CHAKA KHAN HAD ONLY RECENTLY ACHIEVED stardom when photographer Norman Seeff shot this session for Rufus’ 1974 album, Rufusized. “I was living in my studio in Los Angeles,” Seeff recalls. “She began rolling around on my bed like a teenage girl—barefoot, wiggling her big toe at me. It was fun, creative and free.” The session was the first of several Seeff shot with the R&B legend, whose talent was entwined with a fragile temperament. “In performance, I saw her connect to a current of energy in a powerful way,” he says. “But she could also be overwhelmed by her emotions.” Later, Khan triumphed in a battle with alcohol and substance abuse. Seeff witnessed some of that struggle. “The last time I worked with her, I could see she had been on a spiritual, growth-oriented journey,” he says. “I saw someone intent on shifting her life toward something meaningful and focused. She told me, ‘I’ve turned fear into an ally.’”