by Joshua SchwartzYou’ve all envisioned the Super Freak that Rick James wouldn’t bring home to Mama. Who hasn’t made it a priority to Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World with Neil Young? But did you know that these two powerhouses on seemingly opposite ends of the music spectrum were once in an R&B band together?
That’s right. The Mynah Birds was a short-lived act based in Toronto in the mid-60’s. In addition to James (lead singer) and Young (guitar), the cast of characters included Bruce Palmer, who would later form Buffalo Springfield with Young, and Goldie McJohn and Nick St. Nicholas who, in addition to having hilarious names, later would play in rock band Steppenwolf.
In 1966 The Mynah Birds signed a seven-year recording contract with Motown Records. They were in the process of recording their first album when James got arrested for going AWOL from the Navy. Motown dumped the band from their contract and the band’s name slunk into obscurity, overshadowed by the immense success of many of its members in their later groups.
Who knows? If Rick James hadn’t gotten arrested, would we have gotten to enjoy ‘Super Freak’ and the endless impressions everyone did of Dave Chappelle’s impression of the punk-funk legend? Anyone who loves funk and is highly amused by stories of gratuitous drug use in the 80’s would surely cringe to think about a world in which Rick James hadn’t become the mythical entity we know him as today.
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