Ben Harney

While Ben Harney unfortunately was neglected by commercial recording studios during his lifetime, in 1925 a folklorist recorded Harney singing an example of an early ragtime song on a dictaphone phonograph cylinder, and this recording has survived. Scheduled for release in 2005 is the DVD Rick James: Rockpalast Live, which features a 1982 concert performance from Essen, Germany. Ben Harney died of a heart attack in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although he was married previously (and later divorced), he leaves behind three children, Tazman, Ty, and Rick James, Jr.; and granddaughters Jasmine and Charisma. Harney quit touring after suffering from a heart attack in 1928. At the time of his death, he was working on an autobiography, Confessions Of A Superfreak, as well as a new album. He sometimes performed in blackface. Rick James was interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Harney's act included him playing piano, singing (including scat singing), and dancing. A coroner's report released September 16, 2004 officially ruled his death as accidental, reporting nine drugs found in James' bloodstream:. Once ragtime became popular he started billing himself as The Originator of Ragtime or The Father of Ragtime, which most (but not all) of his contemporaries thought was an overstatement for the sake of advertising. James had died from pulmonary and cardiac failure with his various health conditions of diabetes, stroke, and a pacemaker being listed as attributing factors. Harney toured widely on the Vaudeville circuts in the USA, as well as tours of theaters in Europe and Asia. On August 6, 2004, Rick James was found dead in his Los Angeles home by his caretaker. In 1897 Harney published his book The Ragtime Instructor, the first comprehensive description of ragtime, with instructions of how to rag (add syncopated rhythms to) tunes, including giving written examples of ragged versions of light classics and opera songs. Rick James' last public performance was at the 2004 BET Music Awards on June 29, 2004. Part of the on-stage routine involved a crowd-pleasing recital of the Chappelle's Show catch phrase by the real James himself.

That same year Harney was referred to in print as "the rag time pianist". The sketch was one of the most famous to come from the show, returning James to the public spotlight and making "I'm Rick James, bitch!" a popular catch phrase. In January of 1896 Ben Harney moved to New York City, where he appeared regularly at Tony Pastor's Music Hall. The young James, played by Chappelle, was depicted as an egotistical, misogynistic cocaine addict who picked upon Murphy and constantly reminded people "I'm Rick James, bitch!" Charlie Murphy played himself in both the flashback sequences (complete with Jheri curl) and mock interview segments, which are contrasted with mock interview footage of the real James, who refutes some of Murphy's recollections while acknowledging his own problems at the same time. Footage where James uses the expression "Cocaine's a hell of a drug" is edited into the skit a number of times to sum up his alleged behavior. Harney's tunes "You've Been a Good Old Wagon, But You've Done Broke Down", "Mister Johnson, Turn Me Loose", and "Cake Walk In The Sky" were big hits in the mid 1890s. The three-part skit was a fictional E! True Hollywood Story-style retrospective of the supposed love-and-hate friendship between James and Eddie Murphy's older brother Charlie Murphy during James' early-1980s peak. Some historians still debate Harney's ethnic background. On February 11, 2004, Dave Chappelle aired a Rick James-parodying skit called "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories" on his sketch comedy television program, Chappelle's Show.

Handy referred to him as "white". Rick James attempted a comeback with a new album and tour in 1997, but suffered a mild stroke during a concert in Denver, Colorado, effectively ending his musical career. Johnson referred to him as a "Negro", while W.C. He was released in 1995, and during interviews for a segment of the VH1 series Behind The Music, he spoke openly about his life and his battle with drugs for the first time. James P. Serving two years in Folsom Prison did not stop him from writing new songs, even if he did it behind bars. Harney was light skinned with red hair; early in his career he played with African American theater troops, but later in his career he represented himself as white. In 1993, James was convicted of assaulting two women, with the first assault during one of his cocaine binges.

Ben Harney is generally said to have been born in Louisville, Kentucky, although some sources put his birthplaces as Nashville, Tennessee. He was a recreational drug user, addicted mainly to cocaine. Benjamin Robertson "Ben" Harney (6 March 1871 - 2 March 1938) was a United States of America songwriter, entertainer, and pioneer of ragtime music. As the 1980s segued into the 1990s, the dark side of James' life began to overpower his music. Download recording - "The Wagon" ragtime from the Library of Congress' Gordon Collection (http://www.loc.gov/folklife/Gordon/sideBbandB4.html); performed by Ben Harney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on about September 9, 1925. During this period, he also helped launch the careers of Caucasian R&B singer Teena Marie and the Mary Jane Girls as well as producing actor Eddie Murphy's one-hit wonder "Party All The Time.". The stream of hits continued into the mid-1980s with "Teardrops", "Cold Blooded", "17", "You Turn Me On" and "Glow", which was his last R&B hit in 1985.

Other hits from Street Songs included "Give it to Me Baby", "Fire & Desire" with protege Teena Marie and "Ghetto Life". "Super Freak", which features guest vocals from The Temptations, was sampled for MC Hammer's 1990 Grammy award-winning song "U Can't Touch This". The 1981 release included "Super Freak", James biggest hit. After 1980's lackluster Garden Of Love album, he then recorded a concept album entitled Street Songs.

The latter included hits such as the title track and "Spacey Love" a ballad dedicated to singer Patti Labelle. 1979 saw James release two albums: Bustin' Out Of L Seven, in January, and Fire It Up that fall. The album also featured his ode to marijuana, "Mary Jane". James' breakthrough single was "You And I", an eight-minute magnum opus from his 1978 debut album Come Get It.

He soon began recording for Motown's Gordy label, first with the Hot Lips and then with a new version of the Stone City Band. In 1977, he returned to Motown as a songwriter/producer. James signed to A&M Records the following year and issued a single entitled "My Mama". An album's worth of material was recorded in mid-1973 but was never released.

At the end of 1972, James and Roth formed the first version of the Stone City Band with Peter Hodgson (bass), Danny Marks (guitar) and Malcolm Tomlinson (drums/vocals). The group recorded an album for Lion Records in Los Angeles in March 1972, but by that summer they had disbanded. In 1971, James and Roth recorded two singles in Toronto for RCA Records with Heaven and Earth, a band that also featured guitarist Stan Endersby, bass player Denny Gerrard, and drummer Pat Little. James left Heaven and Earth later that year; he, Roth, and Gerrard formed a new group called Great White Cane with horn players Bob Doughty and Ian Kojima, drummer Norman Wellbanks, guitarist Nick Balkou, and keyboard player John Cleveland Hughes. The group recorded a demo for Atlantic Records, and played at the Fillmore West with Jethro Tull.

Former Buffalo Springfield roadie Chris Sarns played bass for a while, before Ron Johnson from Kaleidoscope stepped in the following year. In the summer of 1969, he moved to Los Angeles, California and formed a band called Salt 'N' Pepper with Canadians Ed Roth (keyboards), Dave Burt (guitar), and Coffi Hall (drums). He soon returned to Motown and became a songwriter and producer at Motown, working with Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers and The Spinners. James spent a year in the Brooklyn Brig, after which he returned to briefly returned to Toronto.

Motown told him to give himself up to the FBI, and the Mynah Birds' album was shelved. The band fired their manager, who in turn told the label that James was AWOL. With Young on board, the Mynah Birds returned to Motown to record an album, but their manager pocketed the advance money the label had given the band. Morgan was unhappy with the label's attitude towards the musicians and left, with Neil Young taking his place.

In early 1966, the Mynah Birds auditioned for the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan. Shortly afterwards, James and Palmer formed a new Mynah Birds lineup with guitarists Tom Morgan and John Taylor, and drummer Rickman Mason. Nicholas left the band and was replaced by Bruce Palmer. In early 1965, St.

By the end of 1964, the group had evolved into The Mynah Birds and recorded a single for the Canadian arm of Columbia Records. Nicholas. His first band was called The Sailor Boys, which also featured future Steppenwolf member Nick St. Fleeing north to Toronto, Canada in the summer of 1964, James continued his musical career.

He began missing weekend training because it interfered with his musical career and was reported AWOL. Naval Reserve. At age 15, James joined the U.S. His uncle was Melvin Franklin, the bass vocalist of The Temptations.

Born in Buffalo, New York, James was the third of eight children; his father was an autoworker and his mother a former dancer. One of the most popular artists on Motown during the late 1970s and early 1980s, James was famous for his wild brand of funk music and his trademark locks, sporting them well before the style was popularized by actress Bo Derek. Rick James (James Ambrose Johnson, Jr.) (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004) was an African-American funk and soul musician, who worked as a singer, keyboardist, bassist, record producer, arranger, and composer during his long career. Anthology (2002).

Urban Rapsody (1997). Bustin' Out: The Very Best of Rick James (1994). Wonderful (1988). The Flag (1986).

Glow (1985). Reflections (1984). Cold Blooded (1983). Throwin' Down (1982).

Street Songs (1981; deluxe edition released 2001). Garden of Love (1980). Fire It Up (1979). Bustin' Out of L Seven (1979).

Come Get It (1978).