James Ingram's Song Sales Skyrocket 6,500% Following His Death

Besides “Once,” Ingram’s two biggest crossover hits also land in the top 10 on R&B Digital Song Sales. His duet with Patti Austin, “Baby, Come to Me,” starts at No. 4; the recording topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in 1983. The 1999 new version of his other Hot 100 leader, 1990’s “I Don’t Have The Heart,” debuts at No. 7.

Two renditions of “One Hundred Ways” round out Ingram’s top 10 takeover: The new version begins at No. 6, while the original, billed to Quincy Jones featuring James Ingram, enters at No. 10. The latter won Ingram a Grammy Award for best R&B vocal performance, male, in 1982.

Ingram captured his second and final statuette to date with a victory in 1985 for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal alongside Michael McDonald on “Yah Mo B There.” The collaboration also debuts on R&B Digital Song Sales this week, at No. 17.

The flurry of activity surrounding Ingram on the chart mirrors overall gains for the singer’s catalog: His total track sales surged to 24,000 in the week ending Jan. 31, according to Nielsen Music, up nearly 6,500 percent compared with the previous week. Streams, too, rallied 1,100 percent to 3.9 million in the same period.