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.

“An unapologetic, no-holds-barred biography of a flamboyant and controversial artist.” —Booklist Online 

“Benjaminson acts as a gifted stenographer… laying the facts out for readers to come to their own conclusions without trying to push one verdict or the other.” —Passions of the Weiss

Peter Benjaminson is the author of The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard, Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown’s First Superstar, The Story of Motown, and, with David Anderson, Investigative Reporting. He has written numerous stories for the Detroit Free Press, the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution, and other publications. He lives in New York City.