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Rick James and his very first band, Mynah Birds- Author; Burbankvideo-

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Rick James

James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 鈥� August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his teenage years.

He was in various bands before entering the U.S. Navy Reserve to avoid being drafted into the army.

Heard that catchy song, super freak, with a very catchy bass line? That’s Rick James’ masterpiece. As much as it was a popular disco 80s hit song, up to date if nothing else, we are all aware of that bass line that will just make you bop your head to it.

1. Rick James was a deserter but this is what started off his music career

Russian loyal soldier forcing his deserting comrades to return to the trenches during WW1- Author; Unknown-

In 1964, James deserted to Toronto, Canada, where he formed the rock band, ‘ the Mynah Birds,’ who eventually signed a recording deal with Motown Records in 1966.

James’s career with the group halted after military authorities discovered his whereabouts and eventually convicted him of desertion-related charges.

James ended up serving several months in jail. After being released, James moved to California, where he started a variety of rock and funk groups in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

2. Found success after signing with Motown’s Gordy Records

Motown- Author; Infrogmation-

After forming the locally popular Stone City Band in his hometown of Buffalo in 1977, James finally found success as a recording artist after signing with Motown’s Gordy Records, and releasing the album Come Get It! 

In 1981, James released his most successful album which was known as, Street Songs. It included career-defining hits such as “Give It to Me Baby” and “Super Freak.”

James was also known for his soulful ballads such as “Fire & Desire” and “Ebony Eyes”.

In addition, James also had a successful career as a songwriter and producer for other big and major artists including Teena Marie, the Mary Jane Girls, the Temptations, Eddie Murphy and Smokey Robinson.

3. His major success came after the release of the Glow album

A music Album Tracks- Author; Bingar1234-

James’s mainstream success peaked by the release of his album ‘Glow’ in 1985 and his appearance on the popular TV show, .

His subsequent album releases failed to sell as well as their predecessors. Rapper MC Hammer sampled James’s “Super Freak” for his 1990 hit, “U Can’t Touch This” which won Best R&B Song at the 1991 Grammy Awards. Through this song, James received his only Grammy for composing the song.

By the early 1990s, James’s career was unfortunately hampered by his drug addiction and he was embroiled in legal issues.

4. Rick’s career returned to mainstream pop culture after appearing in the Chappelle’s show

Dave Chappelle (right)- Author; US Air Force-

In 2004, James’s career returned to mainstream pop culture after he appeared in an episode of Chappelle’s Show.

The segment involved a Charlie Murphy True Hollywood Stories鈥搒tyle skit that satirized James’s wild lifestyle in the 1980s.

This resulted in a renewed interest in his music and that year, he was able to return and perform on the road. James died later that year from heart failure at age 56. Those last moments of being in his former glory was worth it though.

5. His greatest hit of all time was Super Freak

SuperFreak- Author; CheckmatEMuzik-

The Super Freak song was James’  biggest crossover single. It is a song that managed to mix elements of funk, disco, rock and new wave.It’s no wonder it became such a big hit

James once said that he wrote 鈥淪uper Freak鈥� quickly, as he was just looking to assemble 鈥渁 silly song that had a bit of new wave texture to it.鈥�

As he explained to Musician magazine in 1983: 鈥淪o I just came up with this silly little lick and expounded on it. I came up with the bass part first. Then I put a guitar on it and keyboards, doing the 鈥榚hh ehh,鈥� silly keyboard part. Then I found a tuning on my Oberheim OB-Xa that I鈥檇 been wanting to use for a long time 鈥� it sounds like ghosts. And I put a very operatic vocal structure on it 鈥檆ause I鈥檓 really into opera and classical music.鈥�

Additionally, the ‘Super Freak’ song ended up becoming such a success such as Rolling Stone magazine ranked it No. 477 on its 2004 list of the 500 all-time greatest songs.

When the list was revised in 2011, the song slipped to No. 481. The accompanying write-up notes that James 鈥渨asn鈥檛 exactly modest about his ambitions鈥� when he declared in 1981 that he wanted to make 鈥淧aul McCartney鈥� money.

James got his wish 鈥渨ith the self-described 鈥榩unk funk鈥� of 鈥楽uper Freak,鈥� from his breakthrough album, Street Songs,鈥� the magazine said.

6. He sued MC Hammer for using Super Freak’s opening bass line

MC Hammer- Author; Brian Solis-

In 1990, MC Hammer borrowed the 鈥淪uper Freak鈥� opening bass line for use in his hit 鈥淯 Can鈥檛 Touch This.鈥� James sued, alleging copyright infringement.

The case was settled out of court, and both James and Hammer were given co-writing credits for the tune.

Later, they shared a Grammy Award (along with co-writer Alonzo Miller) for best rhythm and blues song. It was the only Grammy James received in his lifetime, according to Grammy.com.

7. How Rick started out is an interesting story

Rick James and his very first band, Mynah Birds- Author; Burbankvideo-

In 1964, James fled to Toronto. Soon after his arrival, three drunk men tried to attack him outside a club; a trio of other men came to his aid. One of them, Levon Helm, was at the time a member of Ronnie Hawkins’ backing band.

Helm invited James to their show later that night and he ended up performing onstage with the band. In Toronto, James was able to make friends with local musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.

In order to evade US military authorities, James went under the assumed name “Ricky James Matthews”. That same year, James formed The Mynah Birds, a band that produced a fusion of soul, folk and rock music.

In 1965, the band managed to briefly record for the Canadian division of Columbia Records, even releasing a single, “Mynah Bird Hop”/”Mynah Bird Song”. James and Palmer recruited guitarists Tom Morgan and Xavier Taylor and drummer Rick Mason to form a new Mynah Birds lineup, and soon travelled to Detroit to record with Motown.

Before the group began recording their first songs for the label, Morgan left, unhappy about the label’s attitude toward the musicians. Neil Young eventually took his place.

It was while in Detroit that James met his musical heroes, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. After meeting Wonder and telling him his name, Wonder felt the name “Ricky James Matthews” was “too long”, and told him to shorten it to “Ricky James”. That is how Rick James ended up being a brand name

8. James’ grave is engraved with words from his unreleased song

Leach Entertainment Features- Author; Jfvoll-

James鈥� ashes are buried in Buffalo, N.Y., where he was born and raised. His grave is marked with a two-ton stone of black granite bearing an image of James from the early 1980s 鈥� wearing tight pants and holding a guitar, his long hair styled into mini braids.

The stone鈥檚 inscription reads, 鈥淚鈥檝e had it all/I鈥檝e done it all/I鈥檝e seen it all/It鈥檚 all about love/God is love.鈥� His family has said the words are from a song James wrote but never released.

Even in death, Ricky still managed to go out in style.

9. Has an Autobiography

Writing- Photo by Aaron Burden on

At the time of his death, James was working on an autobiography, The Confessions of Rick James: Memoirs of a Super Freak, as well as a new album.

The book was finally published in 2007 by Colossus Books and features a picture of his tombstone.

Noted music journalist/biographer David Ritz, who had been employed by James to work on the book with him, later said that this version did not truly reflect how the musician wanted himself portrayed.

In 2014, Ritz published his own, re-edited version, Glow: The Autobiography of Rick James

10. Has received a few recognition for his outstanding talent

A Grammy Award- Author;Jshreve95018-

Throughout his career, James received the following honours: In 1982, he received the American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Album, in 1996 he was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame and he was also nominated for three Grammy Awards, managing to win one as a co-writer for MC Hammer’s song “U Can’t Touch This”.