blackhawkpat Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Found by his personal assistant, died of "natural causes" in his sleep at age 56. Best known for 1981 smash hit "Super Freak". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggiesjc Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Natural causes at age 56? Sounds a little strange to me. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy K. Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 Rick James had some neuro-muscular problems, as a result of drug use. And being in jail for a while did not help, either. So I would imagine his system was in a weakened condition.But "Super Freak" is a real work of genius, kind of a "pocket symphony"....it seems that you can hear something different in the song that you missed the previous time, despite the fact that it is a STANDARD-length song. (As compared to "Bohemian Rhapsody", etc.)In my personal opinion, only "Good Vibrations" (Beach Boys) and "Smooth"(Santana) have the same thing going for it---despite the fact the styles are totally different.Yeah, you've got punk rock organ on it. You have James taking a more operetic style of delivery, compared to what he did on "You and I" or any other one of his songs. And you got the Temptations on backup vocals. There's a lot more to it than the first look of it being just another funky hit dance song.....And he did play a number of instruments rather well, though not in the same category as Prince or Todd Rundgren.Plus, he had taken full advantage of the cross-border collaboration. When you live in a city near the Canadian border, it's easy to get Canadian collaboration, and qualify for the "Canadian Content" criteria. If you look at the performance rights organization listed, you will often see "CAPAC". Which is a rarity for a Motown artist, as most are "BMI" or "ASCAP". And James was Buffalo-based,which has a bit smaller music scene as apposed to the larger cross-border towns of Seattle, Detroit and Cleveland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NH Bushman Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 Not to mention the fact that the real "funk" about RJ was his BO, which could stink up a studio in 10 seconds and last for days. Nevertheless, I liked his much music very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Cartmill Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 Talented Guy, haunted by a drug addiction.I guess I can forgive him now for writing and producing that campy Eddie Murphy hit, "Party All The Time"."My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the time..."Those rival Eric's best lyrics from the "Boats..." period. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poor4Life Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Yes, but can we ever forgive him for the Mary Jane Girls? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NH Bushman Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 No sympathy for drug addicts here. If anyone has had cause to do drugs, its been me - try being unemployable for 10 years with medical problems. Wussies.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie B Trask Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raspbernie Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Yow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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