Baby Huey (singer)
Encyclopedia
Baby Huey was an American
rock
and soul
singer, born in Richmond, Indiana
. He was the frontman for the band Baby Huey & The Babysitters, whose single LP for Curtom Records
in 1971 was influential in the development of hip hop music
.
, James Ramey moved to Chicago, Illinois at the age of nineteen, and worked with several local bands as a singer. Due to a "glandular disorder", Ramey was a large man, weighing about 350 pounds (160 kg). His size contributed to his stage presence, but also to health problems. Nevertheless, he made light of his condition, adopting the stage name "Baby Huey" after Paramount Pictures
' giant duckling cartoon character of the same name
. In 1963, Ramey, organist/trumpeter Melvyn "Deacon" Jones
, and guitarist Johnny Ross
founded a band called Baby Huey & the Babysitters
, which became a popular local act and released several 45 RPM singles, including "Beg Me", "Monkey Man", "Messin' with the Kid" and "Just Being Careful".
During the late-1960s, the band followed the lead of Sly & the Family Stone
and became a psychedelic soul
act. Huey began wearing an Afro
and donned psychedelic African-inspired robes, and adding sing-song, self-referential rhymes to his live performances. According to his bandmates, Ramey's rhymes were very similar in style to those later popularized by rappers in hip-hop music. The Babysitters were a popular live act, but never took the time out to record an album.
In 1969, the band's agent Marv Heiman secured them an audition with Curtom Records
arranger Donny Hathaway
. Heiman states that Hathaway came by the Thumbs Up club and was very impressed by the act, and got Curtom Records head Curtis Mayfield
to come the following night. Mayfield wanted to sign Baby Huey, but not the band. Although the band participated in the recording of Ramey's debut album, there were feelings of unease among them, and Jones quit the band during the recording. It's also likely that Ross had quit some time before.
By 1970, Ramey had developed an addiction to heroin, and his weight had increased to over 400 pounds. He began regularly missing gigs or turning up late, and, at the insistence of his bandmates, briefly entered rehabilitation
in the spring of 1970. In addition to the heroin problem, Ramey was also drinking. Melvyn Jones had described in his book an incident that took place: while pouring his breakfast cereal, Ramey's drug kit fell out of the box. James Ramey died of a heart attack on October 28, 1970, at the age of 26, and was found around noon in his hotel bathroom by his manager. His funeral was held on November 1, in his native Richmond, Indiana.
's "A Change Is Gonna Come
" and two original compositions by Ramey. The album did not sell well upon its original release, and was largely forgotten by the mainstream. Today, the album is considered a classic of its period.
On October 7, 1971, Jet Magazine ran a small piece on how his mother Mrs Ernestine Ramey Saine was granted authorisation to audit the records of two recording firms including Curtom Records. The order also permitted her to evaluate an undetermined estate left by him. According to Chicago attorney Vernon M. Rhinehart, Ramey had a salary that was $3,500 per week.
Several songs from The Baby Huey Story, including "Hard Times", "Listen to Me", and "Mighty Mighty Children", have been frequently sampled by hip hop producers
since the 1980s. "Hard Times" alone has been sampled by dozens of artists, including Ice Cube
("The Birth", Death Certificate
), A Tribe Called Quest
("Can I Kick It?", People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
), Ghostface Killah
("Buck 50", Supreme Clientele
), and others. John Legend
and The Roots
covered "Hard Times" for their 2010 album Wake Up!
. Many people, including the Babysitters themselves, see The Baby Huey Story as a significant and important influence on hip hop music.
Note: The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend is the only available release of Baby Huey. Several singles, including "Beg Me", "Monkey Man", "Messin' with the Kid" and "Just Being Careful" are not included.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer, born in Richmond, Indiana
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...
. He was the frontman for the band Baby Huey & The Babysitters, whose single LP for Curtom Records
Curtom Records
Curtom Records was a record label started by Curtis Mayfield of The Impressions along with Impressions associate Eddie Thomas in 1968 although the name was used as early as 1963. The labels name was a combination of Mayfields first name and Thomas' surname...
in 1971 was influential in the development of hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
.
Biography
A native of Richmond, IndianaRichmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...
, James Ramey moved to Chicago, Illinois at the age of nineteen, and worked with several local bands as a singer. Due to a "glandular disorder", Ramey was a large man, weighing about 350 pounds (160 kg). His size contributed to his stage presence, but also to health problems. Nevertheless, he made light of his condition, adopting the stage name "Baby Huey" after Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
' giant duckling cartoon character of the same name
Baby Huey
Baby Huey is a gigantic and naïve duckling cartoon character. He was created by Martin Taras for Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios, and became a Paramount cartoon star during the 1950s. Although created by Famous for its animated cartoons, Huey first appeared in comic-book form in an original...
. In 1963, Ramey, organist/trumpeter Melvyn "Deacon" Jones
Melvyn "Deacon" Jones
Melvyn "Deacon" Jones is an organ player and founding member of Baby Huey & the Babysitters.-Biography:In 1963 along with Johnny Ross and Jimmy Ramey aka Baby Huey, Jones formed Baby Huey & the Babysitters who went on to become a well known live attraction in Chicago...
, and guitarist Johnny Ross
Johnny Ross
Johnny Ross was a multi instrumentalist, singer songwriter and founding member of Baby Huey & the Babysitters who died in 2006 as a result of appendicitis. He also hosted his own cable television show.-Biography:...
founded a band called Baby Huey & the Babysitters
Baby Huey & the Babysitters
Baby Huey & the Babysitters were a soul band hailing from Gary, Indiana and founded in 1963 by organist / trumpeter Melvyn "Deacon" Jones and guitarist Johnny Ross. James Ramey became their front man and adopted the stage name of Baby Huey which was after the Baby Huey duck character...
, which became a popular local act and released several 45 RPM singles, including "Beg Me", "Monkey Man", "Messin' with the Kid" and "Just Being Careful".
During the late-1960s, the band followed the lead of Sly & the Family Stone
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
and became a psychedelic soul
Psychedelic soul
Psychedelic soul, sometimes called black rock, is a sub-genre of soul music, which mixes the characteristics of soul with psychedelic rock...
act. Huey began wearing an Afro
Afro
Afro, sometimes shortened to fro and also known as a "natural", is a hairstyle worn naturally by people with lengthy kinky hair texture or specifically styled in such a fashion by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair...
and donned psychedelic African-inspired robes, and adding sing-song, self-referential rhymes to his live performances. According to his bandmates, Ramey's rhymes were very similar in style to those later popularized by rappers in hip-hop music. The Babysitters were a popular live act, but never took the time out to record an album.
In 1969, the band's agent Marv Heiman secured them an audition with Curtom Records
Curtom Records
Curtom Records was a record label started by Curtis Mayfield of The Impressions along with Impressions associate Eddie Thomas in 1968 although the name was used as early as 1963. The labels name was a combination of Mayfields first name and Thomas' surname...
arranger Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...
. Heiman states that Hathaway came by the Thumbs Up club and was very impressed by the act, and got Curtom Records head Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
to come the following night. Mayfield wanted to sign Baby Huey, but not the band. Although the band participated in the recording of Ramey's debut album, there were feelings of unease among them, and Jones quit the band during the recording. It's also likely that Ross had quit some time before.
By 1970, Ramey had developed an addiction to heroin, and his weight had increased to over 400 pounds. He began regularly missing gigs or turning up late, and, at the insistence of his bandmates, briefly entered rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
in the spring of 1970. In addition to the heroin problem, Ramey was also drinking. Melvyn Jones had described in his book an incident that took place: while pouring his breakfast cereal, Ramey's drug kit fell out of the box. James Ramey died of a heart attack on October 28, 1970, at the age of 26, and was found around noon in his hotel bathroom by his manager. His funeral was held on November 1, in his native Richmond, Indiana.
Post October 28, 1970
Baby Huey's album, The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend, was released after his death. Produced by Curtis Mayfield, the album featured several Mayfield compositions, as well as a cover of Sam CookeSam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
's "A Change Is Gonna Come
A Change Is Gonna Come (song)
"A Change Is Gonna Come" is a 1964 single by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, written and first recorded in 1963 and released under the RCA Victor label shortly after his death in late 1964. Though only a modest hit for Cooke in comparison with his previous singles, the song came to exemplify the...
" and two original compositions by Ramey. The album did not sell well upon its original release, and was largely forgotten by the mainstream. Today, the album is considered a classic of its period.
On October 7, 1971, Jet Magazine ran a small piece on how his mother Mrs Ernestine Ramey Saine was granted authorisation to audit the records of two recording firms including Curtom Records. The order also permitted her to evaluate an undetermined estate left by him. According to Chicago attorney Vernon M. Rhinehart, Ramey had a salary that was $3,500 per week.
Several songs from The Baby Huey Story, including "Hard Times", "Listen to Me", and "Mighty Mighty Children", have been frequently sampled by hip hop producers
Hip hop production
Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music. Though the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music, it's most commonly used to refer to the instrumental, non-lyrical aspects of hip hop. This means that hip hop producers are the instrumentalists involved in a work...
since the 1980s. "Hard Times" alone has been sampled by dozens of artists, including Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
("The Birth", Death Certificate
Death Certificate (album)
Death Certificate is the second studio album by American rapper Ice Cube, released October 29, 1991 on Priority Records. Highly anticipated with over one million advanced orders, the album was certified platinum in sales on December 20, 1991...
), A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
("Can I Kick It?", People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm is the debut album by the alternative hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released April 17, 1990 on Jive Records. Though the album was well-received critically, it had little mainstream appeal. The album did earn the band a devoted following,...
), Ghostface Killah
Ghostface Killah
Dennis Coles , better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and prominent member of the Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang , the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success...
("Buck 50", Supreme Clientele
Supreme Clientele
Supreme Clientele is the second studio album of American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah, released January 25, 2000 on Epic Records. The album was recorded at several studios in New York and Florida, with the sessions taking place in 1999...
), and others. John Legend
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
and The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
covered "Hard Times" for their 2010 album Wake Up!
Wake Up! (John Legend and The Roots album)
Wake Up! is a collaborative studio album by American R&B recording artist John Legend and hip hop band The Roots, released September 21, 2010, on GOOD Music via Columbia Records. It was produced by Legend with band members Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and James Poyser, and features guest appearances...
. Many people, including the Babysitters themselves, see The Baby Huey Story as a significant and important influence on hip hop music.
LP Album
- The Baby Huey Story: The Living LegendThe Baby Huey Story: The Living LegendThe Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend is the only album of Baby Huey that has been released to date. It was put together and released 1971 after his death.-Info:...
- Curtom CRS 8007 - 1971 - The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend - Buddah 940 060 - 1971
Note: The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend is the only available release of Baby Huey. Several singles, including "Beg Me", "Monkey Man", "Messin' with the Kid" and "Just Being Careful" are not included.
On compilations
- "Hard Times" on Shaolin SoulShaolin SoulShaolin Soul is a two-volume compilation of music sampled by the Wu-Tang Clan, and their various solo albums. The samples are principally for the tracks produced by RZA, and as such, largely cover the earlier years of their career....
- "Listen to Me" on Kurtis Blow Presents the History of Rap, Vol. 1: The Genesis (1997, Rhino Records).