James Ingram, one of the biggest stars in the 1980s and ’90s, and a double Grammy winner and two-time Oscar nominee, has died at age 66.
His first No. 1 pop hit was 1982’s “Baby, Come to Me,” a duet with Patti Austin. He again topped the chart in 1990 with “I Don’t Have the Heart.”He worked, most notably a duet with Linda Ronstadt on “Somewhere Out There,” for the 1986 animated film “An American Tail.” It reached No. 2 on the pop chart and won the Grammy for Song of the Year (with the award going to songwriters James Horner and Cynthia Weil).
Ingram was nominated for 14 Grammy awards from 1982 through 1996, winning for male vocal R&B performance for “One Hundred Ways” and for R&B performance by a duo or group for his collaboration with Michael McDonald, “Yah Mo B There.” Among his other Grammy nods was a nomination for the best new artist.
His Oscar nominations for the best original song came in 1994-95 for his theme songs from “Beethoven’s 2nd” and “Junior.”
He was the co-author, with Quincy Jones, of one of Michael Jackson’s biggest hits, “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).” He re-teamed with Jones and Jackson when he appeared in the “We Are the World” all-star charity video and single.
Other chart-toppers for Ingram included 1984’s “What About Me?” a collaboration with Kenny Rogers and Kim Carnes that reached No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart.
Ingram, who was believed to have been ill for some time, had not been prolific in recent years. His last album, “Stand (in the Light),” which had Jones as a co-producer, was released in 2008. Prior to that, he hadn’t released an album since 1993.
Details on an official cause of death or funeral plans have not been released.
