Rick James

Singer/Songwriter/Musician/Record Producer Funk and R&B musician Rick James became a star after the release of his debut album Come Get It in 1978.  The album featured the tracks "You and I" and the popular "Mary Jane."  Although his career dwindled a bit shortly after, he'd follow up a few years later with his fifth album Street Songs which featured his biggest pop hit "Super Freak," "Give it To Me Baby" and the sultry duet "Fire and Desire" with Teena Marie.  A talented songwriter and record producer, James also worked with The Temptations on their comeback album in 1982, helped launch Teena Marie's career by producing her debut album Wild and Peaceful and was largely responsible for helping his back-up singers with their self-titled debut album The Mary Jane Girls.  In his later years, James began to succumb to his long-time struggle with drug abuse.  The star passed away on August 6, 2004 in a hotel room in Los Angeles from pulmonary and cardiac failure.  At the time of his death, James was writing an autobiography called The Confessions of Rick James: Memoirs of a Super Freak.  The book was published in 2007.