James Ingram

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James Ingram
James Ingram and Dave Koz
James Ingram and Dave Koz
Background information
Born February 16, 1956 (1956-02-16) (age 52)
Origin Akron, Ohio, USA
Genre(s) Soul, Adult Contemporary, Quiet Storm
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, Record producer
Instrument(s) Vocals, Piano, Keyboards, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums
Years active 1975—present
Website James Ingram


James Ingram (born February 16, 1956) is an American soul musician. Although most famous for his vocal performance, he is also a self-taught musician who plays piano, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. Additionally, he is a producer and songwriter.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early Life

James Ingram was born in Akron, Ohio. He began his career in the '70s as part of the band Revelation Funk with Bernard Lawson, Sr., also from Akron. 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 the album Zingara.

[edit] Career

In 1981, 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 this album. Ingram's debut album, It’s Your Night, appeared in 1983, including the ballad "There’s No Easy Way." He also worked with other notable R&B artists such as Ray Charles, Michael McDonald, Patti Austin, Anita Baker, Viktor Lazlo, Nancy Wilson, Natalie Cole, and Kenny Rogers. In 1987 he teamed with American vocalist Linda Ronstadt, and had a US Pop No. 2 Hit with Somewhere Out There, theme from the animated feature film, An American Tail. The song garnered Grammy and Academy Award nominations and was certifed gold (over 500,000 US copies sold) by the RIAA. In 1990 James Ingram scored the No. 1 hit on the pop charts with the love ballad "I Don't Have the Heart" from his "It's Real" album in 1990.

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)" which was recorded by Michael Jackson on his blockbuster Thriller.

His 1994 composition "The Day I Fell in Love", which he duetted with Dolly Parton, was the theme song for the movie Beethoven's 2nd and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

During the summer of 2006, Ingram 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.

[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