The voice that soaps sent to number one.

The beginning

Before the Grammys. Before the number ones. Before a soap opera made his song the most requested ballad in America — James Ingram (1952–2019) was a kid from Akron, Ohio, singing in church, then funk bands, then keyboards behind Ray Charles himself. He sang a $50 demo of “Just Once.” Quincy Jones heard it and called. Ingram hung up — he figured it was a joke. His wife told him that was really Quincy. He called back.

The voice

Jones put him on 1981’s The Dude — “Just Once” and “One Hundred Ways.” Three Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. “One Hundred Ways” won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Then he co-wrote Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” with Quincy. His second Grammy came for “Yah Mo B There,” his duet with Michael McDonald. Fourteen nominations in all.

The soap connection

“Baby, Come to Me” — his duet with Patti Austin, written by Rod Temperton, produced by Quincy — dropped in April 1982 and stalled at #73. Then General Hospital started playing it as the love theme for Luke Spencer and Holly Sutton — and viewers lost their minds. Warner Bros. re-released it that October. By February 1983 it knocked Toto’s “Africa” off the top of the Hot 100. A soap opera took a dead record to number one.

The legacy

“I Don’t Have the Heart” (1990) — his only solo number one. “Somewhere Out There” with Linda Ronstadt climbed to #2 and took the Grammy for Song of the Year. Two Oscar nominations. Fourteen Grammy nominations, two wins, two number ones — and one phone call he almost didn’t take.

1998 portrait: Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Performance photo: pinguino / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)