7 things you probably didn’t know about James Ingram

Grammy award-winning musician James Ingram has died at the age of 66. As tributes to the fallen legend continue to pour in from all around the globe, here are seven things we thought you should know about the R&B singer and songwriter:

1. He was born in Akron, Ohio in February 1952 as one of six children. According to an article published by CBN, the singer had a Christian upbringing and his father was a church deacon at Church of God in Christ, where they fellowshipped as a family. His father passed on in 2002.

2. He married his childhood sweetheart, Debra, back in 1975. Ingram managed to keep his family out of the limelight but an article published by CBN in 2009 reported that Ingram and his wife had six children ranging from 15 years to 32 years at the time.

3. His music career kicked off in 1973 while he was still in Akron. According to TMZ, Ingram joined the band Revelation Funk in the 1970s and even became a pianist for renown musician Ray Charles.

4. He won two Grammies in the 1980s. In 1981 he won his first Grammy award for the song “One hundred ways" in the Male R&B Vocal Performance category. His second Grammy award was in 1984 for the song “Yah Mo B There” in the Best R&B Performance by a duet.

5. According to CBN, Ingram professed the Christian faith and accepted Christ in life as a child. In an interview for the "700 Club Show" hosted by CBN, he said that he wrote the song “Yah Mo B There” to worship God in his own way.

6. Ingram had a net worth of $20 million (Sh2 billion) at the time of his demise as reported by Celebrity Net worth.

7. He died after losing his battle to brain cancer, TMZ reported.