Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
Rick James
Sign in to saveAlso known as James Ambrose Johnson Jr., James Johnson, James Ambrose Johnson
American singer, songwriter and record producer (1948-2004)
OverviewAI-generated
Rick James, born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr., was an American singer, record producer, and songwriter. He was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1948 and died in Los Angeles in 2004. A member of the United States Navy, he performed in the genres of soul, rhythm and blues, funk, and rock music. His career spanned from 1964 until his death.
James played bass guitar, guitar, and voice. He recorded for Motown, Reprise Records, and Mercury Records. He was also known for acting. He was convicted of assault and died of a myocardial infarction due to natural causes.
Synthesized by Vinony from 31 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film & TV
Buffalo, New York, USA
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,…
Known for
- Bitchin': The Sound and Fury of Rick James — Self (archive footage)2021
- I'm Rick James: The Definitive DVD2009
- 101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment — Self (archive footage)2003
- Chappelle's Show — Self2003
- Life — Spanky Johnson1999
- Where Are They Now? — Self1999
- Motown 40: The Music Is Forever — Self1998
- South Park — Rick James (voice)1997
- Behind the Music — Self1997
- E! True Hollywood Story1996
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United States
- Active from
- 1948
- Active to
- 2004
Discography
- Come Get It!1978
- You and I / Hollywood1978
- Bustin’ Out of L Seven1979
- Fire It Up1979
- High On Your Love Suite / You & I1979
- Love Gun1979
- Garden of Love1980
- In ’n’ Out1980
- Give It to Me Baby1981
- Street Songs1981
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 1,528,965
- Total plays
- 12,807,054
Tags
Rick James (born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr; February 1, 1948 - August 6, 2004) was an American funk and soul musician from Buffalo New York, who worked as a singer, keyboardist, bassist, record producer, arranger, and composer during his long career. One of the most popular artists on the Motown label during the late 1970s and early 1980s, James was famous for his wild brand of funk music and his trademark cornrow braids. As time went on, James was given the unofficial title The King of Punk-Fun
Key facts
- Born
- James Ambrose Johnson Jr. , ( 1948-02-01 ) February 1, 1948, Buffalo , New York , U.S.
- Died
- August 6, 2004 (2004-08-06) (aged 56), Los Angeles , California , U.S.
- Other name
- Ricky Matthews
- Occupations
- Singer songwriter record producer
- Years active
- 1964–2004
- Spouse
- Tanya Hijazi ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1996 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 2002 )
- Genres
- R&B soul funk rock disco doo-wop post-disco
- Instruments
- Vocals bass guitar guitar keyboards drums percussion
- Labels
- Gordy Reprise A&M Mercury
- Website
- rickjames .com
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Family name
- Johnson
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Buffalo
- Place of death
- Los Angeles
- Occupation
- pianist
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Genre
- disco
- Instrument
- voice
- Military branch
- United States Navy
- Official website
- www.rickjames.com
- Image
- Rick James in Lifestyles of the Rich 1984.JPG
- Convicted of
- assault
Show 15 more facts
- Commons category
- Rick James
- date of birth
- 1948-02-01
- date of death
- 2004-08-06
- cause of death
- myocardial infarction
- manner of death
- natural causes
- ethnic group
- African Americans
- start of work period
- 1964-00-00
- name in native language
- James A. Johnson
- end of work period
- 2004-00-00
- birth name
- James Ambrose Johnson, Jr.
- place of detention
- Folsom State Prison
- relative
- Melvin Franklin
- pseudonym
- Jesus Suarez
- copyright representative
- American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
- social media followers
- 492000
via Wikidata · CC0
~26 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Rick James” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.