Rick James

A City Council candidate in Hattiesburg, Miss., says that having the same name as the late funk legend Rick James is no laughing matter: His campaign signs have been stolen or defaced because of a popular sketch on Comedy Central's "Chappelle's Show." "It's gotten so bad, I can put out a sign and the next day, sometimes the same day, it will be gone," the 53-year-old political hopeful said.

Rock 'n' roll is to the Kibitz Room at Canter's what onions are to chopped liver. The two have been closely aligned since the little bar opened just off the beloved Fairfax Avenue deli's annex dining room in 1961. Only now, instead of a bunch of hippies and musicians like Frank Zappa and Jim Morrison hanging out there for the cheap booze and meaty sandwiches, you'll find a bunch of hipsters and indie rock musicians hanging out there for the cheap booze and meaty sandwiches. So things have changed, but not that much.

Funk singer Rick James and a female companion were declared fugitives Friday after failing to surrender to sheriff's deputies to face charges that they sexually assaulted a woman at an exclusive West Hollywood hotel last month, authorities said. James, 44, whose real name is James Ambrose Johnson, and Tanya Ann Hijazi, 22, were charged with assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and kidnaping in connection with the Nov. 3 incident at the St.

Teena Marie, the singer-songwriter known for such funk-infused 1980s hits as "I Need Your Lovin'" and " Lovergirl," and one of the few white musicians to achieve renown on the R&B charts, has died. She was 54. Marie was found dead at her Pasadena home Sunday, Pasadena Police Lt. Diego Torres said. Police and paramedics were called to her home about 3 p.m. after her daughter found her unconscious, Torres said. Reviewing her performance in 1981 at the Long Beach Arena, Dennis Hunt wrote in The Times: "A tiny young woman with a powerful voice, Marie is a terrific singer and, quite frankly, better than nearly all her black competitors.

Grammy Award-winning funk singer Rick James was laid to rest in his hometown of Buffalo, where 6,000 people paid their final respects. "This Buffalo project boy was like a phoenix rising from ashes to the pinnacle of America's musical world," said his cousin, former Ohio Rep. Louis Stokes.

Singer Rick James, arrested more than three weeks ago for allegedly torturing a woman with a hot cocaine pipe, was released on bail Saturday night from the Los Angeles County Central Jail, sheriff's deputies said. James, 43, the Grammy-winning "king of funk," was arrested with his girlfriend, Tanya Hijazi, 21, on suspicion of torturing and sexually assaulting a Santa Monica woman they allegedly held hostage in James' Hollywood Hills home.

Rock singer Rick James and a girlfriend pleaded not guilty Friday in San Fernando Municipal Court to charges that they imprisoned, sexually assaulted and tortured a woman in a dispute over drugs. James, 43, and Tanya Ann Hijazi, 21, were arrested Aug. 2 and accused of holding the 24-year-old woman captive in the singer's Hollywood Hills home. After arraignment, the two were returned to jail. Bail for James has been set at $1 million and for Hijazi at $500,000.

Rock singer Rick James and his girlfriend were ordered Thursday to stand trial on charges that they tortured a woman with a hot cocaine pipe and a knife and forced her to have sex at James' home in the Hollywood Hills. James, 43, and Tanya Anne Hijazi, 21, are to be tried in San Fernando Superior Court on charges of aggravated mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon, torture, false imprisonment and forced oral copulation of Hijazi. They face life imprisonment if convicted of all counts.

Soul-funk singer Rick James was recovering today after a fall Tuesday night from the stage at a Hollywood night club during a benefit concert. James was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and released after he was treated for cuts and bruises, a hospital spokeswoman said. According to one witness at the China Club, James had climbed onto a loudspeaker to dance and then fell backward into a space between the stage and the club's VIP section.

A judge has reduced from four years to two the prison sentence imposed on the girlfriend of funk singer Rick James for assaulting a woman during a drug party in West Hollywood. Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Michael R. Hoff said he reluctantly reduced the term because James himself, although he had been found guilty of more serious offenses than his girlfriend, probably will be released this fall following treatment in a drug rehabilitation program.

A City Council candidate in Hattiesburg, Miss., says that having the same name as the late funk legend Rick James is no laughing matter: His campaign signs have been stolen or defaced because of a popular sketch on Comedy Central's "Chappelle's Show." "It's gotten so bad, I can put out a sign and the next day, sometimes the same day, it will be gone," the 53-year-old political hopeful said.

Talk about your up and down years. The emotional pendulum swung sharply both ways in 2004 for Teena Marie, the R&B singer best known for such funky '80s hits as "Lovergirl" and "I Need Your Lovin'." Things went up for the veteran artist in May when she put out her first collection of new material in a decade, "La Dona."

The death of musician Rick James on Aug. 6 was due to a heart attack, possibly contributed to by at least nine drugs in his system, including methamphetamine and cocaine, the Los Angeles County coroner's office reported Thursday. Xanax, Valium, Wellbutrin, Celexa, Vicodin, Digoxin and Chlorpheniramine also were found in toxicology tests, according to David Campbell of the coroner's office. None of the drugs were at lethal levels "in and of themselves," Campbell said.

Grammy Award-winning funk singer Rick James was laid to rest in his hometown of Buffalo, where 6,000 people paid their final respects. "This Buffalo project boy was like a phoenix rising from ashes to the pinnacle of America's musical world," said his cousin, former Ohio Rep. Louis Stokes.

An autopsy performed over the weekend on "Super Freak" singer Rick James failed to establish the cause of his death, a Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman said Monday. The autopsy found no sign of foul play but "no obvious sign" of what caused the 56-year-old funk music pioneer's death, coroner's spokesman David Campbell said. Toxicology tests, expected within 10 weeks, could provide a clearer picture, he said. James, a diabetic, had a pacemaker.

Though he has gone (of apparent natural causes, said Los Angeles police, after a caretaker found him dead in his Universal City home Friday morning), the singer Rick James will always be with us: at class reunions, bar mitzvahs, wedding receptions. He will sing eternally the 1981 R&B dance hit that made him: "Super Freak," a wonderful song about a nymphomaniac backstage groupie who is waiting in Room 714 of a hotel somewhere, "with incense, wine and candles -- it's such a freaky scene."

A weeping 24-year-old Georgia woman testified in San Fernando Municipal Court Wednesday that rock singer Rick James tortured her, forced her to have sex with his girlfriend and threatened to kill her if she told police.

A San Fernando judge refused Tuesday to lower the $1-million bail of rock singer Rick James, held on charges of torturing a woman with a hot cocaine pipe and forcing her to have sex with his girlfriend. James, 43, and girlfriend Tanya Ann Hijazi, 21, have been in jail since last Friday, when they were arrested for allegedly tying up a 24-year-old woman and torturing her last month at James' home in the Hollywood Hills above Studio City.

Funk music pioneer Rick James, famous for the raunchy 1981 hit "Super Freak (Part 1)" and later infamous for drug and sex crimes that outdid the debauchery of his songs, was found dead Friday morning in his home near Universal City. He was 56. Police arrived at the singer's home about 9:50 a.m. after a live-in caretaker reported finding his body. The preliminary finding was that James died of natural causes, but the Los Angeles County coroner's office will perform an autopsy.

Police are investigating allegations that singer Rick James, famous for the 1981 hit "Super Freak," sexually assaulted a woman at his Woodland Hills home. On Monday night, officials served a search warrant at the house where the 26-year-old woman said James, 54, assaulted her last weekend. "They are allegations of a sexual nature," said Robbery-Homicide Capt. Jim Tatreau. "Rick James was cooperative with police," he said. James could not be reached for comment.