Rick James was born on February 1, 1948. James was an R&B singer, songwriter, and producer who was at his most popular in the late 1970s and 1980s.
James enlisted in the United States Navy while still a teenager, lying about his age, to avoid being drafted by the Army and sent to Vietnam. When he failed to meet his Naval Reserve training requirements, he was ordered to Vietnam, and fled to Toronto in 1965.
In Toronto, James founded The Mynah Birds, which played a mix of folk, soul, and rock. In their three years of existence, The Mynah Birds went through a lot of membership changes, and several of their members later went on to bigger success. Neil Young and Bruce Palmer were founding members of Buffalo Springfield, and Young continues to be a successful solo act; Goldy McJohn and Nick St. Nicholas were both members of Steppenwolf.
The Mynah Birds eventually signed with Motown. They never released a full album, but did record a few singles. "I Got You (In My Soul)" and "I'll Wait Forever" can be heard on Motown Unreleased 1966, and "It's My Time" and "Go On and Cry" are included on Complete Motown Singles 1966.
The Mynah Birds' career with Motown ended when the label learned of James' status as a Navy deserter. James eventually turned himself in, and served five months of hard labor. After his release, he returned to Motown, where he spent a few years working as a songwriter and producer. The 1968 single "Malinda," by Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, and credited to "Ricky Matthews," is a highlight of James' Motown work from this period.
By 1970, James had moved to California. He reconnected with Neil Young, and was almost chosen as the bass player for Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. James spent most of the 70s forming and recording with a series of unsuccessful bands. He would make another reconnection, signing with the Gordy Records label of Motown in 1977. James' first solo album, 1978's Come Get It!, was a smash, and included the big hits "You and I" and "Mary Jane." He made his first tour as a headliner in 1979, with Prince as one of his opening acts. James would release an album a year for the next decade, and had his biggest crossover to the pop charts in 1981 with the album Street Songs and its hit single "Super Freak."
During this part of his career, James was also having great success as a producer for other acts, generating hits for The Temptations ("Standing On the Top"), the Mary Jane Girls ("In My House"), and Eddie Murphy ("Party All the Time").
James's last big commercial success came in 1988, with the album Wonderful, featuring the single "Loosey's Rap." He would accuse MTV of racism for refusing to play that song's sexually provocative video, which he argued was no more explicit than many of the Madonna videos that the network did play.
In 1990, James successfully sued MC Hammer for songwriting credit on "U Can't Touch This," which featured a prominent sample from "Super Freak," and shared the Grammy Award that "U Can't Touch This" won as Best R&B Song.
James struggled with drug addiction for most of his life, and those problems caught up with him in the 1990s. He had a long string of medical, legal, and financial problems, and spent two years in prison after assaulting a woman at a West Hollywood hotel while using cocaine. He released his final album, Urban Rapsody, on a small independent label in 1997. James died in 2004 of heart and lung failure associated with his general poor health.
In addition to the albums linked above, most of Rick James' albums are available for streaming at Hoopla. Glow: The Autobiography of Rick James, co-written with David Ritz, is available in e-book and print.