Rick James

James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Rick James began his musical career in his teenage years. He was in various bands before entering the U.S. Naval Reserve to avoid being drafted into the Army. In 1964, James moved 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. He served several months in jail. After being released, James moved back to Toronto to pull together a new version of the Mynah Birds, with whom he returned to Motown to record. When that lineup folded, he moved to California, where he took over an existing group of Toronto ex-pats, Merryweather, added a new bassist and changed the group's name to Salt and Pepper. After a strong start and some recording for the Atlantic label, the group split and Rick and the group's keyboardist returned to Toronto to form Heaven and Earth with local players. They later merged with a local horn group, Milestone, and continued under a new name, Great White Cane. That group went to Los Angeles, signed to MGM Records' Lion subsidiary. Their ensuing self-titled LP, released in 1972, was well received critically but sold poorly and was out of print very quickly. After forming the locally popular Stone City Band in his hometown of Buffalo in 1977, James found success as a recording artist after signing with Motown's Gordy Records, releasing the album Come Get It! in 1978 which produced the hits "You and I" and "Mary...