Rick James (2,684 views)

[Seb]

Rick James (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004)
Vocal Range: E2 - A5
Member Of: The Mynah Birds (1964 – 1967), The Main Line (1968), The Great White Cane (1972?)
Years Active: 1965–1990, 1996-1998, 2004

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{Discography}The Great White Cane (1972) [with The Great White Cane]: A2 – A5
Come Get It! (1978): G2 - E5 - G5
Bustin' Out of L Seven (1979): F2 - D5 - A5
Fire It Up (1979): E2 - D5 - G♯5
Garden of Love (1980): F2 - B4
Street Songs (1981): G2 - D5
Throwin' Down (1982): G2 - F♯5
Cold Blooded (1983): F2 - D5 – E♭5
Glow (1985): A2 - C5 (F2 - C5 - F5 in deluxe edition)
The Flag (1986): E2 - B♭4 - E♭5
Wonderful (1988): E2 - B4 - D5
Kickin' (1989): G2 - C5
Urban Rapsody (1997): F♯2 – A4 – D5
Deeper Still (2007) [posthumous]: E2 - B♭4 - E5
Rick James Forever (2020) [posthumous]: F♯2 - B♭4 – F♯5
+ singles/guest appearances/other performances

Significant High Notes:
A5 ("Big Showdown", "Find It", "Mother Earth", "Spacey Love")
G♯5 ("Country Woman Suite", "High on Your Love Suite/One Mo Hit (Of Your Love)", "Love Gun")
G5 ("Don't You Worry", "Find It", " Spacey Love", “You And I”, "You Make the Magic")
F♯5 ("Big Showdown", "Country Woman Suite", "Hard To Get”, “High on Your Love Suite/One Mo Hit (Of Your Love)", “Mary Jane”, “Sail Away”)
F5 (“Be My Lady”, "Come Into My Life", “Hollywood”, "Jefferson Ball", "Oh What A Night (4 Luv)", "You Turn Me On")
E5 ("Don't You Worry", "Love In The Night", “Sail Away”, "Spacey Love", “Stone City Band, Hi!”, "Stroke", "Tell Me (What You Want)", “Throwdown”, “You And I”)
E♭5 ("1, 2, 3 (You Her and Me)", “Be My Lady”, "Cold Blooded", "Slow and Easy")
D5 ("Big Showdown", "Come Into My Life", “Dance Wit’ Me”, "Find It", "Fool On The Street", "Jefferson Ball", "Love Gun", "Love's Fire", “Money Talks”, "Mother Earth", "Oh What A Night (4 Luv)", "P.I.M.P. the S.I.M.P.", "Sexual Luv Affair", "Spend the Night with Me", "Super Freak", "New York Town", "Player's Way", "You Make The Magic", "You Turn Me On"
C♯5 ("1, 2, 3 (You Her and Me)", "Call Me Up", "Give It To Me Baby", "Maybe", "Wonderful")
C5 ("Bustin' Out" 12" Extended Mix, “Can’t Stop”, "Do You Wanna Play", "Don't You Worry", “Dream Maker”, "Fire It Up", "Ghetto Life", "Jefferson Ball", “Just Got Play”, "Make Love To Me", "Super Freak", "Teach Me")
B4 ("Big Time", "Black and White", "Call Me Up", "Cop 'N' Blow", "Country Woman Suite", “Dance Wit’ Me”, "Day and Night", "Fool On The Street", "Gettin' It On (In The Sunshine) - Reprise", "Give It To Me Baby", “Hard To Get”, "High on Your Love Suite/One Mo Hit (Of Your Love)", “Hollywood”, “I’ll Wait Forever”, "In The Girls' Room", "Island Lady", "Love Gun", "Love In The Night", “Mary Jane”, "Mother Earth", "Mr. Policeman", "Party All the Time", "P.I.M.P. the S.I.M.P.",  "Rock and Roll Control", "Slow and Easy", "Summer Love", "Tell Me (What You Want)", “The Mynah Bird Hop”, "This Magic Moment / Dance With Me", “Throwdown”, “You And I”, "You Make The Magic")
B♭4 ("17", “Be My Lady”, “Can’t Stop”, "Cold Blooded", "Come Into My Life", "Day and Night", "Doin' It", "Don't Give Up On Love", “Dream Maker”, "Find It", "Fire and Desire" / “Teardrops”, "Forever and a Day "Gettin' It On (In The Sunshine)", "Glow", "Happy", “I Got You (In My Soul)”, "Judy", "Kickin'", "Love's Fire", "Make Love To Me", "Mary-Go-Round", "Maybe", “Money Talks”, "Mother Earth", “My Love”, "New York Town", "Painted Pictures", "Rock and Roll Eyes", "Runaway Love", "Save It For Me", "School You", "Sexual Luv Affair", "Sha La La La La (Come Back Home)", “Standing On The Top”, “Stone City Band, Hi!”, "Stop It", “Sweet Baby”, "This Magic Moment / Dance With Me", "Wonderful", "U Bring The Freak Out")
A4 ("1, 2, 3 (You Her and Me)", "Below The Funk (Pass The J)", "Big Showdown", "Big Time", "Bustin' Out", "Call Me Up", “Can’t Stop”, "Cop 'N' Blow", "Country Woman Suite", “Dance Wit’ Me”, "Do You Wanna Play", "Don't You Worry", "Ebony Eyes", "Fire It Up", "Find It", "Fool On The Street", "Funk in America / Silly Little Man", "Ghetto Life", "Good Ol' Days", "Guinnevere", “Happy”, “Hard To Get”, "High on Your Love Suite/One Mo Hit (Of Your Love)", "Hot Summer Nights", "Hypnotize", "I Believe In U", “I’ll Wait Forever”, "Island Lady", "Love Gun", "Love In The Night", "Love's Fire", "Mama's Eyes", "Mary-Go-Round", “Mary Jane”, “Mother Earth", "My Love”, "Not Alone", "Oh What A Night (4 Luv)", "P.I.M.P. the S.I.M.P.", "Player's Way", "R U Experienced", “Sail Away”, "Sexual Luv Affair", “Sexy Lady”, “She Blew My Mind (69 Times)”, "Somebody (The Girl's Got)", "Somebody's Watching You", "Spacey Love", "Stroke", "Summer Love", "Super Freak", "Teach Me", “Throwdown”, "U Got It Real Bad", "Unity", "Urban Rapsody", "West Coast Thing", "When Love Is Gone", "You Make The Magic", "You Turn Me On")
G♯4 ("1, 2, 3 (You Her and Me)", "Anything and Everything", “Be My Lady”, "Bring on the Love", "Day and Night", "Deeper Still", "Doin' It", "Don't Give Up On Love", "Favorite Flavor", "Fire and Desire" / “Teardrops”, "Forever and a Day", "Free To Be Me", "Funk Wit Me", "Get wit It", "Gettin' It On (In The Sunshine)", "Give It To Me Baby", "Glow", "Guinnevere", “Hollywood”, "I Believe In U", "In The Girls' Room", “It’s My Time”, "Judy", "Kickin'", "Lovin' You Is A Pleasure", "Maybe", "Melody Make Me Dance", "Moonchild", "Mr. Policeman", "Never Say You Love Me", "New York Town", "Painted Pictures", "Party All the Time", "Rock and Roll Eyes", “Sail Away”, "Save It For Me", "Secrets", "Sha La La La La (Come Back Home)", "Sherry Baby", "Slow and Easy", “Standing On The Top”, "Stop It", "Stroke", “Taste”, "Tell Me (What You Want)", "This Magic Moment / Dance With Me", "Wonderful", "U Bring The Freak Out")
G4 ("Back in Your Again", “Black and White", "Brass Bed”, "Bustin' Out", “Can’t Stop”, "Cold Blooded", "Come Into My Life", "Country Woman Suite", “Dance Wit’ Me”, "Do You Wanna Play", “Dream Maker”, "Ebony Eyes", "Fool On The Street", "Ghetto Life", "Good Ol' Days", "Guinnevere", “Gypsy Girl”, “Happy”, “Hard To Get”, "High on Your Love Suite/One Mo Hit (Of Your Love)", "Hot Summer Nights", “Hypnotize", "I Got You (In My Soul)”, "Jefferson Ball", "Love In The Night", "Love's Fire", "Lovin' You Is A Pleasure", "Make Love To Me", "Mama's Eyes", "Mary-Go-Round", "Melody Make Me Dance", “Money Talks”, “My Love”, "Not Alone", "Oh What A Night (4 Luv)", "Player's Way", "R U Experienced", "Rock and Roll Control", "Runaway Love", "School You", "Sexual Luv Affair", “Sexy Lady”, "Sha La La La La (Come Back Home)", "Sherry Baby", "So Tight", "Somebody (The Girl's Got)", "Somebody's Watching You", "Spend the Night with Me", “Stone City Band, Hi!”, "Stop It", "Sweet and Sexy Thing", “Sweet Baby”, "Teach Me", “The Mynah Bird Hop”, “Throwdown”, "Turn It Out", "U Bring The Freak Out", "Unity", "When Love Is Gone", “When Yo Body’s Mine”, “You And I”, "You Turn Me On")

Significant Low Notes:
E3 ("Below The Funk (Pass The J)", "Big Showdown", "Big Time", "Black and White", "Bustin' Out", “Dream Maker”, "Fool On The Street", "Give It To Me Baby", “Happy”, “Hard To Get”, "High on Your Love Suite/One Mo Hit (Of Your Love)", "Hot Summer Nights", “It’s My Time”, "Loosey's Rap", "Love Gun", “Mary Jane”, "Mr. Policeman", "P.I.M.P. the S.I.M.P.", "Player's Way", "So Soft, So Wet", "So Tight", "Soul Sista", "Spacey Love", "Spend the Night with Me", "Super Freak", "West Coast Thing")
E♭3 ("Bring on the Love", "Cold Blooded", "Come into My Life", "Don't Give Up on Love", "Glow (Reprise)", "Guinnevere", “Gypsy Girl”, “Just Got Play”, "Kickin'", "Lovin' You Is A Pleasure", "Secrets", “Standing on the Top”, “Taste”)
D3 ("Big Time", "Come into My Life", "Country Woman Suite", "Ebony Eyes", "Fool On The Street", “Happy”, "Hot Summer Nights", “I Got You (In My Soul)”, "Island Lady", "Player's Way", "Sapphire", "So Tight", "Somebody's Watching You", "Spacey Love", "Super Freak")
C♯3 ("1, 2, 3 (You Her and Me)", "Day and Night", "Favorite Flavor", "Get wit It", “Go On And Cry”, "In The Girls' Room", "Mother Earth", "Stop It", "Stroke", “Taste”)
C3 ("Back in You Again", "Below the Funk (Pass The J)", "Cold Blooded", “Dream Maker”, "Guinnevere", “Happy”, "High on Your Love Suite/One Mo Hit (Of Your Love)", "Hypnotize", “Just Got Play”, "Player's Way", “Standing on the Top”, "Teach Me", “Throwdown”, "U Bring The Freak Out")
B2 ("Bustin' Out", "Gettin' It On (In The Sunshine) - Reprise", "In The Girls' Room", "Love Gun", “Mary Jane”, "Mother Earth", "Never Say You Love Me", "P.I.M.P. the S.I.M.P.", "Rock and Roll Control", "Slow and Easy", "Somebody's Watching You", "Spacey Love", "Stroke", "This Magic Moment / Dance With Me", "Turn It Out")
B♭2 ("Bring on the Love", "Country Woman Suite", "Fire and Desire" / “Teardrops”, "Funk Wit Me", "Get wit It", “Go on and Cry”, "Jefferson Ball", "Kickin'", "Make Love to Me", "Mary-Go-Round", "School You", “Sweet Baby”, "U Got It Real Bad", "Wonderful")
A2 ("Call Me Up", "Funk in America / Silly Little Man", “Happy”, "Island Lady", "Loosey's Rap", "Mother Earth", "P.I.M.P. the S.I.M.P.", "R U Experienced", "Rock and Roll Control", "Sapphire", "Unity", "You Turn Me On", "When Yo Body's Mine")
G♯2 ("1, 2, 3 (You Her and Me)", "Bring on the Love", "Cop 'N' Blow", "Day and Night", "Deeper Still", "Give It To Me Baby", "High on Your Love Suite/One Mo Hit (Of Your Love)", “Just Got Play”, "Kickin'", "Never Say You Love Me", “Taste”, "Urban Rapsody", "West Coast Thing", "Wonderful")
G2 (“Bustin’ Out”, "Don't Give Up On Love", “Dream Maker”, "Ebony Eyes", "Every Little Bit Hurts", "Fire and Desire" / “Teardrops”, "Free To Be Me", "Funk in America / Silly Little Man", "Good Ol' Days", "Guinnevere", "I Believe In U", "Jefferson Ball", "Love's Fire", "R U Experienced", "Runaway Love", “Sexy Lady”, "So Soft, So Wet", "Stop It", "Teach Me", "U Got It Real Bad", "Unity")
F♯2 ("Bring on the Love", "Doin' It", "Party All the Time", "Taste", “When Yo Body’s Mine”)
F2 ("Cold Blooded", "Don't Give Up on Love", "Every Little Bit Hurts", "Gettin' It On (In the Sunshine) - Reprise", "I Believe In U", "Jefferson Ball", “Stop It", "U Bring the Freak Out", "Wonderful", "You Turn Me On")
E2 ("Do You Wanna Play", "In the Girls' Room", "Slow and Easy (Interlude)", "Stormy Love")

SPOILER: Click to show

{Description}With his boisterous personality, distinctive "punk-funk" style and many widely known hit singles such as "Super Freak", "Give It To Me Baby" and "Mary Jane", Rick James rose up to be one of the most iconic musical artists of the 20th century and all-time great funk musician. His music oozed a fun, tight energy that encapsulated the lavish excess of the 70's and 80's, a sense of excess that caught up with him through various personal troubles, charges of sexual assault and kidnapping, and drug abuse, which lead to his untimely death at age 56 following a resurgence in popularity (courtesy of Chappelle's Show). His legacy is complicated, but his reputation and talents as an entertainer, producer, musician, singer and songwriter (plus racial boundary breaker during MTV's heyday) are still widely remembered.

James' voice comes through and soars with a robust, vibrato laden belting register and an expressive, twangy delivery. However, this was most present after he came on his own as an artist, possessing a more raspy, rocker influenced delivery in his obscure 60's material with The Mynah Birds. While performing with The Great White Cane, James began using his falsetto and head voice register more consistently, with his belting adjusting towards his more recognized soulful style. From 1977 to 1979, we hear his upper register in peak condition, balancing clean, operatic belting with burly, masculine vocals and strong (if at times pitchy) head voice wailing. While not as emphasized, his lower register also saw a surprising amount of use, mostly in form of dramatic sing-talking and low note dips that sounded decent enough into the mid 2nd octave but stopped after that point. In his very productive 80's period, his belting, mid-range and occasional lower notes remained as solid as ever, though his 5th octave head voice notes grew more scarce. After a nearly decade long hiatus, Rick's 1997 record displayed a change in his voice; it had lowered in placement,with more emphatic low spoken bits (though ironically, less of it was actually musical) and high notes up to about G4-A4 which were a bit more reminiscent of his earlier tone. This tone remains in his posthumous releases, though he still displayed some capable belts that showcased how much power there was in his vocals.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Bolded Notes}G5 "Spacey Love"
F5 "Hollywood"
B4 "Fool On The Street","Hollywood", "Summer Love"
B♭4 "Fire and Desire", "Happy", "Teardrops"
A4 "Can't Stop", "Dance Wit Me", "Ghetto Life", "Hard To Get", "Island Lady", "Love In The Night", "Oh What A Night (4 Luv)", "Teach Me", "When Love Is Gone"
G♯4 "Don't Give Up On Love", "Give It To Me Baby", "Never Say You Love Me"
G4 "Come Into My Life", "Unity", "When Yo Body's Mine", "You Turn Me On"

F♯4 "Mary Jane"

D3 "Island Lady"
B2 "Gettin' It On (In The Sunshine) - Reprise"
G♯2 "Taste"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}C6 ("Ghetto Life" [1], "Give It To Me Baby" [1])
A5 ("Fool On The Street" [1], "Ghetto Life" [5]. “When Yo Body’s Mine” [1])
G♯5 ("Turn It Out" [1])
G5 (“Money Talks” [1], "Somebody's Watching You" [1])
F♯5 ("Super Freak" [1], “Throwdown” [1], "West Coast Thing" [1])
F5 ("Hypnotize" [1], "Love's Fire" [1], "Spend the Night with Me" [1], "U Bring The Freak Out" [1])
E5 ("Dance Wit Me" [1], "P.I.M.P. the S.I.M.P." [3])
D5 ("Below The Funk (Pass The J)" [5])
C♯5 (“Standing On The Top” [1])
B4 ("Somebody (The Girl's Got)" [5])

C3 ("Fire It Up" [3], “Money Talks” [3], "Save It For Me" [3])
A2 ("Sweet and Sexy Thing" [3])
G♯2 ("Love Gun" [3], “Mary Jane” [3], "Soul Sista" [3])
G2 ("Fool On The Street" [3], "Not Alone" [3], "Player's Way" [1])
F♯2 ("In The Girl's Room" [5], "Secrets" [1])
F2 ("Cold Blooded " [1], "Fire and Desire / Teardrops" [1])
E2 ("Love In The Night" [3], "Sapphire" [1], "Urban Rapsody" [3])
E♭2 ("Funk Wit Me" [3], "Stop It" [3])
C2 (“Brass Bed” [3], “Sex Slave – Interlude” [3])

[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.

[kaji]

Incredible soul tenor!! I always thought he sounded like Peabo Bryson a bit tonally. Great job on this!