Rick James’s biography Glow has met the approval of one tough critic – his daughter, Ty James.
“I love this book,” Ty says. “I tried to put myself in the place of the general consumer so I’m not biased because I know my dad is great. This book really takes you through a musical journey and its informative.”
Musical biographer David Ritz, who has co-written biographies of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and R.Kelly, among many others, was the co-author but James himself wrote his story while he was in jail.
“He absolutely covered everything but my dad penned his story,” Ty says. “He did close to three years in jail and it was a good thing because I feel like God sat him down in order to get that done.”
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Glow deals with Rick’s life warts and all – the legendary funkster was very honest about his shortcomings and his life’s journey (those of you who remember his VH1 Behind the Music episode can attest to that) but one of the funniest stories in the book was his aversion to Prince.
“No Prince music in the house,” laughs Ty, who was a Prince fan herself. “I used to have to try and sneak to listen to it.”
Ty remembers another funny story that Tom Joyner told her about Rick’s appearance on his show. It’s not in the book, but it’s worth sharing here.
“It was a Sky Show in Augusta or Savannah, Georgia. It was his first performance in years. And he came out and said ‘All right you m—f—rs. I looked at Jay and I looked a Sybil and I thought – it was a good career thus far.”
Ty James said that although her father’s been dead now for 10 years, she’s not surprised that his legacy has endured.
“I’m so proud of that because he worked so hard for what he believed in. He was very passionate about his craft and it shows. He left us with something to live on and words to live by, so it makes me feel good all over.”
Listen above to hear who might play Rick in the biopic.
Click over to see a pick of Rick and his daughter.
