.S. Navy to avoid being drafted in the early 1960s. In 1965, James deserted to Toronto, Ontario, where he formed the rock band the Mynah Birds, who eventually signed a recording deal with Motown Records in 1966. James’ career with the group halted after military authorities discovered his whereabouts and eventually convicted James on a one-year prison term related to the draft charges. 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 Stone City Band in his hometown of Buffalo in 1977, James finally found success as a recording artist after signing with Motown’s Gordy Records, releasing the album, Come Get It!, in April 1978, where the hits “You & I” and “Mary Jane”, were released, helping the album go platinum and selling over two million records. This was followed with three more successful album releases. James released his most successful album, Street Songs, in 1981, which included career-defining 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”. In addition, James 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.
James’ mainstream success had peaked by the release of the Glow album in 1985 and his appearance on the popular TV show, The A-Team. James’ subsequent releases failed to sell as well as their predecessors. Rapper MC Hammer sampled James’ “Super Freak” for his 1990 hit, “U Can’t Touch This”, and James became the 1991 recipient of a Best R&B Song Grammy for composing the song. James’ career was hampered by his drug addiction by the early 1990s. In 1993, James was convicted for kidnapping and torturing two women while under the influence of crack cocaine, resulting in a three-year sentence at Folsom State Prison. James was released on parole in 1996 and released the album, Urban Rapsody, in 1997. James’ health problems halted his career again after a mild stroke during a concert in 1998 and he announced a semi-retirement. In 2004, James’ career returned to the mainstream after he appeared in an episode of Chappelle’s Show, in a Charlie Murphy True Hollywood Stories segment that satirized James’ wild lifestyle, resulting in renewed interest in James’ music and that year he returned to perform on the road. James died later that year from heart failure at age 56.
Born James Johnson, Jr. in Buffalo, NY he was the third of eight children of an autoworker and a former dancer. He also was the nephew of Melvin Franklin, the bass vocalist of The Temptations. At age 15, he ran away from home to join the Naval Reserves. James then ran away from the Navy to Toronto, where he was in a band with future Buffalo Springfield members Neil Young and Bruce Palmer, and with Goldy McJohn, of Steppenwolf. With the group the Mynah Birds, a contract was signed to Motown, though no record was ever released.
James developed an outrageous reputation as the King of Punk Funk at Motown as a staff songwriter. He was signed as a recording artist after submitting a finished album: Come Get It. Powered by his first hit single, “You And I” (1978), the album eventually sold two million units. In 1981 Rick James released Street Songs, which surpassed three million units, and launching his biggest pop hits: “Give It To Me Baby” and “Super Freak.” Rick James produced Teena Marie, the gold-certified Mary Jane Girls, Eddie Murphy, and others. James turned his production attention to resuscitating the career of the Temptations, recently returned to Motown, and “Standing on the Top” (1982), credited to the Temptations Featuring Rick James, was an R&B Top Ten. James’ follow-up to Street Songs was the gold-selling Throwin’ Down (May 1982), which featured the hit “Dance Wit’ Me.” The title song of Cold Blooded (August 1983) became James’ third R&B number one, and the album also featured his hit duet with Smokey Robinson, “Ebony Eyes.” James’ greatest hits album Reflections (August 1984) featured the new track “17” (June 1984), which also became a hit. Glow (April 1985) contained Top Ten R&B singles in the title track and “Can’t Stop,” which was featured in the movie Beverly Hills Cop. The Flag (June 1986) featured the hit “Sweet and Sexy Thing” (May 1986).
James left Motown for the Reprise division of Warner Bros. Records as of the album Wonderful (July 1988), which featured his number one R&B hit “Loosey’s Rap,” on which he was accompanied by rapper Roxanne Shante. Yet, his “punk funk” didn’t seem to rest comfortably with the trend toward rap/hip-hop. In 1989, James charted briefly with a medley of the Drifters hits “This Magic Moment” and “Dance With Me.” In 1990, MC Hammer scored a massive hit with “U Can’t Touch This,” which consisted of his rap over the instrumental track of “Super Freak.”
That should have made for a career rebirth, but James was plagued by drug and legal problems that found him more frequently in court and in jail rather than in the recording studio. He experienced a revival in the Old School movement. Rick James died in his sleep sometime during the morning of Friday, August 6, 2004. He was found in bed by his personal assistant. His cause of death has been determined to be pulmonary/cardiac failure with his various health conditions of diabetes, stroke, and pacemaker being listed as attributing factors.
Written by Dianne Washington