RICK JAMES
JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
RICK JAMES
b. James Johnson, 1 February 1948 - August 6, 2004, Buffalo, New York, USA. The nephew of Temptations vocalist Melvin Franklin, James pioneered a crossover style between R&B and rock in the mid-60s. In 1965, he formed the Mynah Birds in New York with two future members of the Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young and Bruce Palmer, plus Goldie McJohn, later with Steppenwolf. Motown Records signed the band as a riposte to the British wave of R&B artists then dominating the charts, before their career was aborted when James was arrested for draft evasion. Resuming his career in Britain in the early 70s, James formed the funk combo Main Line. Returning to the USA, he assembled a like-minded group of musicians to perform a dense, brash brand of funk, influenced by Sly Stone and George Clinton. Signed to Motown in 1977, initially as a songwriter, he rapidly evolved a more individual style, which he labelled 'punk funk'. His first single, 'You And I', typified his approach, with its prominent bass riffs, heavy percussion, and sly, streetwise vocals. The record reached the US Top 20 and topped the specialist soul charts - a feat that its follow-up, 'Mary Jane', came close to repeating, though the song's blatant references to marijuana cut short any hopes of radio airplay.
James chose to present himself as a social outlaw, with outspoken views on drugs and sex. In a move subsequently echoed by Prince, he amassed a stable of artists under his control at Motown, using the Stone City Band as his backing group, and the Mary Jane Girls as female pawns in his macho master-plan. James also produced records by actor Eddie Murphy, vocalist Teena Marie, Val Young, and Process and the Doo-Rags. His own recordings, predominantly in the funk vein, continued to corner the disco market, with 'Give It To Me Baby' and 'Super Freak', on which he was joined by the Temptations, achieving notable sales in 1981. Both tracks came fromStreet Songs, a Grammy-nominated record that catapulted James into the superstar bracket. Secure in his commercial standing, he revealed that he preferred recording ballads to the funk workouts that had made his name, and his drift towards a more conservative image was heightened when he duetted with Smokey Robinson on the hit single 'Ebony Eyes', and masterminded the Temptations' reunion project in 1983.
James's flamboyant lifestyle took its toll on his health and he was hospitalized several times between 1979 and 1984. His career continued unabated, and he had major hits in 1984 and 1985 with the more relaxed '17' and 'The Glow'. The latter also provided the title for a highly acclaimed album, which reflected James's decision to abandon the use of drugs, and move towards a more laid-back soul style. He was angered by constant media comparisons of his work with that of Prince, and cancelled plans to star in an autobiographical film called The Spice Of Life in the wake of the overwhelming commercial impact of his rival's Purple Rain. After releasing The Flag in 1986, James ran into serious conflict with Motown over the status of his spin-off acts. When they refused to release any further albums by the Mary Jane Girls, James left the label, signing to Reprise Records, where he immediately achieved a soul number 1 with 'Loosey's Rap', a collaboration with Roxanne Shante. James's drug problems had not disappeared and following years of abuse he was jailed in 1991, together with his girlfriend Tanya Hijazi, for various offences including dealing cocaine, assault and torture. The King Of Funk confessed to Rolling Stone that at least by being in prison he 'could not do drugs'. He was released in 1996.
The majority of his legal woes behind him, James returned in 1997 with Urban Rhapsody, which didn't yield any hits but was well accepted by critics. At the age of 56, Rick James died of natural causes on August 6, 2004 at his Los Angeles home.
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 1998
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"R&B Page -- Rick James -- Complete with interview" | |
"Rick James 'King of Punk Funk'" | |
And We Danced - Rick James | |
Rick James Official Web Page |
| LOOK | ALBUM | YEAR | | Urban Rhapsody | 1997 | | Ultimate Collection | 1997 | | Bustin' Out: Very Best Of Rick James | 1994 | | Give It To Me Baby | 1994 | | Wonderful | 1988 | | The Flag | 1986 | | Glow | 1985 | | Reflections | 1984 | | Cold Blooded | 1983 | | Throwin' Down | 1982 | | Street Songs | 1981 | | Garden of Love | 1980 | | Fire It Up | 1979 | | Bustin' Out of L Seven | 1979 | | Come Get It | 1978 |
Urban Rapsody 1997
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01. Urban Rapsody 02. West Coast Thang 03. Somebody's Watching You 04. Back In You Again 05. Turn It Out 06. Good Ol Days 07. Player's Way 08. Never Say You Love Me |
09. It's Time 10. So Soft So Wet 11. Bring On The Love 12. Mama's Eyes 13. Soul Sista 14. Favorite Flava 15. Urban Rapsody (Reprise) |
Ultimate Collection 1997
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01. Cold Blooded 02. Give It To Me Baby 03. You And I 04. Mary Jane 05. Super Freak 06. Dance Wit' Me 07. Make Love To Me |
08. Love Gun 09. Bustin' Out 10. High On Your Love Suite/One Mo Hit (Of Your Love) 11. Ghetto Life 12. Ebony Eyes 13. Fire And Desire |
Bustin' Out: Very Best Of Rick James 1994
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Disc 1 01. You And I 02. Mary Jane 03. Dream Maker 04. Bustin' Out (On Funk) 05. Love Gun 06. Big Time 07. Give It To Me Baby 08. Super Freak 09. Ghetto Life 10. Fire And Desire 11. Standing On The Top 12. Hard To Get 13. She Blew My Mind (69 Times) 14. Dance Wit Me |
Disc 2 01. Teardrops 02. Cold Blooded 03. U Bring The Freak Out 04. Ebony Eyes 05. 17 06. You Turn Me On 07. Glow 08. Moon Child 09. Divine Love (So Fine) 10. Serious Love (Spend The Night) 11. Starship 12. Down By Law 13. Medley: You & I/Bustin' Out/Cold Blooded/Mary Jane/Give It To Me Baby/Hard To Get/Super Freak |
Give It To Me Baby 1994
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01. You And I 02. Give It To Me Baby 03. Mary Jane 04. Cold Blooded 05. Love Gun 06. Calll Me Up |
07. Stormy Love 08. Dream Maker 09. She Blew My Mind (69 Times) 10. Spacey Love 11. Moonchild |
Wonderful 1988
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01. Wonderful 02. Judy 03. Loosey's Rap 04. So Tight 05. Sexual Luv Affair 06. Love's Fire |
07. I Believe In U 08. In The Girl's Room 09. Hypnotize 10. Sherry Baby 11. Hot Summer Nights |
The Flag 1986
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01. Freak Flag 02. Forever and A Day 03. Sweet and Sexy Thing 04. Free To Be Me 05. Save It For Me 06. Freak Flag |
07. R U Experienced 08. Funk In Amerika / Silly Little Man 09. Slow And Easy Interlude 10. Slow And Easy 11. Om Raga 12. Painted Pictures 13. Freak Flag |
Glow 1985
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01. Can't Stop 02. Spend The Night With Me 03. Melody Make Me Dance 04. Somebody (The Girl's Got) 05. Glow |
06. Moon Child 07. Sha La La La La 08. Rock And Roll Control 09. Glow (reprise) |
Reflections 1984
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01. 17 02. Oh What A Night (4 Luv) 03. You Turn Me On 04. Fire And Desire 05. Bustin' Out |
06. You And I 07. Mary Jane 08. Dance Wit' Me 09. Give It To Me Baby 10. Super Freak |
Cold Blooded 1983
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01. U Bring The Freak Out 02. Cold Blooded 03. Ebony Eyes 04. 1, 2, 3 (You Her And Me) 05. Doin' It |
06. New York Town 07. P. I. M. P. The S. I. M. P. 08. Tell Me (What You Want) 09. Unity |
Throwin' Down 1982
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01. Dance Wit' Me 02. Money Talks 03. Teardrops 04. Throwdown 05. Standing On The Top |
06. Hard To Get 07. Happy 08. 69 Times 09. My Love |
Street Songs 1981
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01. Give It To Me Baby 02. Ghetto Life 03. Make Love To Me 04. Mr. Policeman |
05. Super Freak 06. Fire & Desire 07. Call Me 08. Below The Funk (Pass The J) |
Garden of Love 1980
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01. Big Time 02. Don't Give Up on Love 03. Island Lady 04. Gettin' it On |
05. Summer Love 06. Mary-Go-Round 07. Gettin' it On |
Fire It Up 1979
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01. Fire It Up 02. Love Gun 03. Lovin' You Is A Pleasure 04. Love In The Night |
05. Come Into My Life 06. Stormy Love 07. When Love Is Gone |
Bustin' Out of L Seven 1979
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01. Bustin' Out 02. High On Your Love 03. One Mo Hit (Of Your Love) 04. Love Interlude |
05. Spacey Love 06. Cop `N' Blow 07. Jefferson Ball 08. Fool On The Street |
Come Get It 1978
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01. Stone City Band, Hi! 02. You And I 03. Sexy Lady 04. Dream Maker |
05. Be My Lady 06. Mary Jane 07. Hollywood 08. Stone City Band, Bye! |
