James Thomas Ramey, better known by his stage name Baby Huey (taken from the Paramount Pictures animated giant cartoon duckling) was born in Richmond, Indiana and moved to Chicago in the early '60s to front his band The Babysitters with co-founders Melvin Deacon Jones on trumpet and Johnny Ross on guitar. By the time they recorded The Living Legend, only Huey and Jones remained (Deacon Jones would go on to play with Freddie King and John Lee Hooker). Because of a glandular disorder, Huey weighed close to 400 pounds at times, contributing to his "larger than life" stage presence, but also to a host of health issues.