Shock at death of Super Freak singer James

Music stars have been shocked to learn of the death of funk legend Rick James, who was found dead at his Los Angeles home at the weekend.

A caretaker found James' body. The cause of death was believed to be natural although the 56-year-old had a history of drug problems that led to poor health in recent years, including a stroke in 1998.

Born James Johnson in Buffalo, New York, he was the nephew of Temptations star Melvin Franklin.

He became a big name on the music scene in Toronto, Canada in the 1960s as a member of the Mynah Birds but his success there was short lived after he was arrested for draft evasion and fled to Britain, where he formed funk group Main Line.

James really hit the big time in 1977 when he signed to Motown and scored his first US number one hit with You & I a year later.

Then, in 1981, his album Street Songs became a funk classic and gave James his first number one album in America.

The album included funk standards Give It To Me Baby and Super Freak.

James turned producer in the 1980s but the 1990s brought the hitmaker a string of problems - he was arrested for assaults on two women and admitted he was addicted to cocaine during his court hearings.

In 1993, he was sentenced to five years in jail, but he served three. He spent the past decade touring, recording and getting in touch with his spiritual side, recently suggesting he was ready to quit the music business to concentrate on his spiritual life.

Like Ray Charles who died earlier this summer, James is set to be immortalised on the big screen - his upcoming autobiography, Memoirs of a Super Freak, is to be turned into a new movie.

Producers are still looking for the actor who'll play James on screen.