Released July 5, 1983 Genre Electro-funk, synthpop | Format 7" (Vinyl 45RPM) Label Gordy | |
B-side "Cold Blooded (Instrumental)" Length 4:19 (single version)
5:59 (album version) | ||
"Cold Blooded" is a funk song written and recorded by Rick James in 1983. James wrote the song about his relationship with actress Linda Blair. While hanging out in James's home recording studio, Blair was interested in learning how to write music. James fired up his synthesizer and absentmindedly began noodling with the keys and came up with "Cold Blooded"'s cold bass line. Running with the idea, he played all the instruments on the track. Synth-based, it was a departure from James's previous guitar-based, horns-laced sides. He utilized the Roland TR series of drum machines which were dominant on the '80s-era Jimmy Jam-and-Terry Lewis-produced hits of The S.O.S. Band. Released as a single from the album of the same name, it spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and reached number forty on the Hot 100.
In 1999, the song was covered by American rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard and included on his album Nigga Please. The song was sampled by TLC on their third album FanMail on the interlude "Whispering Playa"; the sample was later removed on future versions of the album and replaced with a sample of the group's own song "U In Me".
On Chappelle's Show, during an episode with a Rick James sketch, James, played by Chappelle, sings the song after punching Charlie Murphy.
The song was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on a fictional funk station, Bounce FM.