James Ingram, Grammy-Winning & Chart-Topping R&B Singer, Dies at 66 - Pittsburgh Jazz Network2024-03-28T10:26:03Zhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/forum/topics/james-ingram-grammy-winning-chart-topping-r-b-singer-dies-at-66?groupUrl=obituaries&commentId=1992552%3AComment%3A445034&groupId=1992552%3AGroup%3A188029&feed=yes&xn_auth=noJames Ingram, a Hitmaking Voi…tag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2019-01-30:1992552:Comment:4450342019-01-30T22:54:29.844ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
<h1 class="css-1x5ulj9 e1h9rw200" id="link-6504cd16"><span class="balancedHeadline">James Ingram, a Hitmaking Voice of ’80s R&B, Is Dead at 66</span></h1>
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<div class="css-jmrmmf ehw59r18"><div class="css-t972an ehw59r19"><div class="css-4xzvy5 ehw59r17"><span class="css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0">James Ingram on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1990. Among his many collaborations with the producer Quincy Jones, he…</span></div>
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<h1 class="css-1x5ulj9 e1h9rw200" id="link-6504cd16"><span class="balancedHeadline">James Ingram, a Hitmaking Voice of ’80s R&B, Is Dead at 66</span></h1>
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<div class="css-jmrmmf ehw59r18"><div class="css-t972an ehw59r19"><div class="css-4xzvy5 ehw59r17"><span class="css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0">James Ingram on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1990. Among his many collaborations with the producer Quincy Jones, he participated in the all-star charity single “We Are the World” in 1985.</span><span class="css-vuqh7u e1z0qqy90"><span class="css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0">Credit</span><span>Alice S. Hall/NBC, via Getty Images</span></span></div>
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<span class="css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0">James Ingram on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1990. Among his many collaborations with the producer Quincy Jones, he participated in the all-star charity single “We Are the World” in 1985.</span><span class="emkp2hg2 css-1nwzsjy e1z0qqy90"><span class="css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0">Credit</span><span><span class="css-1dv1kvn">Credit</span>Alice S. Hall/NBC, via Getty Images</span></span><br />
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<li>Jan. 29, 2019</li>
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<div class="css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn"><div class="css-4w7y5l"><p class="css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0">James Ingram, whose voice — technically precise, crisp and reserved, yet full of audacious feeling — made him one of the defining singers of R&B in the 1980s, has died. He was 66.</p>
<p class="css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0">The actress and choreographer Debbie Allen, a frequent collaborator with Mr. Ingram on musical theater projects, <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://twitter.com/msdebbieallen" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">announced his death on Twitter</a>on Tuesday, calling him her “dearest friend and creative partner.” She did not say where or when he died or specify the cause.</p>
<p class="css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0">Just as R&B’s “quiet storm” phase was peaking, Mr. Ingram was plucked from side-gig obscurity by <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="http://www.quincyjones.com/" title="His website." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the producer Quincy Jones</a> to appear on his 1981 album, “The Dude.”</p>
<p class="css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0">Mr. Jones discovered Mr. Ingram on a demo of “<a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EUyG9xrUp0" title="James Ingram performs "Just Once" in 1981." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Just Once</a>,” written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, which he sang for $50. Mr. Jones loved not just the song but the singer as well, and he called Mr. Ingram — who initially hung up on him — and invited him to perform “Just Once” and another song, “One Hundred Ways,” on that album.</p>
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<div class="css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn"><div class="css-4w7y5l"><p class="css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0">Both songs became huge hits, cracking the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. “One Hundred Ways” earned Mr. Ingram a Grammy in 1982 for best male R&B vocal performance.</p>
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<span class="css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0">James Ingram sings "One Hundred Ways" and "I Don't Have The Heart" on "The Tonight Show" (Jay Leno, guest host) in 1990.</span><span class="emkp2hg2 css-1nwzsjy e1z0qqy90"><span class="css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0">Credit</span><span><span class="css-1dv1kvn">Credit</span>Video by DavEvans066</span></span><br />
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<div class="css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn"><div class="css-4w7y5l"><p class="css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0">Up until Mr. Jones rang him up, Mr. Ingram had been content in the background. “I was never no singer; I never shopped a deal, none of that,” he told The Chicago Tribune in 2012.</p>
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<p class="css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0">But his voice — austere, luscious, commanding — was foreground material. His music was gentlemanly and romantic, the aural equivalent of being courted.</p>
<p class="css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0">Mr. Ingram was born on Feb. 16, 1952, and raised in Akron, Ohio. He sang in a church choir — his father was a deacon — and taught himself to play piano. After high school, he passed up a track scholarship to focus on music, eventually moving to Los Angeles.</p>
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<div class="css-13etsum ehw59r18"><div class="css-t972an ehw59r19"><div class="css-12wdzty ehw59r17"><span class="css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0">Mr. Ingram performing at a jazz festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2008, the year he released a gospel album, “Stand (in the Light).”</span><span class="css-vuqh7u e1z0qqy90"><span class="css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0">Credit</span><span>Supri/Reuters</span></span></div>
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<span class="css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0">Mr. Ingram performing at a jazz festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2008, the year he released a gospel album, “Stand (in the Light).”</span><span class="css-vuqh7u e1z0qqy90"><span class="css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0">Credit</span><span>Supri/Reuters</span></span><br />
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<div class="css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn"><div class="css-4w7y5l"><p class="css-1ygdjhk evys1bk0">When Mr. Jones discovered him, Mr. Ingram had been inching his way into the music business for about a decade. He had been a pianist for Ray Charles; played in a band, Revelation Funk, which contributed a song to the soundtrack of the 1975 movie “Dolemite”; played in one of Dick Clark’s support bands; and done side work as a demo singer.</p>
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</div> James Ingram, Grammy-winning…tag:jazzburgher.ning.com,2019-01-30:1992552:Comment:4451302019-01-30T22:52:03.604ZDr. Nelson Harrisonhttp://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/NelsonHarrison
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<p class="content__meta content__meta-timestamp">UPDATED ON: JANUARY 29, 2019 / 8:30 PM / CBS NEWS</p>
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<p>Grammy-winning R&B singer James Ingram, who co-wrote Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T." and had two hits that hit number 1 on the Billboard 100, his creative partner Debbie Allen said Tuesday. He was 66.</p>
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<p>"I have lost my dearest friend and creative partner James Ingram to the Celestial Choir," Allen posted on <a href="https://twitter.com/msdebbieallen/status/1090329599244783616" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>. "He will always be cherished, loved and remembered for his genius, his love of family and his humanity. I am blessed to have been so close. We will forever speak his name."</p>
<p>The cause of Ingram's death was not yet released.</p>
<p>Ingram, originally from Ohio, got his start in the 1970s with the band Revelvation Funk and then played keyboard for Ray Charles. Ingram charted nine hits on the Hot 100, including two that topped the charts: "Baby Come to Me," with Patti Austin, in 1983, and "I Don't Have the Heart" in 1990. </p>
<p>Ingram has been nominated for 14 Grammy Awards, winning for "100 Ways" in 1981 and for "Yah Mo B There" in 1984. </p>
<p>Ingram collaborated closely with Quincy Jones over the years, including co-writing Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T" with Jones on the "Thriller" album. He also wrote songs for Pointer Sisters, George Benson, Ray Charles and more, according to <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/obituary/8495601/james-ingram-dead-obituary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Billboard</a>.</p>