| "Cold Blooded" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Rick James | ||||
| from the album Cold Blooded | ||||
| B-side | "Cold Blooded (Instrumental)" | |||
| Released | July 5, 1983 | |||
| Studio | Joint Recording Studio, Buffalo, New York | |||
| Genre | Electro-funk, synth-pop | |||
| Length | 5:59 (album version) 4:19 (single version) | |||
| Label | Gordy | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Rick James | |||
| Producer(s) | Rick James | |||
| Rick James singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Cold Blooded" is a funk song written and recorded by Rick James in 1983. James wrote the song about his relationship with actress Linda Blair. [1]
Rick James began dating Linda Blair in the fall of 1982. In early 1983, she aborted their baby then informed him she had been pregnant after the procedure. James was hurt by her decision. [1] He wrote "Cold Blooded" about Blair. "It was about how Linda could freeze my blood," he wrote in his memoir. [2]
During one of Blair's visits to James' home in Buffalo, New York, he took her to his recording studio. [1] She was interested in learning how to write music so he fired up his synthesizer and absentmindedly began noodling with the keys and came up with the bass line. Running with the idea, he played all the instruments on the track. Synth-based, it was a departure from James' previous guitar-based, horns-laced sides. He utilized the Roland TR series of drum machines which were dominant on the '80s-era Jimmy Jam-and-Terry Lewis-produced hits of The S.O.S. Band.
Released as the first single from the album of the same name, "Cold Blooded" spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and reached number 40 on the Hot 100. [3]
In 1999, the song was covered by American rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard and included on his album Nigga Please . The song was sampled by TLC on their third album FanMail on the interlude "Whispering Playa"; the sample was later removed on future versions of the album and replaced with a sample of the group's own song "U in Me".
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 [4] | 40 |
| US Billboard R&B [4] | 1 |
| US Billboard Dance [4] | 17 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [5] | 93 |
Barry Eugene Carter, better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with The Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring soul, funk, and disco songs such as his two biggest hits: "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything".
James Ambrose Johnson Jr., better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his teenage years. He was in various bands before entering the U.S. Navy Reserve to avoid being drafted into the army. In 1964, James moved to Toronto, Canada, where he formed the rock band the Mynah Birds, who eventually signed a recording deal with Motown Records in 1966. James's career with the group halted after military authorities discovered his whereabouts and eventually convicted him of desertion related charges. He served several months in jail. After being released, James moved to California, where he started a variety of rock and funk groups in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Mario Mendell Winans is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from South Carolina, and an extended member of the musical family The Winans. He is best known for his 2004 song "I Don't Wanna Know", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in Germany and the United Kingdom. Winans also co-wrote CeCe Winans's song "Pray" in 2005, which won a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance.
James Edward Ingram was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song. After beginning his career in 1973, Ingram charted eight top 40 hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart from the early 1980s until the early 1990s, as well as thirteen top 40 hits on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In addition, he charted 20 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart. He had two number-one singles on the Hot 100: the first, a duet with fellow R&B artist Patti Austin, 1982's "Baby, Come to Me" topped the U.S. pop chart in 1983; "I Don't Have the Heart", which became his second number-one in 1990 was his only number-one as a solo artist.
Mary Christine Brockert, known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady T, given to her by her collaborator and friend Rick James.
"(Not Just) Knee Deep" is a funk song, with a running time of 15 minutes, 21 seconds, on Side 1 of Funkadelic's 1979 album Uncle Jam Wants You.
Diamond Princess is the second album by American rapper Trina. It was released on August 27, 2002, through the Atlantic Records and Slip-N-Slide Records. The album debuted at number 14 on the US Billboard 200 and number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
"You're No Good" is a song written by Clint Ballard Jr., first performed by Dee Dee Warwick for Jubilee Records in 1963 with production by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It has since been covered by many artists, including charting versions by Betty Everett in 1963, The Swinging Blue Jeans in 1964, and Linda Ronstadt in 1974, whose version was a number 1 hit in the United States.
"I Changed My Mind" is a song by American R&B recording artist Keyshia Cole, recorded for her debut album, The Way It Is (2005). It was written by the singer along with John Legend and Kanye West, while production on the track was helmed by the latter. Released on November 9, 2004 as the lead single from the album, it was mildly successful commercially, peaking at number 71 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 23 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
"Children's Story" is a song recorded by British-American hip hop artist Slick Rick. Taken as the second single from his album The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, the song was a Top 5 hit on both the Hot R&B Singles and the Hot Rap Tracks charts. It is one of the most sampled rap songs of all time.
John Patrick Boylan is an American music professional, known primarily as a record producer and personal manager, with extensive credits as a musician, songwriter, music publisher, A&R executive, and teacher.
"Color Him Father" is a song written by Richard Lewis Spencer and recorded by American rhythm and blues group the Winstons. It was released in 1969 as their debut single for Metromedia and was a No.7 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 that year, representing the Winstons' highest entry there. A cover by American singer Linda Martell on Plantation Records also charted in the same year, reaching No. 22 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
"Juicy Fruit" is a song written by James Mtume and released as the lead-off single from Mtume's third album, also titled Juicy Fruit. It features lead vocals by Tawatha Agee. The mid-tempo song is Mtume's most well-known, proving enormously successful on R&B radio stations when first released.
"Ebony Eyes" is a song recorded by American singers Rick James and Smokey Robinson for the Gordy (Motown) label. It was released in November 1983 as the third single from James' seventh studio album Cold Blooded. The song was produced and arranged by James. It peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Bobby Nunn is an American R&B music producer, songwriter and vocalist, best known for his top 15 US Billboard R&B chart hit single, "She's Just a Groupie".
George Henry Jackson was an American blues, rhythm & blues, rock and soul songwriter and singer. His prominence was as a prolific and skilled songwriter; he wrote or co-wrote many hit songs for other musicians, including "Down Home Blues," "One Bad Apple", "Old Time Rock and Roll" and "The Only Way Is Up". As a southern soul singer he recorded fifteen singles between 1963 and 1985, with some success.
Cold Blooded is the 7th studio album by American singer-songwriter and musician Rick James, released on the Gordy Records imprint of Motown Records. The title track was written with actress Linda Blair in mind, whom James was dating at the time.
"Tell Mama" is a song written by Clarence Carter, Marcus Daniel and Wilbur Terrell. It is best known in its 1967 recording by Etta James. An earlier version of the song was first recorded in 1966 by Carter, as "Tell Daddy".
"Bartender's Blues" is a song written by James Taylor and first released on his 1977 album JT. It was also released as the B-side of the lead single from JT, "Handy Man". It has since been covered by George Jones and other artists.
"Ghetto Life" is a song written by Rick James that was first released on his 1981 album Street Songs and was later released as the third single from the album.
 | This 1980s R&B/soul music song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |