Black Music Month Spotlight: Rick James

My spotlight today is on Rick James. Born James Johnson, Jr., in Buffalo, New York, he was connected to the music world at birth as the nephew of Temptations singer Melvin Franklin  In an impulsive moment, at age 15, he joined the Navy; justifiably overwhelmed, he went AWOL and took refuge in Canada.  Changing his name to Rick James, he landed a deal for the band with Motown Records.
1977 saw him assemble his mighty Stone City Band and step into the spotlight as a solo artist. His debut LP, "Come and Get It," released by the Motown imprint Gordy in 1978, launched the R&B smashes "You and I" (#1) and pot paean "Mary Jane" (#3).

He capitalized on the popularity of the latter tune by assembling a girl group, The Mary Jane Girls, who accompanied him as a warm-up act (as did a young firebrand named Prince) during his tours for subsequent releases "Bustin' Out of L Seven" and "Fire It Up. t was with 1981's "Street Songs" that James' vision - booty-rocking bass, bulletproof horn charts, rock-tinged guitar riffs, new-wave synthesizer blasts and strutting, lascivious vocals - could at last be fully realized.

But it was the unstoppable "Super Freak" that made James a household name. Unfortunately, the hedonism that catapulted Rick James into the global limelight became his worst enemy. In 1990, as rap music began to penetrate the mass market, the grandly theatrical MC Hammer scored a worldwide smash with "U Can't Touch This," a hip-hop cocktail that got its kick from a "Super Freak" sample.

Rick James claimed his first and only Grammy Award as the co-author. Since he burst upon the scene in the late 70's with his unique brand of Punk Funk music, he has been an inspiration to his peers and won the acclaim of audiences and critics alike.

James' left us far too soon, but his legacy continues to inspire new generations of artists to get their super freak on.
Here are my top 5 Rick James songs
1. Bustin Out
2. Fire and Desire
3. Mary Jane
4. You and I
5. Hard To Get