James Ingram

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James Ingram
Background information
Born February 16, 1956
Origin Akron, Ohio, United States Flag of United States
Genre(s) Soul

James Ingram (born February 16, 1956 in Akron, Ohio) is an American soul musician, famous for his vocal performance. He is also a producer and songwriter.

Contents

[edit] Life and work

As a self-taught musician who plays piano, guitar, bass, drums and synthesizer, Ingram began his career in the 70's as part of the band Revelation Funk starring Bernard Lawson Sr also from Akron, Ohio.

During this time, Ingram developed a reputation in the Los Angeles area as a session vocalist, and came to the attention of ex-Motown songwriter and producer Lamont Dozier. Dozier invited Ingram to contribute vocals to some material; one such song, "Love's Calling," garnered some airplay. The remainder of the material surfaced in 1980 on an album entitled Zingara.

In 1980, Ingram provided the vocals to "Just Once" and "One Hundred Ways" on Quincy Jones's album The Dude. He won a Grammy award for best R&B vocal performance for his work on Jones' album, "The Dude." Ingram's debut album, It’s Your Night, appeared in 1983, including the ballad "There’s No Easy Way." He also worked with other great musical artists such as Ray Charles, Michael McDonald, Patti Austin, Anita Baker, Viktor Lazlo, Nancy Wilson, Natalie Cole, and Kenny Rogers.

Ingram performed two solos on the 1985 recording and video of "We Are the World" and was featured on "Somewhere Out There," a duet with Linda Ronstadt on the soundtrack to the 1986 film An American Tail. He also won a 1985 Grammy Award for "Yah Mo B There," a duet with Michael McDonald. He also co-wrote "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" that was recorded by Michael Jackson on his blockbuster Thriller.

During the summer of 2006, James participated in the U.S. television reality show Celebrity Duets as a duet partner. The show combined professional vocalists, of different musical genre, with entertainers of different backgrounds in a weekly elimination competition. The winner of the contest was Alfonso Ribeiro. The prize was a monetary donation sent to a charity of the winner's choice.

[edit] Singles

1981:

  • "Just Once" [with Quincy Jones] - US #17

1982:

  • "One Hundred Ways" [with Quincy Jones] - US #14

1983:

  • "Baby, Come To Me" [with Patti Austin] - US #1 for 2 weeks, UK #11
  • "How Do You Keep The Music Playing?" - US #45
  • "Party Animal"

1984:

  • "She Loves Me (The Best That I Can Be)"
  • "There's No Easy Way" - US #58
  • "What About Me" [with Kim Carnes and Kenny Rogers] - US #15, UK #92
  • "Yah Mo B There" [with Michael McDonald] - US #19, UK #12
  • "It's Your Night" - UK #82

1986:

  • "Always"
  • "Never Felt So Good"

1987:

  • "Somewhere Out There" [with Linda Ronstadt] - US #2, UK #8
  • "Better Way"

1989:

  • "A Natural Man (You Make Me Feel Like)"
  • "It's Real" - UK #83
  • "I Wanna Come Back"

1990:

1991:

  • "Get Ready"
  • "When Was The Last Time The Music Made You Cry?"
  • "Where Did My Heart Go"

1994:

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • It's Your Night (1983)
  • Never Felt So Good (1986)
  • It's Real (1989)
  • The Power of Great Music (greatest hits disc; 1991)
  • Always You (1993)
  • Forever More: The Best of James Ingram (1999)

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ingram"
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