James Ingram
James Ingram (born James Edward Ingram on 16 February 1952 in Akron, Ohio; … Read Full Bio ↴James Ingram (born James Edward Ingram on 16 February 1952 in Akron, Ohio; died 29 January 2019) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and instrumentalist. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song.
Ingram went from playing local bars with Revelation Funk to Los Angeles, where he landed the types of gigs that most aspiring musicians only dream about: singing background vocals and playing piano for Ray Charles’ recording studio sessions; recording studio sessions and playing keyboards behind the Coasters for Dick Clark; and recording background vocals for his mentor, Marvin Gaye.
Then fate brought Ingram together with Quincy Jones and to a pivotal breakthrough in his career. Up to this point, Ingram had not yet surfaced as a solo artist, but after a chance listen to Ingram’s demo of “Just Once” — which had been recorded for the sum of $50 — Jones immediately recognized the man, the voice and the music as the musical triumvirate that would both captivate listeners and command the music industry’s attention.
Jones quickly chose Ingram to perform both “Just Once” and “One Hundred Ways” on Jones’ upcoming album, The Dude. Released in 1980, The Dude was a multi-platinum international success and resulted in three Grammy nominations for Ingram: Best New Artist, Best Pop Male Vocal, and Best R&B Vocal for “One Hundred Ways,” for which he won his first Grammy. Ingram also made Grammy history when — in his first live performance ever as a singer — he performed “Just Once” as the telecast’s opening act and became the first artist to open a Grammy ceremony with a ballad and the only artist to win a Grammy without having his own album in release. The Dude remains the most Grammy-nominated album in history and marked the first of 15 nominations Ingram has received to date (see attached award list and discography for complete information).
After this stunning debut, Ingram’s much-anticipated 1983 solo album, It’s Your Night, surpassed industry expectations. The album was the debut for the Michael McDonald collaboration “Yah Mo Be There,” (Ingram’s 2nd Grammy) which was honored with the Grammy for Best R&B Performance for a Group or Duo, and “There’s No Easy Way” was considered one of the year’s stand-out ballads. It’s Your Night sold nearly one million copies; secured an unprecedented achievement by appearing simultaneously on both The Top 20 Pop and The Top 5 R&B Charts. Ultimately, “Yah Mo Be There” became the most-played song of the year.
Ingram’s talents as a songwriter and performer were tapped by some of the most celebrated artists of the era, most prominent was his “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” for Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1982), which sold more than 50 million units,. He performed “Baby Come To Me,” with Patti Austin (1984) on her debut album, which went on to become a No. 1 Pop record. Other chart-topping, Top 10 collaborations include “The Secret Garden,” the No.1 hit with Barry White, Al B. Sure and El Debarge on Quincy Jones’ multi-platinum Back on the Block album, (1990). James, as a song writer is timeless he received Grammy recognition for his participation on the song entitled “Good Life”, in the “Best Rap Song” category, performed by Kanye West (featuring T-Pain) in 2007.
Hollywood soon called for Ingram’s wide-ranging songwriting and vocal abilities and several hit singles for blockbuster motion and animated pictures followed. “How Do You Keep The Music Playing” — a songwriting collaboration between Michel Legrand and Marilyn and Alan Bergman, performed by Ingram and Patti Austin — was featured in Best Friends (1982) and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group as well as an Academy Award nomination in the Original Song category.
Other important contributions to feature films include “Don’t Make Me No Never Mind,” co-written with Quincy Jones and Roy Gaines for Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple (1985), and Ingram’s duet with Anita Baker, “When You Love Someone,” by Bryan Adams, for Forget Paris (1995). “Somewhere Out There,” performed by Ingram and Linda Ronstadt for Steven Spielberg’s animated American Tail (1986) also received a Grammy for Song of the Year. Then 1993 and 1994 brought Ingram back-to-back Academy Award nominations. His duets with Dolly Parton, “The Day I Fall in Love,” featured in Beethoven 2 (1993), and Anita Baker, “Look What Love Has Done,” the theme song from Junior (1994), were songwriting collaborations with Carole Bayer Sager and recognized in Oscar’s Original Song category.
The '90s were a fruitful decade for Ingram, who began it by co-producing “I Don’t Have the Heart” with Thom Bell — the first and only time Bell has co-produced on any project — and taking it to No. 1 in 1990. In 1999, Ingram released Forever More: The Best of James Ingram, which included some of his biggest hits as well as new material
Worldwide acclaim has led to concert tours in the U.S. and abroad, where he continues to play before sold-out stadiums in The Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Dubai, Brunei, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Fans at home have been able to see Ingram perform live everywhere from Compton to The White House.
The blessings of success also have allowed Ingram to pursue two of his personal passions: humanitarian work and composition for live theater. In 1987, Ingram was hand-picked by Quincy Jones to perform in “We are the World,” the universal gift and legendary singing and fund-raising effort from the recording industry, which raised more than $100 million in aid for those suffering from famine in Africa. Ingram also continues to work with long-time collaborator, choreographer/ producer Debbie Allen on a number of musical projects. Most recently, they partnered on Stand (In the Light) and several musical theater works including "Brothers of the Night, “The Legend” and “Alex in Wonderland."
Faith and family are Ingram’s main sources of inspiration, driving his industry achievements; legendary collaborations with revered mentors and peers; humanitarian work; and celebrated performances at some of the most-high-profile events of our time, including The Oscars, The Grammy Awards and The Super Bowl. The son of a Deacon, Ingram is one of six children and a self-taught musician, adept at piano, guitar, bass, drums and synthesizer. He made his home in Los Angeles with Debbie, his wife of 36 years, and their six children.
Ingram went from playing local bars with Revelation Funk to Los Angeles, where he landed the types of gigs that most aspiring musicians only dream about: singing background vocals and playing piano for Ray Charles’ recording studio sessions; recording studio sessions and playing keyboards behind the Coasters for Dick Clark; and recording background vocals for his mentor, Marvin Gaye.
Then fate brought Ingram together with Quincy Jones and to a pivotal breakthrough in his career. Up to this point, Ingram had not yet surfaced as a solo artist, but after a chance listen to Ingram’s demo of “Just Once” — which had been recorded for the sum of $50 — Jones immediately recognized the man, the voice and the music as the musical triumvirate that would both captivate listeners and command the music industry’s attention.
Jones quickly chose Ingram to perform both “Just Once” and “One Hundred Ways” on Jones’ upcoming album, The Dude. Released in 1980, The Dude was a multi-platinum international success and resulted in three Grammy nominations for Ingram: Best New Artist, Best Pop Male Vocal, and Best R&B Vocal for “One Hundred Ways,” for which he won his first Grammy. Ingram also made Grammy history when — in his first live performance ever as a singer — he performed “Just Once” as the telecast’s opening act and became the first artist to open a Grammy ceremony with a ballad and the only artist to win a Grammy without having his own album in release. The Dude remains the most Grammy-nominated album in history and marked the first of 15 nominations Ingram has received to date (see attached award list and discography for complete information).
After this stunning debut, Ingram’s much-anticipated 1983 solo album, It’s Your Night, surpassed industry expectations. The album was the debut for the Michael McDonald collaboration “Yah Mo Be There,” (Ingram’s 2nd Grammy) which was honored with the Grammy for Best R&B Performance for a Group or Duo, and “There’s No Easy Way” was considered one of the year’s stand-out ballads. It’s Your Night sold nearly one million copies; secured an unprecedented achievement by appearing simultaneously on both The Top 20 Pop and The Top 5 R&B Charts. Ultimately, “Yah Mo Be There” became the most-played song of the year.
Ingram’s talents as a songwriter and performer were tapped by some of the most celebrated artists of the era, most prominent was his “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” for Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1982), which sold more than 50 million units,. He performed “Baby Come To Me,” with Patti Austin (1984) on her debut album, which went on to become a No. 1 Pop record. Other chart-topping, Top 10 collaborations include “The Secret Garden,” the No.1 hit with Barry White, Al B. Sure and El Debarge on Quincy Jones’ multi-platinum Back on the Block album, (1990). James, as a song writer is timeless he received Grammy recognition for his participation on the song entitled “Good Life”, in the “Best Rap Song” category, performed by Kanye West (featuring T-Pain) in 2007.
Hollywood soon called for Ingram’s wide-ranging songwriting and vocal abilities and several hit singles for blockbuster motion and animated pictures followed. “How Do You Keep The Music Playing” — a songwriting collaboration between Michel Legrand and Marilyn and Alan Bergman, performed by Ingram and Patti Austin — was featured in Best Friends (1982) and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group as well as an Academy Award nomination in the Original Song category.
Other important contributions to feature films include “Don’t Make Me No Never Mind,” co-written with Quincy Jones and Roy Gaines for Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple (1985), and Ingram’s duet with Anita Baker, “When You Love Someone,” by Bryan Adams, for Forget Paris (1995). “Somewhere Out There,” performed by Ingram and Linda Ronstadt for Steven Spielberg’s animated American Tail (1986) also received a Grammy for Song of the Year. Then 1993 and 1994 brought Ingram back-to-back Academy Award nominations. His duets with Dolly Parton, “The Day I Fall in Love,” featured in Beethoven 2 (1993), and Anita Baker, “Look What Love Has Done,” the theme song from Junior (1994), were songwriting collaborations with Carole Bayer Sager and recognized in Oscar’s Original Song category.
The '90s were a fruitful decade for Ingram, who began it by co-producing “I Don’t Have the Heart” with Thom Bell — the first and only time Bell has co-produced on any project — and taking it to No. 1 in 1990. In 1999, Ingram released Forever More: The Best of James Ingram, which included some of his biggest hits as well as new material
Worldwide acclaim has led to concert tours in the U.S. and abroad, where he continues to play before sold-out stadiums in The Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Dubai, Brunei, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Fans at home have been able to see Ingram perform live everywhere from Compton to The White House.
The blessings of success also have allowed Ingram to pursue two of his personal passions: humanitarian work and composition for live theater. In 1987, Ingram was hand-picked by Quincy Jones to perform in “We are the World,” the universal gift and legendary singing and fund-raising effort from the recording industry, which raised more than $100 million in aid for those suffering from famine in Africa. Ingram also continues to work with long-time collaborator, choreographer/ producer Debbie Allen on a number of musical projects. Most recently, they partnered on Stand (In the Light) and several musical theater works including "Brothers of the Night, “The Legend” and “Alex in Wonderland."
Faith and family are Ingram’s main sources of inspiration, driving his industry achievements; legendary collaborations with revered mentors and peers; humanitarian work; and celebrated performances at some of the most-high-profile events of our time, including The Oscars, The Grammy Awards and The Super Bowl. The son of a Deacon, Ingram is one of six children and a self-taught musician, adept at piano, guitar, bass, drums and synthesizer. He made his home in Los Angeles with Debbie, his wife of 36 years, and their six children.
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James Ingram Lyrics
"Better Way" Won't change my mind, I'm on my way Wanna see this…
A Baby Thinkin' back in time When love was only in the mind I…
A Baby's Born Winter never seemed so cold You′ve grown old And time has sl…
A Natural Man Looking out on a morning rain I used to feel so…
Always Seems like yesterday We were still children with all our dre…
Always You Seems like yesterday We were still children with all our dr…
Any Kind of Love How can you say you love your father When you…
Baby Be Mine Mmm...mmm...hmm... I've been tryin' to tell myself I don'…
Baby Come To Me Thinkin' back in time When love was only in the mind I…
Baby Come to Me (With Patti Au PATTI: Thinkin' back in time When love was only in my mind…
Beneath the Snow It's hard to survive, Held in the grip of the cold beneath…
Better Way Won't change my mind, I'm on my way Wanna see this…
Blessed Assurance Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine Oh, what a foretaste of glo…
Come to Me Thinkin' back in time When love was only in the mind I…
Day I Fall in Love Just an ordinary day Started out the same old way Then I…
Don I remember when daddy used to tell us bedtime stories As…
Everything Must Change Everything must change Nothing stays the same Everyone will …
Find 100 Ways Compliment what she does Send her roses just because If it's…
For All We Know For all we know, we may never meet again Before you…
Forever More Before we go to sleep tonight We'll say our prayers I'll hol…
Get Ready Turn down the lights, Baby turn off the telephone. Now its…
Give Me Forever Looking out, I see And I know just how much you're…
How Do You Keep The Music Playing How do you keep the music playing? How do you make…
I Believe I Can Fly I used to think that I could not go on And…
I Believe In Those Love Songs Open your eyes Now what do you see Your man in love…
I Don Your face is beaming You say it's 'cause you're dreaming Of …
I Just Can Oh, what's the matter, baby? Is the truth too hard to…
It's Real I Woo woo The feeling Real Hey hey Talking about the…
It's Your Night Turn down the lights Put on the music Ooh This situation …
Just once I did my best But I guess my best wasn't good…
Let Me Love You This Way Tonight I look at you and you′re so beautiful There's so…
Love 1 Day At A Time Just an ordinary day Started out the same old way Then I…
Love Come Down Baby please stay tonight I don′t want to be alone Your love…
My Funny Valentine My funny valentine, sweet comic valentine You make me smile …
No Need To Say Goodbye It started out as a feeling Which then grew into a…
One Hundred Ways Compliment what she does Send her roses just because If it's…
One More Rhythm Mighty music light me up tonight I can feel the good…
One More Time Before we go to sleep tonight We'll say our prayers I'll hol…
Party Animal There's a light in the window Someone open up the door 'Ca…
Remember The Dream You have a choice Your heart will know You gotta look back…
She Loves Me My love she makes no demands She waits for me with…
Sing for the Children I watch the world; it breaks my heart How many lives…
So This Is Love mmmmm mmmmmm So this is love, Mmmmmm So this…
Someday We Hang on to the world as it spins around Just…
Someone Like You I can hear you whisper, baby You say you're not really…
Somewhere Out There Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight Someone's thi…
Stand In a time when the words of the truth are…
The Day I Fall In Love Just an ordinary day Started out the same old way Then I…
The Wings Of My Heart Where did my heart go When did it lose the way How…
There Heavenly Father watching us all We take from each other and…
there's no easy I held her close to me 'Cause I know she breaks…
There's No Easy Way To Break Somebody's Heart I held her close to me 'Cause I know she breaks…
Theres No Easy Way I held her close to me 'Cause I know she breaks…
This Is The Night Day in, day out I would wake to find no…
Treat Her Right Compliment what she does Send her roses just because If it′s…
Try Your Love Again Look at you I can't believe my eyes Still walking 'round h…
Whatever We Imagine Don't be afraid I can meet you half way We can't always…
Where Did My Heart Go Where did my heart go When did it lose the way How…
Where Did My Heart Go ? Where did my heart go When did it lose the way How…
Where Did My Heart Go%3F %7BCity Slickers%7D Where did my heart go When did it lose the way How…
Where Did My Heart Go? Where did my heart go When did it lose the way How…
Where Did My Heart Go? {City Slickers} Where did my heart go When did it lose the way How…
Wish You Were Here I watched you leaving and never tried to get you to…
Ya Mo B There Heavenly Father watching us all We take from each other and…
Ya Mo be There Heavenly Father watching us all We take from each other and…
Yah Mo Be There {HD Remaster} Heavenly Father watching us all We take from each other and…
Yah-Mo Be There Heavenly Father watching us all We take from each other and…
You Never Know What You Got I know you'll never find another love like mine And I…
Dan De Jianne
on No Need To Say Goodbye
Wrong song. These are not the lyrics to No need to say goodbye.