"James was simply magical. He was, & always will be, beyond compare."
R&B artist James Ingram has passed away at age 66.
According to BBC, Ingram's death was confirmed by his friend, actress and producer Debbie Allen, via Twitter.
"I have lost my dearest friend and creative partner James Ingram to the Celestial Choir," shared Allen.
"He will always be cherished, loved and remembered for his genius, his love of family and his humanity."
As well as his solo work, the Ohio-born songwriter worked with a number of high-profile names, including Quincy Jones, Linda Ronstadt and Patti Austin, and was best known for tracks like Baby Come To Me, Just Once and his contribution to We Are The World.
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Jones, who Ingram worked with on the Michael Jackson track, Pretty Young Thing, also paid tribute to the artist, saying that "James was simply magical. He was, & always will be, beyond compare".
Ingram was the winner of two Grammy awards and had been nominated for both Academy and Golden Globe awards.
There are no words to convey how much my ❤️ aches with the news of the passing of my baby brother, James Ingram. With that soulful, whisky sounding voice, James was simply magical. He was, & always will be, beyond compare. Rest In Peace my baby bro…You’ll be in my ❤️ forever pic.twitter.com/oZtA9h8uZR
— Quincy Jones (@QuincyDJones) January 29, 2019