I love it when a random song from the past pops into my head. Just a little while ago, a song called "Just Be Good To Me" started playing in my head. I went looking for it on iTunes. I only found a version done by a Canadian singer named Deborah Cox. Deborah Cox recorded "Just Be Good To Me" in 1995. She's two years younger than I am. I knew the song was older than that, since I remember it playing on the radio when I was a kid. Sure enough, I learned that it was released by the S.O.S. Band in 1983.
The song I remembered. It's hard to find this song without paying an arm and a leg.
Neither iTunes nor Amazon.com had this song available by the S.O.S. Band. If I want it, I have to pay a shitload of money. I like the song, but not that much! Besides, I can always listen on YouTube. I did download Deborah Cox's version, which is pretty good and very faithful to this version.
She's got chops. I read that she used to sing backup for Celine Dion.
Amazon.de does have "Just Be Good To Me" available to download, but I can't download stuff from their store, because I have a U.S. bank account. I would need a German account to access the digital Amazon.de store.
Living in Germany can have its annoying sides. Like, for instance, I am once again locked out of my PenFed account, and I have to call the bank to get it unlocked. But I have to wait until the afternoon, because I'm six hours ahead of PenFed, which is in Virginia. It's even worse when something happens on USAA. They're on central time, there.
Anyway, the S.O.S. band had another hit song back in the day. It's called "Take Your Time, Do It Right". I don't like that one as much as the funky "Just Be Good To Me". For one thing, "Take Your Time" has a tendency to get stuck in my head. It's quite an earworm.
But you sure can dance to it... or do other things.
"High Hopes" is a 1982 era hit.
"The Finest" is another hit by the S.O.S. Band, but I don't remember this one.
The S.O.S. Band stands for Sounds of Success. They got their start in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977. As I sit here listening to their music, realizing that they worked with some famously great producers like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, I can understand why their sound is so infectious and still pretty great many years later. I've always really appreciated funk, even though I'm about as white as a person can get.
I'll probably be singing that song for the rest of the day.
Just before I went to sleep last night, I got the news that James Ingram died yesterday. His death was announced on Twitter by his old friend, Debbie Allen. Ms. Allen, fondly remembered as Lydia Grant on Fame, did not specify the cause or time of death. However, I woke up this morning to see Mr. Ingram's death being reported by the likes of the New York Times.
I grew up in the 1980s, so my childhood was peppered with songs by James Ingram. I always appreciated his rich, warm, elegant baritone and R&B sensibility. I can't think of a single song he ever did that I didn't enjoy. I especially loved his duets with Patti Austin, "Baby, Come To Me" and "How Do You Keep the Music Playing", both of which I like to sing myself.
Sigh...
Patti Austin and James Ingram were perfect together.
James Ingram also memorably sang "Somewhere Out There" with Linda Ronstadt, a song I like to sing myself. And he sang the soulful, faithful duet, "Yah Mo Be There" with Michael McDonald.
"Somewhere Out There"
"Yah Mo Be There"
I also remember his hits, "One Hundred Ways" and "Just Once", both of which came out in the early 1980s and still sound great over 35 years later.
"One Hundred Ways"
"Just once"
I remember buying his greatest hits compilation, The Power of Great Music, when I was in college and a member of BMG Music Club. I wasn't familiar with all of the songs on that CD, but once I listened to them, I loved each song. Mr. Ingram kind of dropped off the radar in the 90s and 00s. I do remember wondering what happened to him. I notice that he stayed married to just one woman, Debra Robinson, whom he married in 1975, before he was a star.
It always saddens me to hear about the death of people who were popular when I was a child. James Ingram was just 66 years old, which seems too young for death. My heart goes out to his family and friends who knew him best and will miss his presence for more than just the great music he made.
