Rick James (born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr; February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004) was an American funk and soul musician, who worked as a singer, keyboardist, bassist, record producer, arranger, and composer during his long career. One of the most popular artists on the Motown label during the late 1970s and early 1980s, James was famous for his wild brand of funk music and his trademark cornrow braids, sporting them well before the style was widely popularized. As time went on, James was given the unofficial title The King of Funk.
Born in Buffalo, New York, James was the third of eight children; his father was an autoworker and his mother a former dancer. His uncle was Melvin Franklin, the bass vocalist of The Temptations.
At age 17, James joined the U.S. Naval Reserve after dropping out from Bennett High School. He began missing weekend training because it interfered with his musical career and was reported AWOL. Fleeing north to Toronto, Canada in the summer of 1964, James continued his musical career. His first band was called The Sailor Boys, which also featured future Steppenwolf member Nick St. Nicholas. By the end of 1964, the group had evolved into The Mynah Birds, and recorded a single for the Canadian arm of Columbia Records. In early 1965, St. Nicholas left the band and was replaced by Bruce Palmer.
Shortly afterwards, James and Palmer formed a new Mynah Birds lineup with guitarists Tom Morgan and John Taylor, and drummer Rickman Mason. In early 1966, the Mynah Birds auditioned for the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan. Morgan was unhappy with the label's attitude towards the musicians and left, with Neil Young taking his place. 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. The band fired their manager, who in turn told the label that James was AWOL. Motown told him to give himself up to the FBI, and the Mynah Birds' album was shelved.