Rick James was born James Johnson on 1 February 1948 in Buffalo, New York as the third oldest child in a family of eight.

His life started in the Buffalo ghetto was very harsh and by age 14 he already had legal troubles. In 1964 James went AWOL from the Navy because it interfered with his music career and he fled to Canada for a few years.

Rick James is credited for establishing the Punk Funk style. His first band, formed in the 1960's with future Steppenwolf member Nick St. Nicholas was initially called the Sailor Boys but soon changed their name to Mynah Birds, The. He also formed the blues band The Main Line and was singing and writing in Great White Cane, The.

In 1977 he formed the Stone City Band. His first album 'Come and Get It' reached position 3 on the R&B charts, 'You and I' went gold in September and 'Mary Jane', a barely-disguised hymn to marijuana, hit US R&B #3 in October. He also helped launch the Mary Jane Girls in the mid-80's.

On the morning of August 6, 2004, Rick James was found dead in his Burbank, California home. James had died from pulmonary failure and cardiac failure with his various health conditions of diabetes, stroke, a pacemaker and a heart attack.