Rick James By: Francesca Small

James Ambrose Johnson Jr….The Early Years One of eight children, James was born in Buffalo, New York on February 1st 1948 His mother would often take him to bars were she would collect numbers. This is were he was introduced to performers such as Miles Davis and Etta James.

Getting Into Trouble James had attended both Orchard Park High School and Bennett High School before dropping out. He had many stints in jail for theft and burglary. He eventually enlisted in the navy at 14 or 15, to avoid the draft, and lied about his age. After being ordered to Vietnam for missing his reserve sessions, he fled to Toronto, Canada in 1965.

Rick James Meets Motown While in Canada, James founded a band named “Mynah Bird”, its sound fused a fusion of soul, folk and rock music. The band after making a few lineup changes, left to Detroit to record with Motown records. Motown execs eventually found out about Rick James’ criminal life, and would not release anymore of his music until he got his legal issues taken care of. James then turned himself in to the FBI I 1966, and was sentenced to the navy, for 5-6 months of hard labor.

Rick James and Motown After completing his detention, James went on to write many songs for Motown artists such as The Miracles, Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, and The Spinners. However, like many artists at the time, James rarely saw profit for his work.

Rick James Goes Solo Rick James’ solo album is released April 1978, entitled Come Get It!. This album featured songs such as Mary Jane and You and I, chart toppers that brought James to stardom. Motown records had been suffering from low sales and funds, and this album helped them greatly.

Following Albums Bustin' Out of L Seven was released in early 1979, and sold a million copies. Fire it Up was released late 79’ and went gold. Around this time, James launched his first headlining tour, The Fire it Up tour. He brought Teena Marie and then upcoming artist Prince to be opening acts. James had produces Marie’s very successful debut Motown album, Wild and Peaceful.

More and More Albums Garden of Love, a ballad heavy album was released in 1980, and was James’ 4th album to go gold. Then in 1981, James would release Street Songs, his best selling album to date. Street Songs featured a mix of many genres, including pop, rock, and funk. James considered his work to be “crossover funk” and “punk funk”.

Rick James Relationships James had three children with singer songwriter Syville Morgan. James would go on to date famous actress Linda Blair from 1982-84. He wrote the hit song “Cold Blooded” after her. In 1989, James would begin his relationship with then 17 year old Tanya Hijazi. They would later have a son together, married in 1996 and divorced in 2002. Teena Marie and Rick James were really close friends. According to Marie, the two dated for three months, and were engaged for two weeks.

The Friends Made Along the Way Rick James was good friends with both Charlie and Eddie Murphy. Eddie Murphy and James met in 81’ and the two recorded the song "Party All The Time“ together in 85’. Charlie Murphy met James in 84’ and the two were very close. Both have had skits on the Dave Chappelle show were they recount their relationship.

Rick James Passing On August 6th 2004, James’ caretaker found him dead in his Los Angeles home. James had passed due to cardiac failure as a result of his various health conditions.

Rick James’ Influence on Music Rick James was a pioneer artist that not only performed, but wrote, produced, and arranged. He found importance in crossing funk groove, rock, pop, soul and his own twist to all of his creations. He influenced many artists from Prince, to modern acts like Rae Sremmurd and Drake.

Discography Studio albums Come Get It! (with the Stone City Band) (1978) Bustin' Out of L Seven (1979) Fire It Up (1979) Garden of Love (1980) Street Songs (1981) Throwin' Down (1982) Cold Blooded (1983) Glow (1985) The Flag (1986) Wonderful (1988) Kickin' (1989) Urban Rapsody (1997)

Bibliography James, Rick, and David Ritz. Glow : The Autobiography of Rick James. First Atria books hardcover edition. ed., Atria Books, 2014. James, Rick. The Confessions of Rick James : Memoirs of a Super Freak. Colossus Books, 2007. Benjaminson, Peter. Super Freak : The Life of Rick James. Chicago Review Press, 2017. Vincent, Rickey. Funk : The Music, the People, and the Rhythm of the One. 1st St. Martin’s Griffin ed. ed., St. Martin’s Griffin, 1996. Ripani, Rich. The New Blue Music : Changes in Rhythm & Blues, 1950-1999. 1st ed. ed., University Press of Mississippi, 2006. Pilchak, Angela M. Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music. Volume 55, Thomson Gale, 2006. George, Nelson. Buppies, B-Boys, Baps & Bohos : Notes on Post-Soul Black Culture. 1st Da Capo Press ed., updated and expanded ed. ed., Da Capo Press, 2001. Morgan, Pat. Motown Artist by Artist : A Compilation of the 100 Greatest Motown Artists. G2 Rights, 2014. LaBlanc, Michael L. Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music. Volume 2, Gale Research, 1990.