R.I.P.: James Ingram, Grammy Award Winning Singer

James Ingram, whose voice — technically precise, crisp and reserved, yet full of audacious feeling — made him one of the defining singers of R&B in the 1980s, has died.

He was 66, according to The NYTimes.

The actress and choreographer Debbie Allen, a frequent collaborator with Mr. Ingram on musical theater projects, announced his death on Twitter on Tuesday, calling him her “dearest friend and creative partner.” She did not say where or when he died or specify the cause.  TMZ reports death was from brain cancer.

Just as R&B’s “quiet storm” phase was peaking, Ingram was plucked from side-gig obscurity by the producer Quincy Jones to appear on his 1981 album, “The Dude.”

James Ingram

Jones discovered Ingram on a demo of “Just Once,” written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, which he sang for $50. Jones loved not just the song but the singer as well, and he called Mr. Ingram — who initially hung up on him — and invited him to perform “Just Once” and another song, “One Hundred Ways,” on that album.

Both songs became huge hits, cracking the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. “One Hundred Ways” earned Mr. Ingram a Grammy in 1982 for best male R&B vocal performance.

When Jones discovered him, Mr. Ingram had been inching his way into the music business for about a decade. He had been a pianist for Ray Charles; played in a band, Revelation Funk, which contributed a song to the soundtrack of the 1975 movie “Dolemite”; played in one of Dick Clark’s support bands; and done side work as a demo singer.

After the success of “Just Once” and “One Hundred Ways,” Mr. Ingram became a force in R&B. In 1982 he recorded a duet with Patti Austin, “Baby, Come to Me,” which reached No. 1 on the Hot 100. In 1983 he released his first solo album, “It’s Your Night,” which featured several hits, including another duet with Ms. Austin, “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?,” and “Yah Mo B There,” a duet with Michael McDonald that would earn Ingram his second Grammy, in 1985. (He was nominated a total of 14 times.)

Throughout the 1980s, Ingram worked with Jones on several other projects: participating in the all-star charity single “We Are the World”; writing for the soundtrack of Steven Spielberg’s film “The Color Purple” (1985); singing on Mr. Jones’s 1989 album, “Back on the Block”; and, most crucially, writing, with Jones, Michael Jackson’s 1983 Top 10 hit “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).”



Later in the 1980s and into the ’90s, a time when songs from hit films often became radio hits too, Mr. Ingram was a soundtrack favorite. “Somewhere Out There,” a duet with Linda Ronstadt from the animated feature “An American Tail,” was one of biggest chart successes, reaching No. 2. He was heard on the soundtracks of “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “Forget Paris” and “City Slickers.”

As a teenager, there were few (if any) singers whose voice I wanted to emulate more than the stunning #JamesIngram I wore out every single one of his CDs. The angel choir got one of Earth's greatest singers today. I'm truly saddened by this loss. #HowDoYouKeepTheMusicPlaying ?

— Clay Aiken (@clayaiken) January 29, 2019

RIP sweet James Ingram. Hearing your voice sing words and notes I made up is a gift I will cherish always. And I will never forget the laughs.

— Richard Marx (@richardmarx) January 29, 2019

There are no words to convey how much my ❤️ aches with the news of the passing of my baby brother, James Ingram. With that soulful, whisky sounding voice, James was simply magical. He was, & always will be, beyond compare. Rest In Peace my baby bro…You’ll be in my ❤️ forever pic.twitter.com/oZtA9h8uZR

— Quincy Jones (@QuincyDJones) January 29, 2019