Crate Diggers: 2004
Showing posts with label 2004. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2004. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Anniversary of Rick James' Death

“You can't have rock and roll without drugs, you can't have rock and roll without sex” - Rick James
(Rick James)
Rick James was born as James Johnson Jr. on February 1st, 1948 in Buffalo, New York, USA. At 10 years old his father left the family. His mother would take him on her routes when running errands for the mafia. Johnson would be able to see performers such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Etta James while on these errands. Johnson dropped out of high school. As a teenager he was introduced to drugs and involved in a burglary. At 15 years old he lied about his age and joined the US Navy Reserve. He also became a drummer for a local band. Due to missing his twice monthly reserve sessions he was ordered to serve in Vietnam. In 1965 he fled to Toronto, Canada, where he met then local musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. He then changed his name to “Ricky Matthews”. He then formed the group “Mynah Birds”.
(The Mynah Birds)
They then recorded at Columbia records. The group then recorded with Motown. Matthews then met Stevie Wonder and Wonder suggested that he should change his name to “Ricky James”. The Navy then found James and he was arrested. Motown dropped the Mynah Birds from the label due to James being arrested. After a year in prison he moved to California. In 1968 James went back to Motown and became a songwriter. He worked with the Miracles and the Spinners. Also in 1968 he formed a group called “Salt and Pepper”.
(Salt and Pepper)
In 1969 he moved back to California. In 1973 James signed with A&M Records. In 1976 he returned to Buffalo and formed “Stone City Band”. In 1977 he signed a contract with Motown. In 1978 he released his 1st album “Come and Get It!”. The single “You and I” went No. 1 on the R&B charts.
(James in 1978)
In 1979 he released his 2nd album “Bustin’ Out of L Seven”. He then released his 3rd album “Fire it Up”. He then started his “Fire it Up Tour” which included Prince as an opening act and Teenie Marie. James then produced Teena Marie’s 1st album.
(James (Right) and Teena Marie (Left))
This tour led to a rivalry between Prince and James due to James accusing Prince of stealing his moves.
(James (Right) and Prince (Left))
In 1980 he released “Garden of Love”. In 1981 he released “Street Songs”. The single “Super Freak” sold over 1 million copies. “Street Songs” went to No. 1 on the R&B charts.
(James in 1981)
In 1982 he released “Throwin’ Down”. Also in 1982 he produced the Temptations’ album “Standing on the Top”.
(James (Top Left) and the Temptations (Floor))
In 1983 he released “Cold Blooded”. James then launched the careers of Process and the Doo-Rags and the Mary Jane Girls. Also in 1983 James did a duet with Smokey Robinson called “Ebony Eyes”.
(James (Right) and Smokey Robinson (Left))
In 1984 he was hospitalized due to a drug overdose. In 1985 he produced Eddie Murphy’s album and appeared on the song “Party All the Time”.
(James (Right) and Eddie Murphy (Left))
In 1986 he released “The Flag”. He then signed with Warner Bros. records. In 1988 he released “Wonderful”. In 1989 he released “Kickin’”. In 1990 MC Hammer sampled James’ song “Super Freak” and it earned the both of them a Grammy award.
(James in 1990)
In 1993 James and his wife were accused of holding 24 year old Frances Alley hostage for up to 6 days. James was convicted of the crime.
(James in 1993)
He was released from prison in 1996. In 1997 he released “Urban Rhapsody”. In 1998 he suffered a minor stroke. In 1999 he appeared in the movie Life.
(James (Right) and Eddie Murphy (Left) in Life (1999))
In 2004 James participated in the “Chapelle Show”.
(James in 2004)
On August 6th, 2004 Rick James died of pulmonary failure and cardiac failure in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was 56 years old.
(James’ funeral)
Today is the 13th anniversary of his death. Take time to remember this great musical artist today.
Albums by Rick James
  • “Come Get It!” (1978)
  • “Bustin’ Out of L Seven” (1979)
  • “Fire it Up” (1979)
  • “Garden of Love” (1980)
  • “Street Songs” (1981)
  • “Throwin’ Down” (1982)
  • “Cold Blooded” (1983)
  • “Glow” (1985)
  • “The Flag” (1986)
  • “Wonderful” (1988)
  • “Kickin’” (1989)
  • “Urban Rhapsody” (1997)
Videos of Rick James

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Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Anniversary of Ray Charles' Death

“Love is a special word, and I use it only when I mean it. You say the word too much and it becomes cheap” - Ray Charles
(Ray Charles)
Ray Charles was born as Ray Robinson on September 23rd, 1930 in Albany, Georgia, USA. As a baby Robinson moved to Greenville, FL. Charles was raised by his biological mother. At age 3 Robinson learned how to play piano. At age 4 he started to lose his sight. When he was 5 he witnessed his younger brother drown. At age 7 Robinson completely lost his sight. In 1937 Robinson attended school at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, FL. When Robinson was 14 his mother died. In 1945 Robinson moved to Jacksonville, FL. At age 16 he moved to Orlando, FL. In 1947 he moved to Tampa, FL. He got a job being apart of 2 bands. In 1948 he moved to Seattle, WA. He then met Quincy Jones.
(Robinson in 1948)
In 1949 he had his 1st national hit "Confession Blues”. In 1950 he moved to Los Angeles, CA. In 1951 he started going by “Ray Charles”. In 1952 he signed to Atlantic records.
(Charles in 1952)
In 1953 he released “Mess Around”. In 1954 he had hits with "It Should Have Been Me" and "Don't You Know" which became his first chart success for Atlantic. He also released “I Got a Woman”. It reached No. 2 on the R&B charts. In 1955 he had hits "This Little Girl of Mine" and "A Fool for You”.
(Charles in 1955)
In 1956 Charles recruited a young all female singing group named the Cookies, and reshaped them as The Raelettes. In 1959 Charles reached the Billboard Top Ten with "What'd I Say”. He then signed to ABC Paramount Records. In 1960 he released  “Genius + Soul = Jazz”. He also released the single “Georgia on my Mind”. He then received 4 Grammy awards. He then released the hit song “Hit the Road Jack”.
(Charles in 1960)
In 1961 Charles had expanded his small road ensemble to a full scale big band. Also in 1961 Charles faced a near death experience when the pilot of his plane lost visibility, as snow and his failure to use defroster caused the windshield of the plane to become completely covered in ice. In 1962 he founded his own record label Tangerine Records. In 1963 he had major pop hits with "Busted" and “Take These Chains From My Heart”. In 1965 Charles was arrested for possession of heroin.
(Charles in 1965)
He went to rehab to avoid jail. In 1966 he released "I Don't Need No Doctor" and "Let's Go Get Stoned”. In 1967 he released “Here We Go Again”. In 1972 he released “America the Beautiful”.
(Charles in 1972)
In 1974 he signed to his own label Crossover records. In 1977 he signed to Atlantic records again. Also in 1977 he hosted “Saturday Night Live”.
(Charles in 1977)
In 1979 Charles’ song “Georgia on my Mind” was proclaimed the state song of Georgia. In 1980 he appeared in the movie The Blues Brothers.
(Charles in The Blues Brothers (1980))
In 1981 Charles was criticized for performing at South Africa's Sun City resort during an international boycott of its apartheid policy. In 1983 Charles signed with Columbia records. In 1985 he was apart of the song “We Are the World”.
(Charles (Center) with Stevie Wonder (Left) and Michael Jackson (Right))
Also in 1985 he performed at Ronald Reagan’s inauguration. In 1990 Charles had a duet with Chaka Khan on the song “I’ll be Good to You”.
(Charles (Right) with Chaka Khan (Left))
In 1993 he released the album “My World”. Also in 1993 he performed at Bill Clinton’s inauguration. In 1996 he released the album “Strong Love Affair”. In 2002 he released the album “Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again”. In 2003 he was inducted into the songwriters hall of fame.
(Charles in 2003)
He also had hip surgery. In 2004 a movie on his life was released called Ray.
(Charles (Left) and Jamie Foxx (Right))
On June 10th, 2004 Ray Charles died of liver disease in Beverly Hills, California, USA. He was 73 years old.
(Charles’ funeral)
Today is the 13th anniversary of his death. Take time to remember this great musical artist today.

Albums by Ray Charles
  • “Ray Charles” (1957)
  • “The Great Ray Charles” (1957)
  • “Yes Indeed!” (1958)
  • “Soul Brothers” (1958)
  • “What’d I Say” (1959)
  • “The Genius of Ray Charles” (1959)
  • “The Original Ray Charles” (1959)
  • “The Fabulous Ray Charles” (1959)
  • “The Genius Hits the Road” (1960)
  • “The Genius Sings the Blues” (1961)
  • “Soul Meeting” (1961)
  • “The Genius After Hours” (1961)
  • “Dedicated to You” (1961)
  • “Ray Charles and Betty Carter” (1961)
  • “Genius + Soul = Jazz” (1961)
  • “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” (1962)
  • “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two” (1962)
  • “Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul” (1963)
  • “Sweet & Sour Tears” (1964)
  • “Have a Smile with Me” (1964)
  • “Together Again” (1965)
  • “Crying Time” (1966)
  • “Ray’s Moods” (1966)
  • “Invites You to Listen” (1967)
  • “A Portrait of Ray” (1968)
  • “I’m All Yours Baby!” (1968)
  • “Doing His Thing” (1969)
  • “My Kind of Jazz” (1970)
  • “Love Country Style” (1970)
  • “Volcanic Action of My Soul” (1971)
  • “A Message From the People” (1972)
  • “Through the Eyes of Love” (1972)
  • “Jazz Number II” (1972)
  • “Come Live with Me” (1974)
  • “Renaissance” (1975)
  • “My Kind of Jazz Part 3” (1975)
  • “Porgy and Bess” (1976)
  • “True to Life” (1977)
  • “Love & Peace” (1978)
  • “The Tender Side of Ray Charles” (1978)
  • “Ain’t It So” (1979)
  • “Brother Ray is at it Again” (1980)
  • “Wish You Were Here Tonight” (1983)
  • “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” (1984)
  • “Friendship” (1984)
  • “The Spirit of Christmas” (1985)
  • “From the Pages of My Mind” (1986)
  • “Just Between Us” (1988)
  • “Would You Believe” (1990)
  • “My World” (1993)
  • “Strong Love Affair” (1996)
  • “Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again” (2002)
  • “Genius Loves Company” (2004)

Films starring Ray Charles
  • Swingin' Along (1961) as himself
  • Ballad in Blue (1964) as himself
  • The Big T.N.T. Show (1966) as himself
  • The Blues Brothers (1980) as Ray
  • Limit Up (1989) as Julius
  • Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones (1990) as himself
  • Love Affair (1994) as himself
  • Spy Hard (1996) as Bus Driver
  • The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave (2000) as himself
  • Blue's Big Musical Movie (2000) as G-Clef

Videos of Ray Charles




P.S. sorry for the late post
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