Roy Harper

His son Nick, a successful singer/songwriter in his own right, occasionally tours and records with him. Scheduled for release in 2005 is the DVD Rick James: Rockpalast Live, which features a 1982 concert performance from Essen, Germany. A recording of the concert was released as a double CD shortly afterwards. Although he was married previously (and later divorced), he leaves behind three children, Tazman, Ty, and Rick James, Jr.; and granddaughters Jasmine and Charisma. In June 2001, he celebrated his 60th birthday with a concert at London's Royal Festival Hall, featuring many guest artists. At the time of his death, he was working on an autobiography, Confessions Of A Superfreak, as well as a new album. The 2000 album, The Green Man was an entirely solo effort with Harper on acoustic guitar with no accompaniment. Rick James was interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Jethro Tull's singer Ian Anderson also sessioned, contributing flute to the song, "These Fifty Years". A coroner's report released September 16, 2004 officially ruled his death as accidental, reporting nine drugs found in James' bloodstream:. His son, Nick Harper, is also a songwriter- guitarist and contributed tracks to the 1998 album, The Dream Society. James had died from pulmonary and cardiac failure with his various health conditions of diabetes, stroke, and a pacemaker being listed as attributing factors. Harper's spoken words can be heard on The Tea Party's 1995 album Edges of Twilight and he sings on the track "Time" from their 1996 album Alhambra. On August 6, 2004, Rick James was found dead in his Los Angeles home by his caretaker. After the end of his marriage, Harper composed the melancholy Death or Glory in 1992. 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.

Since 1986, Harper has had a relatively low public profile, although 1990's Once was a tour-de-force, again featuring David Gilmour and Kate Bush. 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. They released an album called Whatever Happened to Jugula? under Harper's name but co-credited to Jimmy Page. Tony Franklin, the bass player in Harper's group would later join Page in The Firm. 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. Throughout 1984, Harper toured the United Kingdom with Jimmy Page, performing a predominantly acoustic set at folk festivals under various guises such as The MacGregors, and Themselves. 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. The Work of Heart album released in 1982 marked the formation of his own record label with Mark Thompson, entitled Public Records. 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.

In 1980, Harper sang backing vocals on the Kate Bush song "Breathing". 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. For much of the seventies, Harper was managed, and had records produced, by Peter Jenner. 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. In April 1978, Harper began writing lyrics for the next Led Zeppelin album, with Jimmy Page, but the project was shelved when Robert Plant returned from his self-imposed sabbatical after the death of his son Karac. Serving two years in Folsom Prison did not stop him from writing new songs, even if he did it behind bars. Bullinamingvase also featured "One of Those Days in England", with backing vocals by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, which became a Top 40 hit. In 1993, James was convicted of assaulting two women, with the first assault during one of his cocaine binges.

Harper was forced under duress to drop it from future copies of the album, though it reappeared on a later CD reissue. He was a recreational drug user, addicted mainly to cocaine. Controversy soon followed with the release of 1977's Bullinamingvase, with a motorway service station objecting to the lyrics in the song "Watford Gap" which criticised their food. As the 1980s segued into the 1990s, the dark side of James' life began to overpower his music. The single "When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease", taken from the album, is Harper's biggest selling and best known solo record to date. 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.". Pink Floyd's David Gilmour returned the favour by appearing on Harper's next album, HQ, with his occasional backing band called Trigger (Chris Spedding on guitar, Dave Cochran on bass guitar, and Bill Bruford on drums) and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones. 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.

Pink Floyd's 1975 release Wish You Were Here saw Harper as lead vocalist on the song "Have a Cigar". Other hits from Street Songs included "Give it to Me Baby", "Fire & Desire" with protege Teena Marie and "Ghetto Life". Between 1975 and 1978, Harper spent considerable time in the United States. "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 live album Flashes from the Archives of Oblivion soon followed. The 1981 release included "Super Freak", James biggest hit. A concert to mark its release was held at London's Rainbow Theatre with Page, Bedford, and Keith Moon on drums. After 1980's lackluster Garden Of Love album, he then recorded a concept album entitled Street Songs.

His next album Valentine, was released on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1974 and featured contributions from guitarist Jimmy Page. The latter included hits such as the title track and "Spacey Love" a ballad dedicated to singer Patti Labelle. The soundtrack for this film appeared in the following year with the title Lifemask. 1979 saw James release two albums: Bustin' Out Of L Seven, in January, and Fire It Up that fall. In 1972, Harper made his acting debut playing Mike Preston in the John Mackenzie film Made. The album also featured his ode to marijuana, "Mary Jane". Harper's 1971 critically acclaimed album was the four song epic, Stormcock, featuring Jimmy Page on guitar and David Bedford's orchestral arrangements, who would collaborate on future releases. James' breakthrough single was "You And I", an eight-minute magnum opus from his 1978 debut album Come Get It.

In a mutual appreciation of their work, Harper would often attend live performances by Led Zeppelin over the subsequent decade as well as contribute sleeve photography to the album Physical Graffiti and appear, uncredited, in the 1976 film, The Song Remains the Same. 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. According to Jimmy Page, the band admired the way Harper stood by his principles and did not sell out to commercial pressures. In 1977, he returned to Motown as a songwriter/producer. After the Bath Festival of 1970, Led Zeppelin wrote a song titled "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper", which appeared on the album Led Zeppelin III. James signed to A&M Records the following year and issued a single entitled "My Mama". Flat Baroque and Beserk also marked Harper's long yet confrontational association with Harvest Records. An album's worth of material was recorded in mid-1973 but was never released.

Its ethereal sound was achieved by a wah wah pedal attached to an acoustic guitar. 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). Harper's first tour of the United States followed the release of the album Flat Baroque and Beserk in 1970 which featured The Nice on one track called "Hell's Angels". The group recorded an album for Lion Records in Los Angeles in March 1972, but by that summer they had disbanded. Starting since May, 1968, Harper was making regular appearances at free concerts in London's Hyde Park attracting a cult following of fans from the underground music scene. 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. 1969's Folkjokeopus virtually mirrored the previous album, with a 15 minute version of "McGooghan's Blues". The group recorded a demo for Atlantic Records, and played at the Fillmore West with Jethro Tull.

Its cover was controversial at the time, depicting a new born baby, complete with umbilical cord. Former Buffalo Springfield roadie Chris Sarns played bass for a while, before Ron Johnson from Kaleidoscope stepped in the following year. CBS Records saw his potential and hired producer Shel Talmy to arrange Come out Fighting Genghis Smith, with the 11 minute blues track "Circles", marking a widening of Harper's audience away from pure folk. 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). It consisted of his sung poetry backed by acoustic guitar with a revox tape machine. He soon returned to Motown and became a songwriter and producer at Motown, working with Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers and The Spinners. His first album, The Sophisticated Beggar, was recorded in 1966 after Harper was spotted at the Les Cousins club and signed to Peter Richard's Strike Records. James spent a year in the Brooklyn Brig, after which he returned to briefly returned to Toronto.

Harper then busked around Europe until 1964 when he returned to England and gained residency at London's famous Les Cousins folk club in Soho. Motown told him to give himself up to the FBI, and the Mynah Birds' album was shelved. Leaving school when he was 15, he joined the Royal Air Force only to reject its rigid discipline, and then managed to feign madness—and receive ECT—in order to get a discharge. The band fired their manager, who in turn told the label that James was AWOL. At the age of 10, he began playing skiffle music with his older brother, David Harper, as well as being influenced by blues music. 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. Harper's anti-religious views would later become a familiar theme in his music. Morgan was unhappy with the label's attitude towards the musicians and left, with Neil Young taking his place.

After the death of his mother during childbirth, he was raised by his father and his step-mother, whom he did not get along with because of her Jehovah's Witness beliefs. In early 1966, the Mynah Birds auditioned for the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan. Harper was born in the Manchester suburb of Rusholme, England. Shortly afterwards, James and Palmer formed a new Mynah Birds lineup with guitarists Tom Morgan and John Taylor, and drummer Rickman Mason. Roy Harper, (born June 12, 1941), is a British singer-songwriter who specialises in uncompromising introspective lyrics and folk influenced compositions. Nicholas left the band and was replaced by Bruce Palmer. The Song Remains the Same (1976). In early 1965, St.

Made (1972). By the end of 1964, the group had evolved into The Mynah Birds and recorded a single for the Canadian arm of Columbia Records. Today Is Yesterday (archive recordings from 1964/5). Nicholas. Royal Festival Hall Live 2001 (2001). His first band was called The Sailor Boys, which also featured future Steppenwolf member Nick St. The Green Man (2001). Fleeing north to Toronto, Canada in the summer of 1964, James continued his musical career.

The Dream Society (1998). He began missing weekend training because it interfered with his musical career and was reported AWOL. East Of The Sun (compilation of love songs). Naval Reserve. The BBC Tapes (1997) (six volumes, on CD, not tape). At age 15, James joined the U.S. Live at Les Cousins (1996) (live). His uncle was Melvin Franklin, the bass vocalist of The Temptations.

Unhinged (1995) (compilation). Born in Buffalo, New York, James was the third of eight children; his father was an autoworker and his mother a former dancer. An Introduction to Roy Harper (1994) (compilation). 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. Commercial Breaks (1994) (previously unreleased material from 1977). 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. Born in Captivity II (1992) (live). Anthology (2002).

Death or Glory (1992). Urban Rapsody (1997). Burn the World (1990). Bustin' Out: The Very Best of Rick James (1994). Once (1990). Wonderful (1988). Loony on the Bus (1988). The Flag (1986).

Descendants of Smith (1988). Glow (1985). In Between Every Line (1986) (live). Reflections (1984). Whatever Happened to Jugula? (1985), with Jimmy Page. Cold Blooded (1983). Born in Captivity (1984). Throwin' Down (1982).

Work of Heart (1982). Street Songs (1981; deluxe edition released 2001). The Unknown Soldier (1980). Garden of Love (1980). Roy Harper 1970-75 (1978) (compilation). Fire It Up (1979). Bullinamingvase (1977). Bustin' Out of L Seven (1979).

HQ (1975) (US title: When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease). Come Get It (1978). Flashes from the Archives of Oblivion (1974) (live). Valentine (1974). Lifemask (1973) (soundtrack).

Stormcock (1971). Flat Baroque and Berserk (1970). Folkjokeopus (1969). Come out Fighting Ghengis Smith (1968).

The Sophisticated Beggar (1966).