R&B legend and music icon James Ingram has passed away. The news broke about the “Somewhere Out There” singer’s passing on Tuesday afternoon after a friend shared the difficult news. Ingram was 66 years old, and was just over two weeks shy of turning 67. “I have lost my dearest friend and creative partner James Ingram to the Celestial Choir,” longtime friend Debbie Allen tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. “He will always be cherished, loved, and remembered,” she affirmed. Her tweet continued: “for his genius, his love of family, and his humanity.” “I am blessed to have been so close,” she acknowledged. Her heartfelt tweet concluded: “We will forever speak his name.” James Imgram is, as we mentioned, an R&B legend who has been a titan within the industry for decades. His best known album work was also his first Number 1 pop hit. The song, “Baby, Come to Me,” was a duet with Patti Austin. That was not his last time to top the music charts. In 1990, he once again soared to the top with “I Don’t Have the Heart.” But if you really want to talk about his biggest impact, you need to talka bout his soundtrack work. In 1986, Ingram did a notable duet with Linda Ronstadt for the animated film, An Amiercan Tai l. That song? “Somewhere Out There.” One of the most famous songs of all time. The song reached Number 2 on the pop chart. It also won the Grammy award for Song of the Year — though the award went to songwriters James Horner and Cynthia Weil. Everyone on the planet has heard Ingram’s voice. From 1982 to 1996, Ingram was nominated for 14 different Grammy awards. Yes, that’s an average of about one per year. He won for male vocal R&B performance for “One Hundred Ways.” He also won for R&B performance by a duo or group after a collaboration with Michael McDonald: “Yah Mo B There.”: Ingram was also nominated for Oscars, both for best original song, in 1994 and 1995 for his theme songs from Beethoven’s 2nd and Junior . His Oscar nominations for best original song came in 1994-95 for his theme songs from “Beethoven’s 2nd” and “Junior.” James Ingram is originally a native of Akron. He was a session keyboard player and singer in Los Angeles before his “big break.” His guest singing on the “The Dude” album was so popular that he received a Grammy nomination before ever putting out an album of his own. Ingram was also a member of the 1970s group, Revelation Funk. Notably, the group made a brief appearance in the 1975 cult film, “Dolemite.” Details about Ingram’s cause of death have not yet been released. It is believed that he has been ill for some time. He has not been active, musically, for about a decade.
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James Ingram Dies; R&B Singer and Music Legend was 66
