BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1981
DISCO FRIDAY!
“Super Freak” is a 1981 hit single produced and performed by Rick James. The song, co-written by James and Alonzo Miller, was first released on James’ album Street Songs and became one of James’ signature songs. It features background vocals from Motown labelmates The Temptations, in which the bass singer is James’ uncle Melvin Franklin, and Canadian singer Taborah Johnson. “Freak” is a slang term for, as described in the song’s lyrics, “…a very kinky girl / The kind you don’t take home to mother”. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song #477 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song was a big hit for James in 1981, charting on the pop, R&B and dance charts in the U.S. On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the song peaked at #16 in the fall of 1981 and spent 10 weeks in the top 40. Together with two other singles from Street Songs, “Give It to Me Baby” and “Ghetto Life”, it spent three weeks at #1 on the American dance charts earlier that year.
SIDE A:
Super Freak (Vocal) 7:07
SIDE B:
Super Freak (Instrumental 3:34
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Super Freak | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #16 |
| 1981 | Super Freak | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles | #3 |
| 1981 | Super Freak | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | #1 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Motown – 310926, Vogue – 310926
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM, Limited Edition
Country: France
Released: 1981
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Funk, Disco
CREDITS:
Photography – X.
Producer, Arranged By – Rick James
Written-By – Alonzo Miller, Rick James
NOTES:
Special versions from the Motown LP: “STREET SONGS”
Made in France by Disques Vogue P.I.P
Find the 12″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Thanks!
estimado amigo…no puedo descargar nada cuando cargo nombre y contraseña me dice que no son correctas
cual es el pass
Now this is a really, really great posting 🙂
Many thanks !!!
Wow, this is really rare isn’t it. thank God for you.
Yay ! am Rick James b**** !
Generalisations aside this song and he was a talented artist.
But as they say Cocaine is a hell of a drug :p (couldnt resist that one)
Hope you will post Give to me Baby too.
Thank you Paul.
You can’t touch this!
MC Hammer owes his career to this guy.
😛
Thanks King DjPaulT
great track
Thank you Paul for this great 12″. It sounds great!!
You’re welcome Kookoo 🙂
Wow lucky I am – I cannot wait for the Private Lives post, it is a very elegant song, similar to China Crisis – Wishful thinking but somehow less ‘down’. I might buy some vinyls in the future that I think are awesome and not on cd. I talked to you about Birch Hallam – What You Say, for instance. I managed to even contact Nick Hallam himself, who told me he did the song with his brother in 1983. He did not know if and where a master might exist so I got a wav copy of the vinyl.… Read more »
That would be cool Martin send me an email and I will reply with my mailing address. You can find my email in the contact tab at the top of the page. Cheers!
P.S. if you buy a copy please meke sure the cover and vinyl are near mint. Thanks again 🙂
Now this is a song! I was 11 at the time but I remember hearing on the radio in Holland the song was a sensation, even causing traffic jams when he gave concerts somewhere in the US that year. Such good funky songs, and some even emotional at the same time, like ebony eyes and glow. Such a pity he could not live long and healthy.
He was a great talent and he is missed. Have a nice weekend Martin 🙂
You too DjPaul. Thanks for all the music so far.
I asked you some time ago if you have Private Lives – Living In A world Turned upside down. You said you would try to get it. Would it help I would buy it from discogs and send it to you so you would publish the rip here? You can email me your address if you are interested.
Regards
Martijn
Hi Martin actually I already bought a copy of Private Lives and plan to post it soon. If you happen to locate near mint copies of any of the others that you asked for that would be great.
Regards, Paul
Living In A World (Turned Upside Down) is a synth-pop masterpiece. Can’t wait for your post, Paul.
And big thanks for this Rick James’ classic. One of my favs of the early eighties.
Regards, Murdock.