Rick James

以Super Freak和Give It to Me Baby等名曲成為放克/靈魂樂界傳奇歌手/制作人的Rick James，美國時間上周五在家中去世，享年56歲。根據(jù)醫(yī)生表示，Rick在1998年曾因為頸部血管破裂而中風(fēng)，這一次可能是因為此宿疾而導(dǎo)致他的去世。
 
Rick James以熱力十足的作品以及豪放不羈的形象聞名，他從70年代與Motown唱片簽約之后，不但以多首暢銷歌曲成為該唱片公司最賺錢的藝人之一，到了80年代后，他還為一些其它同門歌手像是Teena Mari、Mary Jane Girls等藝人制作出許多暢銷專輯。Rick James到了80年代末期與Motown唱片解約，但從此他的事業(yè)也開始走下坡，一直到1990年MC Hammer一首取樣自Super Freak的歌曲U Can't Touch This紅遍大街小巷，Rick才又重新回到媒體的聚光燈焦點下。不過這短暫的好運卻在1993年因為Rick自己所犯的錯誤而煙消云散，他在該年被控傷害兩位女性，因此坐了兩年多的牢。出獄后的他在新世紀來臨后想要重振旗鼓，最近他還與老搭檔Teena Mari一起巡回演唱，并且與年輕一輩的歌手像是Kanye West等人合作。Rick原本計劃要和Teena Mari在明年度為他籌備中的新專輯巡回演唱，不過現(xiàn)在都不可能實現(xiàn)了。
 
Rick今年五月接受MTV記者訪問時表示，他已經(jīng)徹頭徹尾地洗心革面，他的個性已經(jīng)收斂許多，也不再沉迷于酒色，他現(xiàn)在的重心都是放在他的小孩身上，同時也在為未來新的創(chuàng)作而努力。Rick同時表示，他對他的新生活很滿意，他很高興能與Teena再度合作，“或許明天一切就會結(jié)束，不過我現(xiàn)在感覺很好。”沒想到Rick的這段話竟然一語成讖。
 
by William Ruhlmann
 
In the late 70s, when the fortunes of Motown Records seemed to be flagging, Rick James came along and rescued the company, providing funky hits that updated the labels style and saw it through into the mid-80s. Actually, James had been with Motown earlier, though nothing had come of it. After growing up in Buffalo and running away to join the Naval Reserves, he ran away from the Navy to Toronto, where he was in a band with future Buffalo Springfield members Neil Young and Bruce Palmer, and with Goldy McJohn, later of Steppenwolf. As the Mynah Birds, they signed to Motown and recorded, though no record was ever released.
 
James had a journeymans career playing bass in various groups before signing again to Motown as an artist, songwriter, and producer. His first single, You and I (May 1978), topped the R&B charts and reached the pop Top 40. Mary Jane (September 1978) was another hit. Both were on James debut album, Come Get It! (June 1978), which went gold. Subsequent efforts were not as successful, though Bustin Out of L Seven (January 1979) featured the R&B hit Bustin Out (April 1979). James returned to form with the number one R&B hit Give It to Me Baby (March 1981), featured on the million-selling Street Songs (April 1981), which also featured the hit Super Freak.
 
James turned his production attention to resuscitating the career of the Temptations, recently returned to Motown, and Standing on the Top (April 1982), credited to the Temptations featuring Rick James, was an R&B Top Ten. (He also produced recordings by Teena Marie and the Mary Jane Girls.) James follow-up to Street Songs was the gold-selling Throwin Down (May 1982), which featured the hit Dance Wit Me. The title song of Cold Blooded (August 1983) became James third R&B number one, and the album also featured his hit duet with Smokey Robinson, Ebony Eyes. James greatest-hits album Reflections (August 1984) featured the new track 17 (June 1984), which also became a hit. Glow (April 1985) contained Top Ten R&B singles in the title track and Cant Stop, which was featured in the summer movie blockbuster Beverly Hills Cop. The Flag (June 1986) featured the hit Sweet and Sexy Thing (May 1986).
 
James left Motown for the Reprise division of Warner Bros. Records as of the album Wonderful (July 1988), which featured his number one R&B hit Looseys Rap, on which he was accompanied by rapper Roxanne Shante. Nevertheless, his punk funk didnt seem to rest comfortably with the trend toward rap/hip-hop. In 1989, James charted briefly with a medley of the Drifters hits This Magic Moment and Dance With Me. In 1990, MC Hammer scored a massive hit with U Cant Touch This, which consisted of his rap over the instrumental track of Super Freak. That should have made for a career rebirth, but James was plagued by drug and legal problems that found him more frequently in court and in jail rather than in the recording studio. The majority of his legal woes behind him, James returned in 1997 with Urban Rapsody, which didnt yield any hits but was well accepted by critics. Rick James died of a heart attack on August 6, 2004, at his Los Angeles home.