In the late 1970s, when the fortunes of Motown Records seemed to be flagging, Rick James came along and rescued the company, providing funky hits that updated the label's style and saw it through into the mid-'80s. Actually, James had been with Motown earlier, though nothing had come of it. After growing up in Buffalo and running away to join the Naval Reserves, he left the Navy for Toronto, where he was in a band with future Buffalo Springfield members Neil Young and Bruce Palmer as well as Goldy McJohn, later of Steppenwolf. As the Mynah Birds, they signed to Motown and recorded, though no record was ever released.

James had a journeyman's career playing bass in various groups before signing again to Motown as an artist, songwriter, and producer. His first single, You and I (May 1978), topped the RB charts and reached the pop Top 40. Mary Jane (September 1978) was another hit. Both were on James' debut album, Come Get It! (June 1978), which went gold. Subsequent efforts were not as successful, though Bustin' Out of L Seven (January 1979) featured the RB hit Bustin' Out (April 1979). James returned to form with the number one RB hit Give It to Me Baby (March 1981), featured on the million-selling Street Songs (April 1981), which also included Super Freak, his first Top 20 pop hit since "You and I."

James turned his production attention to resuscitating the career of the Temptations, recently returned to Motown, and Standing on the Top (April 1982), credited to the Temptations featuring Rick James, was an RB Top Ten hit. (He also produced recordings by Teena Marie and the Mary Jane Girls.) James' follow-up to Street Songs was the gold-selling Throwin' Down (May 1982), which featured the hit Dance Wit' Me. The title song of Cold Blooded (August 1983) became James' third RB number one, and the album also featured his hit duet with Smokey Robinson, Ebony Eyes. James' greatest-hits album Reflections (August 1984) featured the new track 17 (June 1984), which also became a hit. Glow (April 1985) contained Top Ten RB singles in the title track and Can't Stop, which was featured in the summer movie blockbuster #Beverly Hills Cop. His ninth solo album, The Flag (June 1986), featured the R&B and dance charts hit Sweet and Sexy Thing (May 1986).

James left Motown for the Reprise division of Warner Bros. Records as of the album Wonderful (July 1988), which featured the RB chart-topper Loosey's Rap, a collaboration with rapper Roxanne Shante. Nevertheless, his "punk funk" didn't seem to rest comfortably with the trend toward rap/hip-hop. In 1989, James charted briefly with a medley of the Drifters hits This Magic Moment and Dance With Me. In 1990, MC Hammer scored a massive hit with U Can't Touch This, which consisted of his rap over the instrumental track of Super Freak. That should have made for a career rebirth, but James was plagued by drug and legal problems that kept him from the recording studio. With the majority of his legal woes behind him, James returned in 1997 with Urban Rapsody, which didn't yield any hits but was well accepted by critics. A stroke during a concert in 1998 led to his semi-retirement. Rick James died of a heart attack on August 6, 2004, at his Los Angeles home. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi