ames 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. Additionally, he is a producer and songwriter.Contents [hide] 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 2 Discography 2.1 Studio albums 2.2 Compilation albums 2.3 Singles 3 References 4 External links
[edit] Biography [edit] Early life
James Ingram was born in Akron, Ohio, USA. 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. [edit] 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 Friends who love each other and earned an Oscar nomination. A few years later, he won a 1987 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 1985, he participated in the charity single "We Are the World".
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 certified 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 Fall 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 2004, 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 2006, he and neo-soul singer Angie Stone teamed up on "My People". [edit] Discography [edit] Studio albumsYear Album Chart positions[1][2][3] U.S. certifications[4] Record label US US R&B US Gospel UK 1983 It's Your Night 46 10 — 25 Gold Qwest/Warner Bros. 1986 Never Felt So Good 123 37 — 72 — 1989 It's Real 117 44 — — — 1993 Always You — 74 — — — 2008 Stand (In the Light) — 63 18 — — Intering "—" denotes the album failed to chart, was not released, or was not certified
[edit] Compilation albumsYear Album Chart positions[1][2] U.S. certifications[4] Record label US US R&B 1991 Greatest Hits: The Power of Great Music 168 — Gold Qwest/Warner Bros. 1999 Forever More (Love Songs, Hits & Duets) 165 94 — Private Music "—" denotes the album failed to chart, was not released, or was not certified
[edit] SinglesYear Single Chart positions[1][2][3] Album US US R&B US AC UK 1981 "Just Once" (Quincy Jones featuring James Ingram) 17 11 7 — The Dude (Quincy Jones) "One Hundred Ways" (Quincy Jones featuring James Ingram) 14 10 5 — 1982 "Baby, Come to Me" (duet with Patti Austin) 1 9 1 11 Every Home Should Have One (Patti Austin) 1983 "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" (duet with Patti Austin) 45 6 5 — It's Your Night "Whatever We Imagine" — 21 — — "Yah Mo B There" (duet with Michael McDonald) 19 5 10 12 1984 "There's No Easy Way" 58 — 7 — "She Loves Me (The Best That I Can)" — 59 19 — "What About Me?" (Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes and James Ingram) 15 57 1 92 What About Me? (Kenny Rogers) 1985 "It's Your Night" — — — 25 It's Your Night 1986 "Always" — 27 — — Never Felt So Good "Never Felt So Good" — 86 — — "Somewhere Out There" (duet with Linda Ronstadt) 2 — 4 8 An American Tail OST 1987 "Better Way" — 66 — — Beverly Hills Cop II OST 1989 "It's Real" — 8 — 83 It's Real "I Wanna Come Back" — 18 — — "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Man" — 30 — — 1990 "The Secret Garden" (Quincy Jones featuring Al B. Sure!, James Ingram, El DeBarge and Barry White) 31 1 26 67 Back on the Block (Quincy Jones) "I Don't Have the Heart" 1 53 2 — It's Real "When Was the Last Time the Music Made You Cry?" — 81 — — 1991 "Where Did My Heart Go?" — — 23 — City Slickers OST "Get Ready" — 59 — — The Greatest Hits: The Power of Great Music 1994 "The Day I Fall in Love" (duet with Dolly Parton) — — — 64 Beethoven's 2nd OST 1995 "When You Love Someone" (duet with Anita Baker) — 71 — — Forget Paris OST "—" denotes the single failed to chart or was not released
