Representative Albums: "B-Movie Matinee," "Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove," "MP3 Danceclub, Vol. 2"
Biography
Nile Rodgers' contribution to popular music has been extremely significant, whether it be penning some of the most influential and popular songs of the disco era with Chic, or producing countless hits for a wide variety of other artists. Born September 19, 1952 in New York, New York, it was clear that Rodgers possessed exceptional musical talent early on, and by the age of 19, was playing guitar as part of the house band for the world famous Apollo Theatre (playing alongside the likes of Aretha Franklin, Funkadelic, etc.). Rodgers soon grew tired of his status as a backup musician, however, and sought to put together a band of his own. He found a like-minded musician in another New York City resident, bassist Bernard Edwards, during the early '70s. For the next few years, Rodgers and Edwards collaborated together, while playing in such obscure bands as the jazz fusion-based Big Apple Band, and the new wave-based Allah & the Knife Wielding Punks. But the duo's love remained in dance music, and their next musical project would put them on the map, as they formed Chic. With exceptional drummer Tony Thompson plus singers Norma Jean Wright and Alfa Anderson rounding out the lineup, Chic quickly grabbed a record deal with Atlantic. Almost immediately, Chic became the kings (and queens) of the dance/disco domain, scoring such hit albums as 1977's Chic, 1978's C'est Chic, and 1979's Risqué. But it was Chic's up-tempo, infectious hit singles that became dancefloor standards, including "Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah)," and especially a pair of chart-toppers, "Le Freak" and "Good Times." With the dawn of the '80s came the infamous, massive disco backlash, which Chic got caught up in, as their albums sold less and less, resulting in the group's split in 1983. But Rodgers' music career was just beginning. Towards the end of his tenure in Chic, he had begun producing (and writing for) other artists, including hits for Sister Sledge ("We Are Family") and Diana Ross ("I'm Coming Out"). So with Chic no longer occupying most of his time, Rodgers was free to focus solely on working with others. What followed was an amazing string of some of the '80s biggest albums and singles. First up was David Bowie, who was looking for a musical makeover. Rodgers sure did deliver with 1983's Let's Dance, which remains Bowie's all-time best-selling album. From there, offers from others flooded in, as Rodgers scored further hits -- Duran Duran's Arena, Madonna's Like a Virgin, Mick Jagger's She's the Boss, Jeff Beck's Flash, The B-52's' Roam, and the Vaughan Brothers' Family Style, among countless others. Additionally, Rodgers found the time during this hectic period to issue a pair of solo albums, 1983's Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove and 1985's B-Movie Matinee, although they failed to match the success of his work with others. Rodgers and Edwards put together a reunited version of Chic in the early '90s (with an all-new supporting cast), which toured and even issued an album, 1992's Chic-Ism. Rodgers was saluted with his own 'tribute' show in Japan on April 18, 1996, which saw Rodgers joined on-stage by his old pal Edwards, as well as Sister Sledge, Steve Winwood, Simon LeBon, and Slash. Despite it being an evening of celebration, Edwards tragically passed away from pneumonia later that same night. Rodgers continues to be active to this day, as he is the founder of the 'We Are Family Foundation,' and produced Duran Duran's 'comeback' album, which featured all their original members. Rodgers also owns his own national music distribution company, Sumthing Distribution, which specializes in video game soundtracks. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
He met bassistBernard Edwards in 1970. They formed a rock band called The Boys (later known as the Big Apple Band) and played numerous gigs around New York City, but despite interest in their demos, they could not get a record contract when the music companies discovered they were black; the discrimination of the day said black artists couldn't play "rock".[citation needed]
Formation of Chic
These experiences, in addition to activist tenor of the times, led to Rodgers' active involvement in the Black Panther Party in New York City. The 1999 documentary film Public Enemy contains history and interviews with Rodgers about these times. Not the type to give up on their musical dreams, in 1977 Rodgers and Edwards joined forces with drummer Tony Thompson to form the disco/R&B band Chic, and went on to score numerous top ten hits and helped propel disco to new levels of popularity. Its songs "Everybody Dance," "Le Freak," and "Good Times" remain among the most sampled songs of the late 1970s/early 1980s R&B era.
The success of Chic's first singles led their label, Atlantic Records, to offer Rodgers and Edwards the opportunity to produce any act on the Atlantic roster. They chose Sister Sledge, and the resulting effort, 1978's We Are Family, peaked at #3 and remained on the charts well into 1979. The first two singles, "He's The Greatest Dancer" and the title cut, were successful, both reaching #1 on the R&B chart, and #6 and #2, respectively, on the Pop chart. The former was sampled by Will Smith in 1998 ("Gettin' Jiggy Wit It").
"Good Times" signaled the start of the take-off of hip hop music, as an interpolation of the song's hook immensely contributed to the success of the Sugarhill Gang's '"Rapper's Delight," the first widely successful hip hop record. It was this same song, with Edwards' signature infectious bassline that influenced Queen's John Deacon to write the 1980 hit "Another One Bites The Dust." Chic dissolved in 1983. As Chic's tight sound and yet rich composition became increasingly popular and sought-after, Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers began doing record production, sometimes together, sometimes apart. Rodgers and Bernard Edwards produced, wrote, and performed with the band Sister Sledge. He was also going to become a solo singer but chose otherwise.
1980s
In 1980, they produced the album Diana for Diana Ross, yielding the smash hits Upside Down and I'm Coming Out (which remains Ross' best selling album). They also produced the album King of the World for Sheila and B. Devotion which featured the smash hit "Spacer".
In 1983, they produced David Bowie's album Let's Dance (to date Bowie's biggest-selling album) with several hit singles, and in 1984 produced Madonna's blockbuster album Like a VirginMadonna's breakthrough album, spawning her two signature hits ("Material Girl" and the album's title track. Rodgers helped develop Madonna's career significantly. Duran Duran worked extensively with Rodgers after he produced the hit single, "The Reflex", in 1983 and followed up with "The Wild Boys" for inclusion on their 1984 live album Arena. Rodgers also produced Sheena Easton 1985 Gold album Do You.
In 1986, he produced the entirety of Duran Duran's Notorious album, which yielded a #2 title track hit. During a live set, Simon Le Bon introduced Rodgers, saying "Well, this band went through a difficult time (during Notorious). The band might not have made it if it weren't for this gentleman..." He contributed to numerous other projects and appearances with members of the band throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and in 2002-2003 helped to produce Astronaut, the new album by the original five members of the band who were signed to a recording contract.
He formed the short-lived experimental band Outloud in 1987 with acclaimed French session musician/producer/keyboardist, Philippe Saisse; they released a single album, Out Loud, on Warner Bros. Records. Saisse has often played with Rodgers during in the Chic tours.
1990s
After a 1992 birthday party where Rodgers, Edwards, Paul Shaffer and Anton Fig played old Chic hits to rapturous response, Rodgers and Edwards organized the reunion of the old band. They recorded new material and played live all over the world, to great audience and greater critical acclaim. In 1992, he worked with A&M records musician Patty Griffin to produce her first album called Living with Ghosts.[1] In 1996, Rodgers was honored as the Top Producer In the World in Billboard Magazine, and was named a JT Super Producer. That year he performed with Bernard Edwards, Sister Sledge, Steve Winwood, Simon Le Bon and Slash in a series of commemorative concerts in Japan which provided a career retrospective. Unfortunately his longtime musical partner and close friend Bernard Edwards died of pneumonia during the trip, a blow that Rodgers took very hard.
In 1998, Rodgers founded Sumthing Else Music Works music label and Sumthing Distribution, the largest African-American owned independent music label distribution company in America. Sumthing currently focuses on distributing a fast-growing new genre: video game soundtracks. Soundtrack titles include Halo, Halo 2 and Halo 3. He produced a legendary album called A Great Long While by Jamband greats known as Strangefolk where he put his pop and rock know how and incorporated a great Jamband album.
2000s
The September 11, 2001 attacks prompted Rodgers to create the We Are Family Project to help begin the healing process. To begin, he organized a re-recording of the song he and his music partner Bernard Edwards wrote for Sister Sledge called "We Are Family" with more than 200 musicians, celebrities, and personalities. DirectorSpike Lee filmed the "We Are Family" music video and director Danny Schechter filmed a documentary depicting the recording sessions called The Making and Meaning of We Are Family. The film was chosen as a Sundance Film Festival Special Selection in 2002. Rodgers continued the healing process and produced another "We Are Family" recording and music video involving more than 100 beloved children's television characters. The children's music video airs as a public service announcement on Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and PBS stations to promote the message of a common humanity. In July 2002, Rodgers officially created the We Are Family Foundation to celebrate the vision of a global family by creating and supporting programs that inspire and educate people about mutual respect, understanding, and appreciation of cultural diversity.
Rodgers received a NY Chapter's Governor's Lifetime Achievement Award and a Heroes Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. On September 19, 2005, Nile Rodgers was honored at the Dance Music Hall of Fame ceremony in New York when he was inducted for his many outstanding achievements as a producer, along with former fellow band mate Bernard Edwards. CHIC has been nominated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame three times - 2003, 2006 and 2007. In the summer of 2006 Rodgers served as musical director for the tribute concert to Ahmet Ertegün at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland. The concert included performances by Chic, Robert Plant, Steve Winwood, Stevie Nicks, Kid Rock and many other artists who were signed to Ertegün's Atlantic Records. In 2007, Rodgers made contributions to the Wu-Tang Clan album, 8 Diagrams. He also wrote the title song Love Me Sexy from the movie Semi-Pro, starring Will Ferrell. Rodgers also appeared on VH1's I Love The... series during the decade.
