Marie James Popular Books

Marie James Biography & Facts

James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his teenage years. He was in various bands before entering the U.S. Navy Reserve to avoid being drafted into the army. In 1964, James moved to Toronto, Canada, where he formed the rock band the Mynah Birds, who eventually signed a recording deal with Motown Records in 1966. James's career with the group halted after military authorities discovered his whereabouts and eventually convicted him of desertion related charges. He served several months in jail. After being released, James moved to California, where he started a variety of rock and funk groups in the late 1960s and early 1970s. After forming the locally popular Stone City Band in his hometown of Buffalo in 1977, James finally found success as a recording artist after signing with Motown's Gordy Records, releasing the album Come Get It! in 1978 which produced the hits "You & I" and "Mary Jane". In 1981, James released his most successful album, Street Songs, which included career-defining hits such as "Give It to Me Baby" and "Super Freak", the latter song becoming his biggest crossover single, mixing elements of funk, disco, rock, and new wave. James was also known for his soulful ballads such as "Fire & Desire" and "Ebony Eyes". He also had a successful career as a songwriter and producer for other artists including Teena Marie, the Mary Jane Girls, the Temptations, Eddie Murphy, and Smokey Robinson. James's mainstream success had peaked by the release of his album Glow in 1985 and his appearance on the popular TV show, The A-Team. His subsequent album releases failed to sell as well as their predecessors. Rapper MC Hammer sampled James's "Super Freak" for his 1990 hit, "U Can't Touch This" which won Best R&B Song at the 1991 Grammy Awards. James received his only Grammy for composing the song. By the early 1990s, James's career was hampered by his drug addiction and he was embroiled in legal issues. In 1993, he was convicted of two separate instances of kidnapping and assaulting two different women while under the influence of crack cocaine, resulting in a three-year sentence at Folsom State Prison. He was released on parole in 1996. His health problems halted his career again after he had a mild stroke during a concert in 1998, and he announced a semi-retirement. In 2004, James's career returned to mainstream pop culture after he appeared in an episode of Chappelle's Show. The segment involved a Charlie Murphy True Hollywood Stories-style skit that satirized James's wild lifestyle in the 1980s. This resulted in renewed interest in his music and that year he returned to perform on the road. He died later that year from heart failure at age 56. Life and career Early life Johnson was born on February 1, 1948, in Buffalo, New York, to Mabel (née Sims) and James Ambrose Johnson Sr. He was one of eight children. He was an altar boy and choir member at St. Bridget's Catholic Church. James's father, an autoworker, left the family when James was 10. His mother was a dancer for Katherine Dunham, and later worked as a cleaner in the day, and as a numbers-runner for the Buffalo crime family at night to earn a living. Early career In 1964, James fled to Toronto. Soon after his arrival three drunk men tried to attack him outside a club; a trio of other men came to his aid. One of them, Levon Helm, was at the time a member of Ronnie Hawkins' backing band. Helm invited James to their show later that night and he ended up performing onstage with the band. To evade US military authorities, James went under the assumed name "Ricky James Matthews". That same year, James formed The Mynah Birds, a band that produced a fusion of soul, folk and rock music. In 1965, the band briefly recorded for the Canadian division of Columbia Records, releasing a single, "Mynah Bird Hop"/"Mynah Bird Song". At one point, Nick St. Nicholas, later of Steppenwolf fame, was a member; by the time "Mynah Bird Hop" was recorded bassist Bruce Palmer had replaced him. James and Palmer recruited guitarists Tom Morgan and Xavier Taylor and drummer Rick Mason to form a new Mynah Birds lineup, and soon traveled to Detroit to record with Motown. Before the group began recording their first songs for the label, Morgan left, unhappy about the label's attitude toward the musicians. Neil Young eventually took his place. It was while in Detroit that James met his musical heroes, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. After meeting Wonder and telling him his name, Wonder felt the name "Ricky James Matthews" was "too long" and told James to shorten it to "Ricky James".In 1966, a financial dispute in Toronto between James and the Mynah Birds' handler, Morley Shelman led to Motown's learning of James's fugitive status with the Navy. Hoping to prevent any scrutiny, Motown execs told Rick they would not be releasing any more of his material and convinced him to come back and work with them after straightening out his legal issues. James surrendered himself to the FBI, and, in May 1966, was sentenced by the Navy to five months' hard labor for unauthorized absence. He was not yet 19 years old. James escaped from the Brooklyn Naval Brig after only six weeks' confinement, but following another six months as a fugitive, surrendered himself a second time. With help from his mother, James found legal assistance from his cousin, future Congressman Louis Stokes, and another attorney, former Marine Captain John Bracken, who pled James's second court-martial down from a potential five years' hard labor to five months. After his release from Portsmouth Naval Prison in August 1967, James returned to Toronto and endured another detention, initially derailing resumption of his career with Mynah Bird bandmate Neil Merryweather, with whom he would later collaborate, first at Motown and then in Los Angeles.In 1968, again working under the pseudonym Ricky Matthews, James produced and wrote songs at Motown for acts such as The Miracles, Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, and The Spinners. It was during this third stint at Motown that James met musician Greg Reeves. Reeves, hoping to find a better situation than the US$38 a week (US$715 in 2022 dollars) he was earning as a session bassist for Berry Gordy, joined James, looking to "hitch a lift from Neil Young's rising star," and relocated to Los Angeles.On one of his first nights in Los Angeles, James was crashing on musician Stephen Stills' couch. When he awoke, he saw a stoned young man sitting on the floor in the lotus position. The man's wrists were bleeding so a scared James sought help. James was later formally introduced to the man who was Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors. After the Doors opened for Buffalo Springfield at the Whisky a Go Go, Morrison tricked James into taking ac.... Discover the Marie James popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Marie James books.

Best Seller Marie James Books of 2024

  • Taunting Tony synopsis, comments

    Taunting Tony

    Marie James

    Rules. They're a necessity. They make the world go 'round and help idiots function in society.Most don't require much thought and are easy to followor so I thought… I did...

  • Ann Marie Carstens v. Richard James synopsis, comments

    Ann Marie Carstens v. Richard James

    Supreme Court of Alaska

    Ann Carstens contests the judgment determining child custody and support, property division, and attorneys fees in the divorce action brought by her former husband, Richard Carsten...

  • My Life on a Hillside Allotment synopsis, comments

    My Life on a Hillside Allotment

    Terry Walton

    'Every time he appears on the programme we feel that life is worth living. He has that power to lift your spirits.' ? Jeremy VineTerry Walton has kept an allotment in the Rhondda V...

  • Katherine Marie Reese v. Honorable James A. Piperi synopsis, comments

    Katherine Marie Reese v. Honorable James A. Piperi

    Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas

    Katherine Marie Reese seeks by this original proceeding to obtain issuance of a writ of mandamus to compel Honorable James A. Piperi, Judge of the Domestic Relations Court of Galve...

  • Love Me Like That synopsis, comments

    Love Me Like That

    Marie James

    After living a life of betrayal and abuse, London Sykes is on her own.She's ready to start over, leaving the past behind. But when her car skids off the road, London is r...

  • American Queenmaker synopsis, comments

    American Queenmaker

    Julie Des Jardins

    The first biography of Missy Meloney, the most important woman you've never heard of Marie "Missy" Mattingly Meloney was born in 1878, in an America where women couldn't vote. Yet ...

  • Redemption Refused synopsis, comments

    Redemption Refused

    Marie James

    Hooking up with the college freshman I was supposed to keep an eye on was easier than tracking her.Kidnapping her after that first night was easier than following her around campus...

  • Opere vol. 12 synopsis, comments

    Opere vol. 12

    Carl Gustav Jung

    Verso la fine degli anni venti Jung scopre singolari affinità tra antichi simboli cinesi e i sogni dei suoi pazienti: comincia così a studiare i testi degli alchimisti. Dopo quindi...

  • The Lais of Marie De France synopsis, comments

    The Lais of Marie De France

    Marie France

    Marie de France (fl. late twelfth century) is the earliest known French woman poet and her lais stories in verse based on Breton tales of chivalry and romance are among the fines...

  • Catch Twenty Two synopsis, comments

    Catch Twenty Two

    Marie James

    He can't stand anything about her, but can't keep his hands off of her.FrankieI wasn't looking for him.He found me.With his sexy smirk and irresistible body.I wanted nothing to do ...

  • Ten Physicists who Transformed our Understanding of Reality synopsis, comments

    Ten Physicists who Transformed our Understanding of Reality

    Rhodri Evans & Brian Clegg

    Acclaimed popularscience writer Brian Clegg and popular TV and radio astronomer Rhodri Evans give us a Top Ten list of physicists as the central theme to build an exploration of th...

  • Lessons Learned synopsis, comments

    Lessons Learned

    Marie James

    Despite having a previous connection, I've hated Lauren Vos since the day she stepped over my bleeding body and left me for dead.We were never meant to be. She's an undercover FBI ...

  • How The Secret Changed My Life synopsis, comments

    How The Secret Changed My Life

    Rhonda Byrne

    An aweinspiring compilation of the most uplifting and powerful reallife stories from readers of the worldwide bestseller The Secret. Discover how everyday people completely transfo...

  • Banish Clutter Forever synopsis, comments

    Banish Clutter Forever

    Sheila Chandra

    Why is it that even the most disorganised person never seems to lose their toothbrush? How can this simple fact solve all our clutter problems?The Toothbrush Principle is a simple ...

  • Jessie James Smith v. Kaffie Marie Smith synopsis, comments

    Jessie James Smith v. Kaffie Marie Smith

    Supreme Court of Texas

    This is a divorce case in which we have jurisdiction because the Court of Civil Appeals held differently from prior decisions of this Court in the respects later shown. See Article...

  • George Pulos and Rose Marie Pulos v. James synopsis, comments

    George Pulos and Rose Marie Pulos v. James

    Second District Court of Appeals of Indiana

    These cases are concerned with the same subject matter and determined by the same constitutional proscription. Accordingly, they are here consolidated. Although other issues have b...

  • Crowd Pleaser synopsis, comments

    Crowd Pleaser

    Marie James

    I had one job. Show up and rock his world. So, I did just that. I left him panting and begging for more. Mission complete. The next day, however, I'm told ...

  • Nowhere I Know synopsis, comments

    Nowhere I Know

    James Marie York

    What happened? How did we get here? Those are the two main questions that have been asked since we all realized we were no longer in Kansas. Us, our homes, streets, buildings, cars...

  • Depravity Delivered synopsis, comments

    Depravity Delivered

    Marie James

    The job I took was personal for my boss, but my abduction quickly made it personal for me.There's no forgiveness for the things they made me do to her.It would be easy to point fin...

  • Glow synopsis, comments

    Glow

    Rick James

    Best known for his 1980s hit songs “Super Freak,” “Give it to Me Baby,” and “Mary Jane,” the late singer and funk music pioneer Rick James collaborated with acclaimed music biograp...

  • One Eighty synopsis, comments

    One Eighty

    Marie James

    He loves what he can't remember she can't forget the truth...PIPERArrogant, controlling, and an absolute jerk.He's everything I loathe, and everything I want to forget.But he doesn...

  • Time and How to Spend It synopsis, comments

    Time and How to Spend It

    James Wallman

    A Financial Times Book of the Year'Genius ... I couldn't put it down, I read it from cover to cover'CHRIS EVANSIf the most precious thing we have is time, the most highly prized ex...

  • Galloway Street synopsis, comments

    Galloway Street

    John Boyle

    John Boyle was born and raised in Scotland but he could never feel Scottish. His parents were poor immigrants from the West of Ireland who came to Scotland to find work and eventua...

  • Bridges Burned synopsis, comments

    Bridges Burned

    Marie James

    I didn't swear vengeance on the Severino Family after Ellie's death. I was only a child after all.I didn't swear vengeance when my father, a coward who wasn't man enough to seek ju...

  • Soul of Michael Jackson synopsis, comments

    Soul of Michael Jackson

    Shmuley Boteach

    In 2000–2001, Michael Jackson sat down with his close friend and spiritual guide, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, to record what turned out to be the most intimate and revealing conversatio...

  • The Saints of Swallow Hill synopsis, comments

    The Saints of Swallow Hill

    Donna Everhart

    Where the Crawdads Sing meets The Four Winds as awardwinning author Donna Everhart's latest novel immerses readers in its unique settingthe turpentine camps and pine forests of the...

  • Calculated Risk synopsis, comments

    Calculated Risk

    Marie James

    As the fixer for Blackbridge Security, Quinten Lake is the man that comes in and cleans up after people make stupid decisions.Which means he didn't want to be the one teaching lust...

  • My First Book synopsis, comments

    My First Book

    Various Authors

    With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world. Who are w...

  • Great Short Novels of Henry James synopsis, comments

    Great Short Novels of Henry James

    Henry James & Philip Rahv

    Henry James was one of the greatest and most prolific American authors ever to have lived.Henry James believed that the short novel was the perfect literary form, and his achieveme...

  • Character - The Grandest Thing in the World synopsis, comments

    Character - The Grandest Thing in the World

    Orison Swett Marden

    In this book the author posits the need for a 'strong character' in a person's personality and how this undervalued characteristic is actually the most important thing ...

  • The Career Change Guide synopsis, comments

    The Career Change Guide

    Rachel Schofield

    Discover what you really want from work and how to get there with this empowering, practical guide from expert career coach Rachel SchofieldAS SEEN IN GOOD HOUSEKEEPINGONE OF THE...

  • Ada synopsis, comments

    Ada

    Kaz Cooke

    ‘It’s not every day a handsome young man appears on your doorstep to ask if you’re a respectable woman…’Miss Ada Delroy and her famous vaudeville troupe stormed five continents, en...

  • Counting the Cost synopsis, comments

    Counting the Cost

    Jill Duggar

    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFor the first time, discover the unedited truth about the Duggars, the traditional Christian family that captivated the nation on TLC’s hit show 19...

  • Postcards to Europe synopsis, comments

    Postcards to Europe

    Various Authors

    This is not a book about politics. It is a book about what makes us British, and what makes us European.Spend time with some of your favourite writers and artists in this truly uni...

  • Bad synopsis, comments

    Bad

    Dylan Howard

    An Inside View into the Dark Side of a Music Icon He was the King of Pop, a superstar without equal, the idol of millions of young people around the world. But was Michael Jackson...

  • James Alexander Jones and Joan Marie Jones synopsis, comments

    James Alexander Jones and Joan Marie Jones

    Kansas City District Missouri Court of Appeals

    Appellantdefendant, Haines, Hodges & Jones Building and Development Company, has appealed from an adverse judgment of the Circuit Court of Jackson County at Independence, decla...

  • Hostile Territory synopsis, comments

    Hostile Territory

    Marie James

    Can you call someone an enemy if you haven't seen them for the better part of a decade?Deacon Black is perfectly content with the status quowork, sleep, repeat.Who cares if he's ri...

  • James A. Tedford v. Marie Tedford Dempsey synopsis, comments

    James A. Tedford v. Marie Tedford Dempsey

    Supreme Court of Mississippi

    Where the mother later marries a man of substantial financial means, what effect, if any, does this have on the support obligations, first, of the father, and, second, of the mothe...

  • To Love a Dog synopsis, comments

    To Love a Dog

    Tom Inglis

    'A little gem of a book' Brendan O'ConnorTom Inglis and his Wheaten terrier Pepe have lived together for eighteen years: countless days of walks and play and the odd bit of chaos. ...

  • Four Years in the Cauldron synopsis, comments

    Four Years in the Cauldron

    Brian O'Donovan

    SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2021The riveting story of a nation at a crucial crossroadsFrom the start of his stint as RTÉ's Washington Correspondent Brian O'Donovan's live...

  • Opere vol. 1 synopsis, comments

    Opere vol. 1

    Carl Gustav Jung

    Gli scritti raccolti nel primo volume delle Opere di C.G.Jung risalgono agli anni 190005. Sono gli anni del Burghölzli, l’ospedale per malattie mentali diretto da Bleuler, in cui J...

  • 64 Geeks synopsis, comments

    64 Geeks

    Chas Newkey-Burden

    We wouldn't have Bluetooth or WiFi today without the ingenuity of an actress once described as "the most beautiful woman in the world."And we might have had mobile messaging as ear...

  • Lesta Marie Coffey and James W. Coffey V. synopsis, comments

    Lesta Marie Coffey and James W. Coffey V.

    Supreme Court Of Indiana

    Plaintiffs Roy D. Wininger and Lenore A. Wininger (Wininger) were the owners of a tract of land in Brown County, Indiana, which abutted an 8.45 acre tract owned by Lesta Marie Coff...

  • The Secret to Love, Health, and Money synopsis, comments

    The Secret to Love, Health, and Money

    Rhonda Byrne

    This indepth masterclass from the author of the groundbreaking bestseller The Secret illustrates how to apply the law of attraction to three of life’s most important areas: relatio...