James Jay Barnes (November 30, 1943 – December 10, 2022) was an American R&B singer and songwriter.

Biography

He recorded several singles, starting in 1960. His early releases including "Just One More Time" and "Please Let Me In", on the

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

s Mickay and Ric-Tic, had relatively little success, but were subsequently picked up as

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

favorites in the UK. He was later signed to

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

, where he contributed as a songwriter but did not have any recordings released as a singer. Some of his Motown material has subsequently been released on the ''

A Cellarful of Motown! ''A Cellarful of Motown!'' is a series of compilation albums of Motown rarities, containing versions of known songs by alternative artists, as well as demos of songs that were not released at the time, but had been shelved for various reasons. Com ...

'' compilation album series. Barnes was a member of the Holidays, a trio which also included

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. He is best remembered for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the num ...

and Steve Mancha. They had a #7 R&B hit in June 1966 with "I'll Love You Forever" (#43 in Canada). Barnes' biggest

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

came in 1967 with "Baby Please Come Back Home" on the Groovesville label, which, like many of his records, he co-wrote. The song reached No. 9 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' R&B

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

, and No. 25 in Canada. However, subsequent singles on a variety of labels, including covers of "Black Ivory" on Today/Perception Records, failed to repeat the success. On the recommendation of his friend

, Barnes moved to England in the 1970s, becoming popular. Starr had arranged for Barnes to appear on a series of shows, which led to him signing a deal with Contempo Records. He became a favorite artist of the UK Northern soul scene, and performed frequently in the UK. Early recordings from Barnes, such as "Please Let Me In" and "Real Humdinger", were re-released in the UK on the

Tamla Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''motor'' ...

label to cater for the buyers of Northern soul records. In the 1970s, Contempo Records released seven singles and an album, ''Sara Smile'' from Barnes, all without chart success. In the 1980s, he released five more records including a version of the Northern soul favorite by Frank Wilson, "

Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" is a song and single by American soul singer Frank Wilson first pressed in 1965 on the Motown subsidiary label Soul. It is Wilson's only Motown single and is a prized item among collectors. Record history Approxima ...

", and he recorded with producer

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, DJ, and prominent Doctor Who fan. A populariser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of hi-NRG, he has co-written and co-produced records with sa ...

in the 1990s. His song "Chains of Love", originally the B-side of his 1967 hit "Baby Please Come Back Home", achieved further renown when it was covered by

the Dirtbombs The Dirtbombs are an American garage rock band based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, notable for blending diverse influences such as punk rock and Soul music, soul, while featuring a dual bass guitar, dual drum and guitar lineup. The Dirtbombs we ...

on their ''

Ultraglide in Black ''Ultraglide in Black'' is an album by the American rock music group The Dirtbombs. The album is mostly covers of soul and funk songs. Band leader Mick Collins Mick Collins (born December 18, 1965) is a musician from Detroit, Detroit, Mic ...

'' album in 2001. Barnes died on December 10, 2022, at the age of 79.Rizik, Chris. (December 10, 2022
"1960s R&B star J.J. Barnes dies at age 79"
''SoulTracks''. Retrieved December 11, 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, J. J. 1943 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American rhythm and blues singers American soul singers American expatriates in the United Kingdom Motown artists Smash Records artists Northern soul musicians Buddah Records artists African-American songwriters Ric-Tic Records artists Songwriters from Michigan Singers from Detroit 21st-century African-American musicians American male songwriters