Super Freak: The Life of Rick James

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.