James Ralph Bailey (June 17, 1937 – September 6, 1985) was an American R&B singer and songwriter. A member of The Cadillacs from 1956 to 1972, he also recorded as a solo artist. He worked as a background vocalist for singers such as

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, Roberta Flack,

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

, Melvin Van Peebles and Jimmy Castor.

Biography

Bailey was born on June 17, 1937, in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland. He was a member of

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

groups The Halos, The Cadillacs, and The Crickets (not

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

's Crickets), and also recorded as a solo artist. He also co-wrote several hits with songwriter Ken Williams; the songs included " Everybody Plays the Fool" by The Main Ingredient, "Sweet Music, Soft Lights And You" by

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

& Millie Jackson, "Love, Love, Love", which he released in 1972 and was covered the following year by

, and "Just Me And You" by Erasmus Hall. He also co-wrote songs with New York singer

Vernon Harrell Vernon "Verne" Harrell (June 5, 1940 – March 15, 1997) was an American R&B singer and songwriter. Career Harrell was from New York City and released several singles in the 1960s and 1970s. He also went by the name Keidar Syenon Harrell. He ...

(who had performed with The Coasters). "Soul Shing-A-Ling" and "Seven Days Too Long" by Chuck Wood in 1966, and "Sweet, Sweet Lovin'" by The Platters in 1967 were among songs written by Bailey and Harrell. The pair also co-wrote Harrell's release "Do It To It" in 1969 on Calla Records with J. Robinson. His song "Let Me Prove My Love to You", which was originally performed by The Main Ingredient, was sampled for Alicia Keys' 2003 single " You Don't Know My Name". He began his solo career in 1965, releasing records as Jimmy Bailey on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Bailey released a record on

Calla Records Calla Records was a small, New York City-based independent black owned Soul record label run by Nate McCalla (1930-1980) and active from approximately 1965 to 1977. McCalla was an associate and bodyguard for Morris Levy who headed Roulette Records ...

in 1968 called "Love Won't Wear Off." It was written and produced by Billy Guy of The Coasters. Bailey and Billy Guy had a record company called GuyJim Records. He died on September 6, 1985, in New York City.

Discography

* ''Just Me n' You'' (MAM #5011) (1974) * ''Love and Conversation'' (United Artists #815) (1977)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, J. R. 1937 births 1985 deaths American rhythm and blues musicians Northern soul musicians 20th-century American musicians The Cadillacs members Musicians from Baltimore Musicians from New York City