R&B singer and songwriter James Ingram, who was known for his soulful and smooth voice, has died. He was 66.
Ingram’s friend and creative partner, Debbie Allen, shared the news of his passing Tuesday on Twitter.
“I have lost my dearest friend and creative partner James Ingram to the Celestial Choir,” Allen tweeted. “He will always be cherished, loved and remembered for his genius, his love of family and his humanity. I am blessed to have been so close. We will forever speak his name.”
Allen did not disclose Ingram’s cause of death, but TMZ reported the legendary performer had been battling brain cancer.
Ingram released a string of hits in the 1980s and ’90s and was known for such chart-topping singles as Just Once, One Hundred Ways and the duet Baby Come To Me with Patti Austin.
Ingram won a Grammy Award in 1981 for One Hundred Ways. His second Grammy came in 1984 for the duet Yah Mo B There with Michael McDonald.
Over the years, the Ohio native collaborated with other music industry giants, including Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson. Ingram and Jones penned Jackson’s 1982 hit P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing).
As news of his death spread, the singer’s friends and music industry peers took to Twitter to reflect on his life.
“There are no words to convey how much my heart aches with the news of the passing of my baby brother, James Ingram,” Quincy Jones tweeted. “With that soulful, whisky sounding voice, James was simply magical. He was, & always will be, beyond compare.”
“Writing with you, touring with you, recording with you, laughing with you…I will miss you, one hundred ways,” singer-songwriter Siedah Garrett added on Twitter.
