R.I.P James Ingram as the soul singer dies of cancer
The Award Winning RnB singer James Ingram dies at the age of 66 from cancer.
James Ingram was a 2 time Grammy winning RnB artist. His voice was one of the pinnacles of the classic 1980’s RnB sound.
His passing was announced on Twitter by the Actress Debbie Allen who tweeted the following “I have lost my dearest friend and creative partner James Ingram to the Celestial Choir. He will always be cherished, loved and remembered for his genius, his love of family and his humanity. I am blessed to have been so close.”
When James Ingram was 18 he joined a band called Revelation Funk and tried to pay his dues in Los Angeles. James would often underestimate his own vocal abilities with statements like “I knew I couldn’t sing. I wasn’t trying. I was just doing background.”
After the band broke up, Ingram decided to stay in L.A. and got several good back up gigs, working with the likes of Ray Charles and Marvin Gaye. James started singing and writing demos at a studio in Sunset Boulevard for 50 dollars per song. The studio had connections to legend Quincy Jones who heard James Ingram’s version of “Just Once” and immediately saw the star potential in Ingram.
When Quincy called Ingram, James Ingram actually hung up on him and his explanation was “I hung up on Quincy. I was never no singer. I never shopped a deal, none of that. My wife said, ‘James, that was Quincy.’ He called back, and we started talking. I said, ‘Yeah, that’s me.’ He put that on his album.”
That was the moment that brought Ingram into the spotlight. Ingram ended up singing “Just Once” and “One Hundred Ways” on Jones’s 1981 album The Dude. Both of the songs ended in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. His performance of One Hundred Ways won him a Grammy in 1981 for best male RnB performance. He won his second Grammy for Yah Mo B There with Michael McDonald. He also had two number one hits Baby Come to Me in 1983 which he sang with Patti Austin and of course I don’t have the heart in 1990. All throughout his career James was nominated for 14 Grammys.
On a side note, I don’t have the heart is one of my favourite songs of all time. James was especially a great guy to collaborate with as he co-wrote P.Y.T. with Michael Jackson as well as songs with Linda Ronstadt for the ending credits of An American tail with the song called Somewhere Out There.
Quincy Jones took to twitter to express his condolences. “ There are no words to convey how much my ❤️ aches with the news of the passing of my baby brother, James Ingram. With that soulful, whisky sounding voice, James was simply magical. He was, & always will be, beyond compare. Rest In Peace my baby bro…You’ll be in my ❤️ forever”
He will be missed, but his music will live forever.