'Rick James' (born 'James Ambrose Johnson, Jr') (
February 1 1948 –
August 6 2004) was one of the most popular artists on the
Motown label during the late 1970s and early 1980s. James was famous for his wild brand of funk music and his trademark
braids, sporting them well before the style was popularized. As time went on, James was given the unofficial title ''The King of Punk-Funk''. In later life, James's legal problems relating to
drug abuse received much publicity.
Biography
Early life
Born in
Buffalo, New York, James was the third of eight children. His father was an autoworker who abandoned the family, and his mother was a former dancer. "She raised us strict Catholics," James recalled. His uncle was
Melvin Franklin,
bass vocalist of ''
The Temptations''. Two cousins were
Carl Stokes, the first black mayor of
Cleveland, and
Louis Stokes, a former
Ohio congressman.
At age 16, James joined the
U.S. Naval Reserve after dropping out of
Bennett High School. He began missing weekend training because it interfered with his music career and was reported
AWOL. Fleeing north to
Toronto, Ontario in the summer of 1964, James, now using the stage name 'Ricky Matthews', continued his musical career. His first band was called
The Mynah Birds, which also featured
Neil Young and future
Steppenwolf member
Nick St. Nicholas. In 1965, the group recorded a single for the
Canadian arm of
Columbia Records. In early 1965, St. Nicholas left the band and was replaced by
Bruce Palmer.
Shortly afterwards, James and Palmer formed a new Mynah Birds lineup with
guitarists Tom Morgan and John Taylor, and
drummer Rickman Mason. In early 1966, the Mynah Birds auditioned for the Motown label in
Detroit, Michigan. Morgan was unhappy with the label's attitude towards the musicians and left, with Neil Young taking his place. With Young on board, the Mynah Birds returned to Motown to record an album, but their manager pocketed the advance money the label had given the band. The band fired their manager, who in turn told the label that James was AWOL. Motown told him to give himself up to the
FBI, and the
Mynah Birds' album was shelved.
James's career continues
James spent a year in the Brooklyn Brig, after which he briefly returned to
Toronto. During the summer of 1967, Rick James formed a new version of The Mynah Birds (sometimes spelled "Myna Byrds") with
Neil Merryweather. The band returned to Motown and Detroit and recorded a new version of James and Neil Young's ''It's My Time'', but the band broke up soon afterwards. During early 1968, James returned to Motown and became a
songwriter and producer, writing under the name 'Terry Johnson' and working with
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles,
Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers and
The Spinners.
In the summer of 1969, he moved to
Los Angeles, California and formed a band called ''Salt, Pepper, 'N' Cocaine'' 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 Records' - ''Big Showdown'' and ''Don't You Worry'' 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; he, Roth, and Gerrard formed a new group called
Great White Cane with 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 Los Angeles in March 1972, but by that summer they had disbanded.
At the end of 1972, James and LeAnna formed the first version of the 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 entitled ''My Mama''. In 1976, James and South African guitarist Aidan Mason co-wrote, "Get Up and Dance", which was released as a single but failed to chart.
Return to Motown and stardom
In 1977, he returned to Motown as a songwriter/producer. He soon began recording for Motown's Gordy label, first with the Hot Lips and then with a new version of the Stone City Band. This version featured Billy Nunn on keyboards & background vocals, Bobby Nunn on keyboards & background vocals, Freddie Rappilo on guitar, Andy Rapillo on bass, Mike Caputy on drums, Randy & Mike Brecker on horns, Levi & Jackie Ruffin on background vocals Richard Shaw on bass & background vocals, Lorenzo Shaw on drums, Flick, Berry, & Steve Willims on horns, Vanessa, Joey, Dee Dot, Roger Brown, Calvin Moore, Bennie McCullough, background vocals. . James's breakthrough single was ''You And I'', an eight-minute
magnum opus from his 1978 debut album ''Come Get It''. The album also featured his ode to
marijuana, "
Mary Jane" co-written by keyboardist Billy Nunn.
1979 saw the release of two albums: in January, ''
Bustin' Out of L Seven'' with Alyn Symns on guitar, Oscar Alston on bass, Lanise Hughes on drums, Nate Hughes on percussion, Danny LeMelle on saxophone, and Levi Ruffin and Ramadon on synthesizer and Erskin Williams on keyboards; that fall,
Fire It Up with Tom McDermott on guitar. The latter included hits such as the title track and ''Spacey Love'', a ballad dedicated to R&B legend
Patti LaBelle. After 1980s lackluster ''
Garden of Love'' album, James was accused by many as having "sold out", and he returned to his old Buffalo stomping grounds. In 1981 he recorded a
concept album entitled ''
Street Songs'', which included James's biggest hit "
Super Freak". The song featured guest vocals by The Temptations, and was
sampled for
MC Hammer's 1990
Grammy award-winning song "
U Can't Touch This", as well as the title track of
Jay-Z's "
Kingdom Come" LP, released in 2006. Other hits from ''Street Songs'' included "Give It to Me Baby", "Fire and Desire" with protege
Teena Marie, and "Ghetto Life".
The stream of hits continued into the mid-1980s with "Teardrops", "
Cold Blooded", "17", "You Turn Me On" and "Glow". His last R&B hit was "Loosey's Rap" in 1989, featuring a rap by
Roxanne Shante. During this period, he also helped launch the careers of R&B singer Teena Marie and the
Mary Jane Girls as well as producing
Eddie Murphy's
one-hit, ''Party All The Time''.
While he is best known for his up tempo songs in pop circles, the R&B world remembers him as one of the most voracious consumers of cocaine in the late seventies and early eighties. He recorded an early eighties hit with Motown legend
Smokey Robinson entitled
"Ebony Eyes" that captures his voice almost as well as "Fire And Desire".
During this time, he guest-starred on an episode of ''
The A-Team'' entitled ''The Heart of Rock N' Roll'', where he played himself and performed at a prison concert singing "Super Freak";
Isaac Hayes also guest starred in this episode.
In October 2002, his song ''Ghetto Life'' appears in popular video game on the in-game radio station
Fever 105, October 2004 ''Cold Blooded'' appeared in popular
videogame , playing on
Funk radio station
Bounce FM and October 2006 in his song ''Mary Jane'' appeared on the radio station . Also in 2006 ''Super Freak'' and ''Give It To Me Baby'' appear in newly popular videogame .
Cocaine abuse
As the 1980s segued into the 1990s, the dark side of James's life began to overpower his music. He left Motown in 1986 after creative differences, and signed with Warner Brothers, releasing an album in 1988 and contributing a song which combined
The Drifters' "This Magic Moment" with "Dance With Me" for the cover/compilation album 'Rock, Rhythm and Blues' the following year; a video was also filmed before leaving the label.
He was a known
drug user, mainly addicted to
cocaine, which he often smoked; he later admitted to spending about $7,000 a week on drugs for 5 years straight, and to putting aluminum foil on the windows of his home. In 1993, James was convicted of assaulting two women, with the first assault during one of his cocaine binges. In 1991, he and future wife Tanya Hijazi were accused of holding 24-year old Frances Alley hostage for up to six days (accounts vary on how long she was actually held), tying her up, forcing her to perform sexual acts, and burning her legs and abdomen with a hot crack pipe during a week long cocaine binge.
In 1993, while out on bail for that earlier incident, a coked-up James assaulted another woman, music executive Mary Sauger, at the St. James Club & Hotel in
West Hollywood. Sauger claims she met James and Hijazi for a business meeting, but claims the two kidnapped and beat her over a 20-hour period. He was found guilty of both offenses, but was cleared of a torture charge in the crack-pipe incident that could have put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Rick's life changed for the better when he met and befriended John Kistler. Kistler helped Rick get off drugs and the two were close friends up until Rick's death.
Serving two years in
Folsom Prison, as well as losing $2 million in a civil suit to one of the women, did not stop him from writing new songs, even if he did it behind bars. He was released in 1995, and during interviews for a segment of the
VH1 series ''
Behind The Music'', he spoke openly about his life and his battle with drugs for the first time.
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.
James's voice was sampled by
DJ Green Lantern and used in
Busta Rhymes's newest album ''
The Big Bang''. The track was titled "In The Ghetto" and sampled James's "Ghetto Life". At the end of the song Green Lantern threw in a sample of James at the 2004
BET Awards in which he exclaims, "Never mind who you thought I was...
I'm Rick James, bitch!", and was immediately followed by "Cocaine is a hell of a drug!", referencing his portrayal on the sketch comedy series
Chappelle's Show.
Death
On
August 6,
2004, Rick James was found dead in his
Burbank, California home at the Oakwoods on Barham Blvd by his caretaker. James had died from
pulmonary failure and
cardiac failure with his various health conditions of
diabetes, stroke, a
pacemaker, and according to the
Internet Movie Database, a heart attack being listed as contributing factors. Minimal traces of cocaine were found in his bloodstream.
A
coroner's report released
September 16,
2004 officially ruled his death as accidental, reporting nine drugs found in James's bloodstream:
:"
Toxicology revealed the presence of the following drugs,
:
★ Alprazolam (
Xanax),
:
★ Diazepam (
Valium),
:
★ Bupropion (
Wellbutrin),
:
★ Citalopram (
Celexa),
:
★ Hydrocodone (
Vicodin),
:
★
Digoxin,
:
★
Chlorpheniramine,
:
★
Methamphetamine, and
:
★
Cocaine "
The report went on to state that "none of the drugs or drug combinations were found to be at levels that were life threatening in and of themselves."
On August 11, 2004, a public viewing was held at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, along with a public funeral service there the following day. Following the Los Angeles services, his remains were transported back to New York for burial where they were interred at the unrelated
Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York.
At the time of his death, he was working on an autobiography, ''Confessions Of A Superfreak,'' as well as a new album. He was divorced and was survived by three children (Tazman, Ty and Rick James, Jr.) and two granddaughters (Jasmine and Charisma).
The Buffalo News reported on
August 6 2006, two years to the date of his death, the placement of a gravestone at ''Forest Lawn.'' The two ton headstone is four feet nine inches high by four feet wide. Inscribed on it is an image from his 1981 hit album ''Street Songs,'' which included "Give It to Me Baby" and "Super Freak."
Pop culture references
In the ''
The Simpsons'' ''
Treehouse of Horror X''
Halloween special in
1999, Rick James is shown singing "Super Freak" during a parody of
Dick Clark's
New Year's Eve special. As he finishes the song, he is promptly arrested by the police, saying, "Aw man! What did I do now?"
In The Simpsons episode ''
The Great Money Caper'', Chief
Clancy Wiggum says "I'll show you the Rick James cell. It's
superfreaky!".
In The Simpsons episode ''
Sweets and Sour Marge'', lawyer
Gil Gunderson says "I've made too many enemies selling suckless vacuum cleaners and Rick James bibles".
In an episode of
The Surreal Life, James made an appearance surprising rapper
Vanilla Ice.
In
Epic Movie, the Albino monk is nonsense-captioned saying "I'm Rick James, bitch!" for the Latin "Et tu Brute", after he shoots Mr. Tumnus.
James's drug-fueled behavior - as remembered by actor Eddie Murphy's brother
Charlie - featured prominently in a popular skit from the
sketch comedy program ''Chappelle's Show''. This skit gave rise to the
catch phrase "I'm Rick James, bitch!".
The appearance of the character
Old Gregg in British comedy show
The Mighty Boosh is based on James.
The album
Comfort Eagle by American rock band
Cake features a song entitled "Meanwhile Rick James..."
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)
★ ''
Kickin''' (
1989 This was released as a UK Promo only.)
★ ''Rick & Friends'' (
1992)
★ ''Bustin' Out: The Very Best of Rick James'' (
1994)
★ ''The Ultimate Collection'' (
1997)
★ ''
Urban Rapsody'' (
1997)
★ ''Anthology'' (
2002)
★ ''Gold'' (
2005)
★ ''Deeper Still'' (
2007)
See also
★
List of number-one dance hits (United States)
★
List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
★ Mary Jane Girls
★ Teena Marie
★
★
Biggie Smalls
External links
★
Rick James official site
★
Rick James's early years
★
Rick James, The Mynah Birds and Neil Young
★
★
Rick James on Find-A-Grave
★
"Thousands say goodbye to 'Super Freak' singer Rick James" article from the
August 14,
2004 San Diego ''North County Times''
★
Rick James Tribute on Points in Case
★
Rick James Interview about Religion and Politics
★
Rick James's last lyrics ''Buffalo News'' Aug. 6, 2006
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