Happy birthday to James Ramey aka Baby Huey. He cut a great album with his Babysitters band (produced by Curtis Mayfield) but died at only 26. From Richmond, IN he moved to Chicago after high school and formed Baby Huey & his Babysitters in 1963. They played a mixture of rock and R&B and cut some singles before the classic sampladelic full length album, The Baby Huey Story, which actually came out after he passed.
He rapped & rhymed during the well-remembered live shows back in the late '60s. Curtis Mayfield and Donny Hathaway took notice and agreed to put out the album. He never lived to see its release as Baby Huey got into heroin addiction and his weight ballooned to 400 pounds. His substance abuse issues led to cancelled gigs and he died of a heart attack. His music remains a crucial funk-rock document and the songs have been sampled numerous times.