In the early '80s, Chic's influence on other artists was hard to miss. Change, Fantasy, Luther Vandross, the Talking Heads, Grace Jones and Queen were among the many artists who were incorporating elements of the Chic sound. It was ironic and quite amusing to hear some members of the "Death to Disco!" brigade blaring Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" on their car stereos during the summer of 1980, for that funk-rock ditty was obviously based on "Good Times." But Chic itself was seeing its popularity start to fade, and fans were realizing that the group had reached its creative peak in the late '70s. Like other albums that Chic recorded in the early '80s, Real People is competent but less than essential. Diehard fans will find that while "Rebels Are We," "I Got Protection" and "Chip off the Old Block" are likable and catchy, they aren't in a class with "Good Times" or "Le Freak." This is a decent album, but it's also the work of a group that was past its prime. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Chic (Main Performer), Bernard Edwards (Bass), Bernard Edwards (Keyboards), Bernard Edwards (Vocals), Bernard Edwards (Producer), Nile Rodgers (Guitar), Nile Rodgers (Producer), Alfa Anderson Barfield (Vocals), Bob Clearmountain (Engineer), Michelle Cobbs (Vocals), Jeff Hendrickson (Assistant Engineer), Cheryl Hong (Strings), Luci Martin (Vocals), Karen Milne (Strings), Gene Orloff (Concert Master), Garry Rindfuss (Assistant Engineer), Robert Sabino (Keyboards), Bill Scheniman (Engineer), Fonzi Thornton (Vocals), Dennis King (Mastering), Alfa Anderson (Vocals), Valerie Heywood (Strings), Chic Strings (?), Lucy Laurie (Assistant Engineer), Andrew Barrett (Keyboards), Tony Thompson (Drums), Raymond Jones (Keyboards)
Real People was an NBCreality television series that aired from 1979 to 1984, on Wednesday and then Sunday nights. Its initial episodes aired live in the East.
Real People had the format of a comedy talk show taped in front of a large studio audience, and featured a news report with each segment. These news reports consisted of visits to people with unique occupations or hobbies, occasionally bringing some of them in-studio to interact with the audience. In its early seasons, Real People was NBC's most popular series, often scoring at the top of the ratings. Segments included "funny pictures" and funny newspaper errors sent in by viewers, who were awarded a Real People T-shirt.
The success of Real People led to a rash of imitators, the best known and longest-running of which was That's Incredible!Real People also gave fitness instructor Richard Simmons his major break into the mass media.
When the show was initially syndicated to broadcast stations, it was edited into 30-minute segments and retitled More Real People.
