James Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) – Time Is On Our Side (1975)
From the Dolemite soundtrack, this funk jam was performed in the legendary film by Ingram's first band Revelation Funk, who were originally from Akron, Ohio.
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Before he topped the charts and won two Grammys in the 1980s and 90s, James Ingram sang and played keyboards with his first band Revelation Funk.
James Edward Ingram was born in Akron, Ohio and attended East High School. In 1969 he and several other students formed a band called Revelation Funk. The group’s members included Bernard Lawson and John Howard "Bearcat" Birkett. Ingram played keyboards and contributed vocals, but he was not the band’s lead singer.
During the early 70s, they played at nightclubs in Akron and regionally and released two singles. They self-released the first one circa 1970 or ‘71 on Bear Kat, a label set up by Birkett. The upbeat funk jam “Running” was the A-side, with “Anybody Have Faith“ on the flip. Both songs were written by Bernard Lawson.
The second of their 45’s was on the Gold Plate label, released in 1972. It featured the funky, mostly instrumental “Bear Funk,” with nice keyboard work by Ingram, b/w “Elastic Lover,” a heartfelt slow jam.
Later that year, the band left Akron and moved to Los Angeles to try and get a legitimate record deal. They spent two years without success, although they performed often, and eventually the entire band except for Ingram went back home to Ohio.
Before leaving, they managed to appear in one of the most legendary films of the decade, Rudy Ray Moore’s low-budget 1975 masterpiece Dolemite. It cost $100,000 to make but grossed upwards of $12 million at the box office.
Filmed on location around Los Angeles in 1974, Revelation Funk appeared in a nightclub scene as the backing band behind singer Mary Love and also performed one of their own songs, the superb funk jam “Time Is On Our Side.”
Ingram was featured on screen playing keyboards and singing, a brief cameo but one that signaled to the world that a new talent was on the scene.
#soul #funk #Dolemite #RudyRayMoore #RevelationFunk #JamesIngram
Forty years later, he still sounds so smoooooth singing "Baby Come to Me" with Patti Austin. It was that song's inclusion in General Hospital that vaulted JI's career to the next level.