Rick James

Rick James (born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr.; February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004) was an American musician and composer.

Influenced by singers such as Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson, James started singing in doo-wop and R&B groups as a teenager in his hometown of Buffalo, New York. After entering the U.S. Navy to avoid being drafted, he deserted to Toronto, where he formed the rock and R&B band, The Mynah Birds, whose lineup once included Bruce Palmer, Neil Young, and Nick St. Nicholas. James' tenure with the group was interrupted after he was discovered recording with the group in Motown in 1966. Surrendering to military authorities, he served a one-year prison term. Upon release, James moved to California to resume his duties with the Mynah Birds, although the group eventually split. James began a series of rock bands in California and worked with Motown under the assumed name "Ricky Matthews" as a songwriter.

In 1977, he signed with the Gordy Records imprint of Motown as a recording artist, releasing his debut, Come Get It!, in April 1978. The album sold over two million copies and launched his career into the mainstream as a funk and soul artist. His most popular album, 1981's Street Songs, launched him into superstardom thanks to the hit singles, "Give It to Me Baby" and "Super Freak", the latter song becoming his signature song for the rest of his life, and the basis of MC Hammer's biggest hit, "U Can't Touch This"; James eventually sued for back royalties. After being credited as writer of the song, James became the 1990 recipient of a Best R&B Song Grammy for composing the song. Due to this success, James was often called the "king of punk funk", for his mix of funk, soul and underground-inspired rock music. In addition to his own success, James emerged as a successful songwriter and producer for other artists, such as Teena Marie, The Mary Jane Girls, The Temptations, Eddie Murphy and Smokey Robinson.

Point of No Return (Keyshia Cole album)

Point of No Return is the sixth studio album by Grammy-nominated R&B singer Keyshia Cole; it was released on October 7, 2014, by Interscope Records and served as Cole's final album with the label. The album features production from various music producers including Tim Kelley of Tim & Bob, Mike Will Made It, DJ Mustard, WillieDonut, Amadeus, Stargate and features guest appearances by 2 Chainz, Juicy J, Gavyn Rhone, Wale, August Alsina, Faith Evans and Future. The album has had unsuccessful sales, selling less than 45,000 copies and being Cole's lowest selling album to date. Point of No Return received mixed reviews.

Background

In August 2013, it was reported that songwriter Elijah Blake started working with Cole on her sixth studio album. During the composition of the album, Cole collaborated with artists Juicy J, Future, Wale, Mike Will Made It, Birdman, and R. Kelly. The album marks Cole's last release with Interscope Records. The album's release was set to coincide with the premiere of her reality show Keyshia Cole: All In on BET. Instead, the show premiered in February 2015.

Rick James (disambiguation)

Rick James may refer to:

You and I (Rick James song)

"You and I" was the name of a hit song for R&B/Funk musician Rick James. It was released from his debut album, Come Get It!. It spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B charts and reached number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. "You and I" also peaked at number three on the disco chart.

References

External links

You and I

You and I may refer to:

Music

Albums

Songs

You and I (Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle song)

"You and I" is a song written by Frank J. Myers, and recorded by American country music artists Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle as a duet. It was released in October 1982 as the first single from the album Radio Romance. "You and I" became a major country pop crossover hit for both artists.

US television show Glee covered this song in a mash-up with the Lady Gaga's same titled song in episode "Mash Off."

Reception

Chart performance

References

Sources

You and I (Celine Dion song)

"You and I" is the only radio single from Celine Dion's album A New Day... Live in Las Vegas. It was released on May 17, 2004.

The music video was filmed by an award-winning director Andrew MacNaughtan in July 2004 and was shot partly at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. It premiered two months later. The music video can be found on the Ultimate Box, which was released in Japan in 2008. The music video was nominated for the MuchMoreMusic Award at the 2005 MuchMusic Video Awards.

In October 2004, it was announced that "You and I" would be the theme of Air Canada's new advertising campaign. At the same time the airline unveiled new in-flight service products and new aircraft livery. Dion also recorded a one-minute-long French version of the song called "Mes ailes à moi." Both versions were used in Air Canada's commercials.

The single was a radio hit, topping the Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart.

On June 19, 2007, US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that "You and I" would be her campaign song in her 2008 bid for the Democratic Party nomination for US president. The song was selected as a result of a month-long web campaign to select a theme song.