R
James died at 8 am at Parkview Community Hospital, according to Riverside County coroner’s Office.
Entertainer, famous for such hits like last, tell Mama and losers Weepers, would have been 74 on Wednesday.
Los Angeles City Council suspended the meeting Friday in memory of James, who began singing as a child in St. Paul Baptist Church in South Los Angeles, where he was noticed by influential jazz pianist “Professor” James Earl Hines around age 5 or 6, according to Councilwoman Jan Perry.
“Her voice rich influenced generations of singers who came after him, from Tina Turner to Bonnie Raitt Christina Aguilera,” Perry told his colleagues of the Council.