Waaaaaaay back in the day at one of his smaller concerts, Rick James made eye contact with me, and I talked about it for years. Then again, he may have been looking at the person behind me. Rick James is dead at 56:
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Funk singer Rick James, best known for the 1981 hit “Super Freak,” died Friday, apparently of natural causes, police said.James, 56, died at 9:45 a.m. at a residence near Universal City, said Officer Esther Reyes, a Police Department spokeswoman.
“He died apparently of natural causes. We learned of his death after responding to a radio call,” Reyes said.
After his big hit, James’ fame began to fade as he became embroiled in legal problems and health troubles.
James was convicted in 1993 of assaulting two women. The first attack occurred in 1991 when he restrained and burned a young woman with a hot pipe during a cocaine binge at his house in West Hollywood. He was free on bail when the second assault occurred in 1992 in James’ hotel room.
James was sentenced to more than two years in state prison.
In 1997, he released a new album, but a year later he suffered a stroke while performing at Denver’s Mammoth Events Center, derailing a comeback tour.
In 1998 he also underwent hip replacement surgery.
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Nooooooooooooooooooooo!
I thought with the Dave Chappel show and movie deal, and his recent performance at the award show he was going to make a comeback!
Man, drugs and rough living…
Wow, you know what is spooky ironic LaShawn, I was looking for a CD to work out to at 5AM this morning, and the one I picked was “Wonderful” by Rick James!
Rick James was one talented man. My favorite jams by him are “Give It to Me Baby” and the Teena Marie “Fire and Desire,” both from the amazing STREET SONGS album.
Actually he re-teamed with Marie for the song, “I Got You,” one of the best songs on her comeback CD, which came out in May. I was really looking forward to hearing more from him. When I get home from work tonight the first thing I’m going to do is throw on a greatest-hits collection by him and groove to all the great songs he gave the world.
R.I.P.,
Mr. Rick James
My dear LaShawn –
Is this meant to imply that you are one of the girls ” you can’t take home to mother?”
ROTFL —
I wasn’t that bad, but before I stopped drinking and found Christ (He drew me), I was a little naughty!
Hirez – So you’re a Rick James fan, huh? After Ebony Eyes, I didn’t really get into his music.
I loved Rick James’ music, even though it was a little mature for me at the time…me being 5 when Street Songs came out and all, but some of those album covers raised questions nobody wanted to answer. (See the back side of Street Songs, where Rick, wearing skin-tight black spandex pants and knee-high boots, is on the street with TWO women, and being accosted by a cop. The cop has his hand squarely on Rick’s BUTT. Ummm…)
All things made new in Christ — ain’t grace grand?
Speaking of what ever happen to Alexander O’Neil?
I always preferred “Give It To Me Baby” to “Superfreak”, myself. Not that that’s either here or there, mind you.
As friends of mine often say when a celebrity dies, Goodnight, funnyman.
La Shawn,
What was your motivation for posting, of all things, a Rick James obiturary? Just wondering.
I was a Rick James Fan and one of those “girls that you dont take home to mother” I became a Christian nearly 15 years ago, but whenever I heard that song I would smile and think of my comming of age years, with Super Freak blarring our in the background. I was always sorry for his lostness, as he had a ton of talent and will be missed
Although I was just a babe back then, I heard his song when I was older, and let me just say, It’s Superfreaky.
As a doctor, I can tell you:
Saying that Rick James died “of natural causes” is a stretch.
Jame’s heart and brain and his whole body were weakened by his use of cocaine – a stroke and likely heart failure resulted from excessive cocaine use – this is standard medicine and is not “natural”.
I saw Rick James last year at Constitution Hall in D.C.
(The history of that place is mind numbing. And considering the people who keep that place in green is even more so).
Anyway, he was a shadow of himself. It was kind of sad.
But he rocked the place.
I can’t wait to get the last CD he did with the “hip hop” artists of today.
Rick was a great artist and he will be missed by his fans. However Rick was from Buffalo, New York and when he gained his fame and fortune he did nothing for his hometown or his community, and to erect a statue of him or observe his death every year is a bunch of bulls**t. Rick was no hero, he was a superfreak and sung about what he did best DRUGS AND PARTYING and that’s what killed him. He lived fast and died young. He looked a mess and he and Tina did a terrible performance on the Awards. Sorry to knock him when he’s gone, but if all of this was said before he died it would be different.
I was shock to hear about Mr.James passing and for me being from the same home town he’s from I’m pretty sure Buffalo is sadden also. All of the stuff that he went thew I know in my heart that he is now at peace with God and himself. May he rest in peace he will forever be missed.
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