Rick James
The architect of his own approach to Funk which he dubbed ‘Punk-Funk’ or just ‘P-Funk,’ Rick James popularized the Funk beat on the one from the Dance club to Pop radio. Rick James is a one man writing, producing and performing wizard with a legacy of single-handedly saving Motown Records in the early 80’s and mentoring a range of classic Dance artists from Teena Marie to the Mary Jane Girls.
Rick James’ professional musical career began in the wake of going AWOL from the U.S. Navy. In the mid-60’s he launched the group the Mynah Birds in Toronto and for a brief period in early 1966 Neil Young was a member of the group. The Mynah Birds were signed to Motown and recorded an album’s worth of material, but these recordings have never been commercially released. When the Navy caught up with Rick James, the Mynah Birds split apart. Neil Young and Bruce Palmer, another band member, headed to California to eventually form Buffalo Springfield. Rick James headed to Europe.
In London Rick James formed a blues band called the Main Line. For the next seven years he commuted back and forth betweeen London and North America. In the late 60’s he worked for Motown as a staff songwriter. By 1977 Rick James made the decision to remain permanently in the U.S. and formed the Stone City Band. They released their first album Come Get It! in 1978 and James’ irresistible blend of Funk and Rock propelled the single You and I to the top 3 on Disco charts. A very young Prince and the Mary Jane Girls took part in Rick James’ concert tour in support of the album.
Rick James followed up his success with 3 albums, Bustin’ Out Of L Seven, Fire It Up, and Garden Of Love, in 2 years. None reached the success of his first album. Love Gun and Big Time were minor dance hits, but Rick James’ star was on the fade. Both critics and fans were unprepared for the release of the masterful Street Songs album in 1981. The single Give It To Me Baby preceded the album. It is a masterful slice of swaggering Funk that topped both R&B and Dance charts. Super Freak, the 2nd single, featuring backing vocals by the Temptations, became a breakthrough Pop hit for Rick James. The rhythm track of Super Freak became a hit all over again as the backing for MC Hammer’s U Can’t Touch This in 1990.
1982’s Throwin’ Down album continued the hot streak with Dance Wit’ Me entering the Dance Top 10 and Rick James’ production helping resuscitate the career of the Temptations on Standing On the Top credited to the Temptations Featuring Rick James. Rick James’ notorious hard-living lifestyle
began to take a toll on him physically and artistically. His 1983 album Cold Blooded and its leadoff single by the same name sold reasonably well but received lukewarm critical reviews. A greatest hits album, Reflections, released in 1984 included the moderate hit 17 and nicely wrapped up
his major hits.
While it didn’t reach the Pop sales figures of Street Songs, the album Glow, released in 1985, was a major comeback among R&B and Dance fans. Can’t Stop reached the Dance top 10 and Glow became Rick James’ second number one Dance hit. After 1985, life became difficult for Rick James commercially, artistically, and personally. He had a few scattered hits including Sweet and Sexy Thing and Loosey’s Rap with Roxanne Shante, but continual encounters with the law and drug enforcement completely disrupted his recording career. After a 9-year absence of new albums, Urban Rapsody was released in 1997. It featured collaborations with a number of Rap stars and proved Rick James’ artistic muse was intact. No further albums have been released, but Rick James finally enjoys a happy, comfortable personal life while continuing to tour with Teena Marie.
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