James Ralph Bailey (June 17, 1937 – September 6, 1985) was an American R&B singer and songwriter. A member of

The Cadillacs The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York, active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 hit " Speedo", written by Esther Navarro, which was instrumental in attracting white audiences to ...

from 1956 to 1972, he also recorded as a solo artist. He worked as a background vocalist for singers such as Aretha Franklin,

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Wher ...

, Donny Hathaway,

Melvin Van Peebles Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the 2000s. His feature film debut, '' The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' ...

and

Jimmy Castor James Walter Castor (January 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012) was an American funk, R&B, and soul musician. He is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", " The Bertha Butt Boogie", an ...

Biography

Bailey was born on June 17, 1937, in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland. He was a member of doo-wop groups

The Halos The Halos were an American doo wop group from The Bronx. The group formed with members Al Cleveland, J.R. Bailey, Harold Johnson, and Arthur Crier (bass). Phil Johnson replaced J.R. Bailey shortly after the recording of "Nag". (Bailey later joined ...

, and The Crickets (not Buddy Holly's

Crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...

), and also recorded as a solo artist. He also co-wrote several hits with songwriter Ken Williams; the songs included "

Everybody Plays the Fool "Everybody Plays the Fool" is a 1972 song first recorded by American R&B group The Main Ingredient, and written by J. R. Bailey, Rudy Clark and Ken Williams. It was the first single released from the group's album ''Bitter Sweet'', released wi ...

" by

The Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient was an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song "Everybody Plays the Fool". Early history The group was formed in Harlem, New York City in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Dona ...

, "Sweet Music, Soft Lights And You" by Isaac Hayes &

Millie Jackson Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American R&B and soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies sold. Jackson's songs o ...

, "Love, Love, Love", which he released in 1972 and was covered the following year by Donny Hathaway, and "Just Me And You" by Erasmus Hall. He also co-wrote songs with New York singer Vernon Harrell (who had performed with

The Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with " Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producin ...

). "Soul Shing-A-Ling" and "Seven Days Too Long" by Chuck Wood in 1966, and "Sweet, Sweet Lovin'" by

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The a ...

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

, was sampled for

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

' 2003 single "

You Don't Know My Name "You Don't Know My Name" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys for her second studio album '' The Diary of Alicia Keys'' (2003). It was written by Keys, Kanye West and Harold Lilly, and produced by Keys and West. The song ...

". He began his solo career in 1965, releasing records as Jimmy Bailey on Columbia Records. Bailey released a record on Calla Records in 1968 called "Love Won't Wear Off." It was written and produced by

Billy Guy Billy Guy (June 20, 1936 – November 5, 2002) was an American singer, best known as a lead singer for the Coasters. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Biography Born Frank Phillips in Texas, Guy is best known as a memb ...

. Bailey and Billy Guy had a record company called GuyJim Records. He died on September 6, 1985, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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