James Ingram Biography - Artistopia Music

James Ingram (born February 16, 1956) is an American soul musician. He is best-known as a vocalist. He is also a self-taught musician who plays piano, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards.

Biography

Early life

James Ingram was born in Akron, Ohio


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. 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.

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, Anita Baker, Viktor Lazlo, Nancy Wilson, Natalie Cole, and Kenny Rogers. In 1990, he scored a No. 1 hit on the pop charts with the love ballad "I Don't Have the Heart" from his ''It's Real album.

But Ingram was best known throughout the decade for his hit collaborations. He went to No. 1 on the pop charts with Patti Austin on "Baby, Come to Me," a song made popular on TV's "General Hospital." A second Austin/Ingram duet, "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" was featured in the movie "Best Friends" and earned an Oscar nomination. A few years later, he won a 1985 Grammy Award for "Yah Mo B There," a duet with Michael McDonald. And he teamed up with Kenny Rogers and Kim Carnes for the Top 40 ballad "What About Me?" in 1984.

In 1987, he teamed with American vocalist Linda Ronstadt, and had a US Pop No. 2 Hit with Somewhere Out There, the theme from the animated feature film, An American Tail. The song garnered Grammy and Academy Award nominations and was certifed gold (over 500,000 U.S. copies sold) by the RIAA.

Ingram performed two solos on the 1985 recording and video of "We Are the World." He also co-wrote "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" which was recorded by Michael Jackson on his blockbuster Thriller.

In the 1990s, his highest-profile team-up came again with Quincy Jones, on the song "The Secret Garden." This song also featured vocals by Barry White, El Debarge and Al B. Sure!

Soundtrack songs were popular for Ingram in the 1990s. From the movie Sarafina! came "One More Time," and from City Slickers came "Where Did My Heart Go?" His 1994 composition "The Day I Fell in Love", which he dueted 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. In 2007, he and neo-soul singer Angie Stone teamed up on "My People."

Discography

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:

" (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Man"
"It's Real" - UK #83
"I Wanna Come Back"

1990:

"I Don't Have the Heart" - #1 for 1 week
"Secret Garden" (with Quincy Jones, Al B Sure, El DeBarge and Barry White) - UK #67, US #31

1991:

"Get Ready"
"When Was the Last Time the Music Made You Cry?"
"Where Did My Heart Go"

1992:

"One More Time"

1994:

"The Day I Fall In Love" (with Dolly Parton) - UK #64

1997:

"Goodnight" In his Father Shoes Movie

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)
Stand (In The Light) (2008)

Industry Music Artists

James Ingram