R&B singer-songwriter James Ingram has died at the age of 66, according to a tweet Tuesday from actress-director Debbie Allen.
“I have lost my dearest friend and creative partner James Ingram to the Celestial Choir," she shared. "He will always be cherished, loved and remembered for his genius, his love of family and his humanity.
“I am blessed to have been so close. We will forever speak his name.”
It has been reported that Ingram died of brain cancer at his home in Los Angeles.
Ingram, who once played for Ray Charles, released five studio albums between 1983 and 2008 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983 with “Baby Come to Me” and in 1990 with “I Don’t Have the Heart.”
The singer was nominated for 14 Grammy Awards during his career and won two – one in 1981 for “One Hundred Ways” and one in 1984 for his duet with Michael McDonald, “Yah Mo B There.”
Ingram’s duet with Linda Ronstadt, “Somewhere Out There,” earned a Grammy (and an Oscar nomination) for its songwriters.
Ingram himself earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations in 1994 and 1995 for co-writing “The Day I Fall in Love” and “Look What Love Has Done.”
He also penned hits for other artists, including co-writing Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” – on which he played keyboards.
Ingram was a father of six with his wife of more than 40 years, Debra Robinson.