Super Freak

The Life of Rick James

Peter Benjaminson

• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN:
  9781613749609
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music Biographies

Rick James played with Neil Young, self-produced his first album (later picked up by Motown), crossed rock and funk to come up with one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s, became one of the biggest pop stars of the era, turned a young white woman named Teena Marie into an R&B superstar, displayed an outrageously sex- and drug-filled lifestyle, was tried and found guilty of assaulting and imprisoning a young woman, went on to record new music that was compared to the Beatles' White Album, and ended his life as a punch line for Dave Chappelle. James attempted to tell his own story—in two different books—but left out many incidents that reflected badly on his character. Now, based on court records, newspaper archives, and extensive interviews with dozens of family members, band members, friends, and lovers, here is the definitive biography of Motown's most controversial superstar.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 - Birth of a Super Freak
• 2 - Out to Sea
• 3 - Toronto Was Cold but Its Music Was Hot
• 4 - A Defiant Rick Forms the Sailor Boys and Becomes Rick Jagger
• 5 - Rick James, Thief
• 6 - Rick Joins a Flock of Mynah Birds
• 7 - Rick James, International Drug Smuggler
• 8 - Rick James and the Birth of Buffalo Springfield
• 9 - From Yorkville to Motown
• 10 - Rick Is Court-Martialed . . . Twice
• 11 - Rick Goes a Second Round with Motown
• 12 - Rick Quits Motown in Disgust and Forms Salt ’n Pepper
• 13 - Rick Has Two Children with One Woman and Marries a Second
• 14 - Rick Creates Heaven and Earth . . . and Then Destroys Both
• 15 - Rick Breaks His New White Cane
• 16 - Rick Continues the Pursuit of Glory
• 17 - Shadowy Investors Make Rick a Motown Star
• 18 - The Emergence of the Stone City Band
• 19 - Rick Creates Punk Funk
• 20 - Rick Helps Save Motown
• 21 - Rick Writes a Song about Himself and Kelly
• 22 - Hash and Cash
• 23 - Rick Uses White Slang to Bust Out
• 24 - Rick and Teena Marie Make Beautiful Music Together
• 25 - The Magical Funk Tour
• 26 - A Bottomless Pool of Female Flesh
• 27 - Rick Writes a Song about His Penis
• 28 - Rick and Prince Duke It Out for Sex and Glory
• 29 - Rick Takes a Nap in the Garden
• 30 - Rick Absolutely Hits the Freakin’ Top with Street Songs
• 31 - “Super Freak”
• 32 - “Fire and Desire” Highlights Rick’s Messy Relationship with Teena Marie
• 33 - Rick Sings about Sex and Poverty
• 34 - Rick Denies He’s Gay and Confronts the Cops
• 35 - The Street Songs Tour
• 36 - Cocaine Begins to Take Its Toll
• 37 - Rick Scores as a Minor TV Personality and Dreams of Hollywood Stardom
• 38 - Rick Scores Big-Time as a Songwriter and Producer . . . for Other Musicians
• 39 - The Mob Comes Calling
• 40 - Rick Denounces the Reagan Recession While Throwin’ Down
• 41 - Rick Struggles to Integrate MTV
• 42 - Rick Fantasizes the Mary Jane Girls into Existence
• 43 - Rick Romances Linda Blair in Cold Blood
• 44 - Jailbait
• 45 - Rick Involves Himself in a Murderous Family Feud
• 46 - Rick and Eddie Murphy “Party All the Time”
• 47 - Rick Tries and Fails to Shake Off the Drug Yoke
• 48 - A Glowing Rick Chases a Woman Along a Beach
• 49 - Rick Lets His Freak Flag Fly
• 50 - Rick and Motown Duke It Out in Court
• 51 - Rick Meets the Love of His Life
• 52 - Rick Makes Loosey Feel Wonderful
• 53 - Rick Kicks Out
• 54 - Please Hammer, Help Him!
• 55 - Trouble
• 56 - Rick and Tanya Strike Again
• 57 - Tanya Pleads Guilty
• 58 - The Prosecutors Summon Their Star Witness
• 59 - Guilty . . . Sort Of
• 60 - Shocking New Allegations
• 61 - The Prosecutors Accuse an Investigator
• 62 - Rick and Tanya Attempt to Marry
• 63 - Rick Busts Out!
• 64 - Rick Takes the Train to Folsom Prison
• 65 - Rick Tries Again
• 66 - Organized Crime Makes Rick a Post-Prison Star
• 67 - Rick Revels in an Urban Rapsody
• 68 - Rick and Tanya Finally Marry . . . and Then Divorce
• 69 - The Super Freak Becomes a Senior Freak
• 70 - Comeback
• 71 - “I’m Rick James, Bitch!”
• 72 - Rick Works to Publicize the Phrases That Would Outlive Him
• 73 - Deeper Still
• 74 - Rick Dies Alone with Drugs in His Veins
• 75 - Reactions Run the Gamut
• 76 - Two Funerals
• 77 - Rick’s Legacy
• Sources
• Index