Rick James combined rock and funk to become one of the biggest pop stars of his era. In two posthumously published books, he told his own story — but mostly left out the unsavory parts. In Super Freak: The Life of Rick James (Chicago Review Press), Peter Benjaminson *77 draws on court records, newspaper archives, and interviews with dozens of lovers, family members, friends, and colleagues to paint a more complete picture of the “Super Freak” singer’s life. Benjaminson has also published Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar, The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard, and The Story of Motown.
