Funk singer Rick James suffered a stroke and will require a lengthy recuperation, the Associated Press reports. James, 50, was performing at Denver's Mammoth Events Center on Friday when a blood vessel popped in his neck, spokesman Steve Levesque said. Back in Los Angeles on Monday, James's right side suddenly became numb, and he was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Doctors there are optimistic that he will recover without complications. Known for his 1981 hit "Super Freak," James has been on the comeback trail since 1996, when he finished serving two years in jail for attacks on two women. According to Levesque, doctors say the stroke was "the result of a broken blood vessel in the back of his neck caused by what is termed rock 'n' roll neck -- the repeated rhythmic whiplash motion of the head and neck."