Two-time Grammy winner James Ingram, whose wonderful voice instantly evokes the classic R&B sound of the 1980s, has died. He was 66.

 He died from a battle with a form of brain cancer reported TMZ. Sources close to the singer tell us James Ingram had been fighting the cancer for an extended period.

“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,” says actress Debbie Allen.

He was a staple of the romantic Quiet Storm R&B radio format, alongside Divabetic’s inspiration Luther Vandross and others such as George Benson, Anita Baker and Barry White. His collaborations with Patti Austin — 1981’s “Baby Come to Me” and “How Do You Keep The Music Playing” helped define adult contemporary R&B in the early ’80’s. 

Originally raised in Akron, Ohio, a teenaged Ingram pounded the pavement in ’70s Los Angeles, making demos for a publishing company and churning out tunes for his band Revelation Funk. Comparing himself to his bandmates, Ingram underestimated his own vocal abilities. “I knew I couldn’t sing,” he said. “I wasn’t trying. I was just doing background.”

After the band broke up, James Ingram got great backup gigs, working with Marvin Gaye. He would sing and write demos at a studio on Sunset Boulevard for $50 per song. The studio had a relationship with veteran producer Quincy Jones, who heard Ingram’s recording of “Just Once.” Jones, impressed, called Ingram.

“I hung up on Quincy,” he told the Tribune. “I was never no singer. I never shopped a deal, none of that. My wife said, ‘James, that was Quincy.’ He called back, and we started talking. I said, ‘Yeah, that’s me.’ He put that on his album.”

James Ingram ended up singing that song and “One Hundred Ways” on Jones’ 1981 album, The Dude. Both songs ended up in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. His performance of “One Hundred Ways” won him the Grammy in 1981 for best male R&B performance. In 1984 he won his second Grammy, for “Yah Mo B There” with singer Michael McDonald. Throughout his career, Ingram was nominated for 14 Grammys.

He won back-to-back best original song Oscar nominations in 1993 and 1994, for co-writing the Dolly Parton (February’s Divabetic Inspiration) duet “The Day I Fall in Love,” from Beethoven’s 2nd, and Patty Smyth’s “Look What Love Has Done,” from Junior.

James Ingram won hearts with “Somewhere Out There,” his 1987 Peter Asher-produced duet with Linda Ronstadt. The song was featured in Don Bluth’s animated movie An American Tail, the emotion-tugging power ballad rose to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1987 and won the Grammy for song of the year.

Tune in to February’s Diabetes Late NIte podcast with musical inspiration from Dolly Parton on Tuesday, February 12, 2019, 6 PM, EST. We’re talking about ‘SELF ACCEPTANCE & DIABETES’ with Poet Lorraine Brooks, Dr.Beverly S. Adler PhD, CDE, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Catherine Schuller AICI, CIP,  Lisa R Young, PhD, RDN and more. Enjoy selected songs from Dolly Parton’s new album Dumplin’ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack courtesy of SONY Music.  TUNE IN