Wish I'd Seen 'Em #6 - Rick James

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Wish I'd Seen 'Em. It's a musical series about musicians that I wish I'd seen in concert, because they are now deceased, and the chance to see them is over. We are at #6: Rick James. During this series, you're going to see a lot of "I just could never swing it" when discussing artists that I missed out on. But not this time (at least, not yet.) This time, it's personal. Rick James was a highly charismatic performer, and an extraordinary funk bassist. I loved the guy since I saw him perform "Mary Jane" on Saturday Night Live. In 1981, Rick James released his most commercially successful album, Street Songs, and hit the road in support. A buddy and I scored tickets for James' Denver show (Ray Parker Jr was the opening act.) And it probably would have been a great show. The only problem was that Rick James got sick enough (I have no idea what it was, but knowing his history, it wouldn't be a stretch to at least consider that it could possibly have been drug related) that the tour was postponed before it reached Denver. No reschedule was announced, and I have no memory of any makeup show. My girlfriend at the time decided that she wanted to see Fleetwood Mac, so I traded my tickets in for Fleetwood Mac. Was Fleetwood Mac good? Yes, quite good. Did I spend a lot of time during that show thinking that I should have been watching Rick James instead? Yes. A lot of time. Unfortunately, and now here we go, whenever Rick James came through Denver after that, I just couldn't swing it. Rick James was a highly troubled individual, but I loved his music. Unfortunately, I never got to see him play it live. (Info verified by Wikipedia)