He recorded his first solo hit, “ My Mama.” Three years later, he formed the Stone City Band in his hometown. Between 19, he produced songs for Motown acts The Spinners and The Miracles, relocated to California and then the UK, and continued performing as a bassist with various rock and funk groups he formed or joined.īy 1973, he signed another recording contract with A&M Records. A few months later, James served his one-year prison sentence throughout 1967. Around this same time in Detroit, he performed an impromptu version of “ Fingertips” in front of Stevie Wonder, and Wonder suggested he change his stage name to Ricky James. As their popularity grew, the band was signed to a record deal by Motown Records in 1966, but they never released any material because James was arrested for deserting from the Navy two years earlier.
A few months later, he formed the Mynah Birds with Neil Young. He changed his legal name to Ricky James Matthews to avoid military authorities. And as a teenager he found the military to be too rigid so he fled to Toronto, Canada, where he befriended two unknown musicians at the time, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. Johnson always had a zest for living the fast life. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Naval Reserves at the age of 15 to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War. Once he entered Bennett High School, he joined the school’s band and sung with two of his closest friends, Jimmy Steward and Levi Ruffin.
#GIVE IT TO ME LYRICS RICK JAMES HOW TO#
Under the tutelage of local minister Reverend Malcolm Erni, he began learning how to play the bongos and congas. By the time he was in elementary school, he was singing in the choir at St. While growing up there, he unearthed a knack for creating music with random household items. The album spawned two chart-topping singles, “Give It to Me Baby” and “Super Freak." Photo by Mark Weiss/WireImage In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Rick James’ Street Songs, we spoke with engineer Rick Sanchez, who provided an incisive account of how this classic record came to fruition.Ĭoming from humble beginnings in the Perry and Willert Park Projects, located in Buffalo, New York, James Ambrose Johnson, Jr., better known to the world as Rick James, found his musical gift at an early age. It peaked at number three on the Billboard charts.
On April 7, 1981, Rick James' Street Songs was released.