Chic

Boasting a series of gold and platinum hit singles that began with 1977's #1 "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)," Chic's stripped-down, not-quite-mechanical groove made them the premier black disco group of the late '70s and early '80s. In addition, cofounders Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards produced, wrote, or played on records by many other performers and became two of the most influential contemporary black writers and producers.

Edwards and Rodgers met in the Bronx while working at various gigs around New York in 1970. Over the next six years, they worked in soul and R&B groups; former Black Panther Rodgers played for the Apollo Theatre's house band. Soon after meeting former Patti LaBelle drummer Tony Thompson, they formed a rock-fusion power trio called Big Apple Band, aiming to become the black version of Kiss. They changed their name to Chic in the wake of Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band's disco hit "A Fifth of Beethoven."

Frustrated by its inability to land a record deal, the band teamed with vocalists Alfa Anderson (who had sung on The Wiz soundtrack) and Norma Jean Wright to make disco records. Several record companies rejected the original demo tape of “Dance, Dance, Dance” before Atlantic took it in late 1977. In less than a month, the single, powered by Rodgers’ distinctive rhythm guitar, sold a million copies and reached #6. Their second album, C’est Chic (with the 6-million-selling #1 song “Le Freak,” the all-time top-selling single for Atlantic Records), and its followup, Risque, were both certified platinum. “Dance, Dance, Dance” (#1, 1977), “I Want Your Love” (#7, 1979), and “Good Times” (#1, 1979) were gold singles. “Good Times” (specifically its ominous yet playful bass line) inspired two hits: the Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” based on the instrumental track, and Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.”

In 1983, after releasing Believer, Chic disbanded, only to reassemble nearly a decade later. In 1992, with Rodgers and Edwards at their core but with a new drummer and new singers, Chic re-formed and signed with Warner Bros. In a version that included Steve Winwood, Sister Sledge, and Slash of Guns n’ Roses, they toured Japan in 1996 and 1997 with great success. It was on the 1996 tour that Bernard Edwards died suddenly of pneumonia.

Rodgers has released two solo albums; Edwards, one (none was a hit). In 1989, with Tony Thompson, Edwards formed the band the Distance and recorded their album. But it was as producers, both as a team and individually, that Rodgers and Edwards made the greatest impact. Sister Sledge’s We Are Family (1979) established them as studio purveyors of a streamlined sound (the title song earned Rodgers his first Grammy nomination for best songwriter); they went on to collaborate on albums, including Diana Ross’ highly successful Diana, Debbie Harry’s KooKoo, Sheila and B. Devotion’s self-titled LP, and a soundtrack, Soup for One.

On his own, Edwards produced such artists as Power Station (with Robert Palmer and Tony Thompson), ABC, Jody Watley, Rod Stewart, Gladys Knight, and Kenny Loggins, his most noteworthy effort being Robert Palmer’s Riptide and its 1986 #1 single “Addicted to Love.” Rodgers has been even more prolific, producing more than 50 records between 1981 and 1993. He, too, has worked with a tremendous variety of musicians, among them Peter Gabriel, Eric Clapton, the Stray Cats, Ric Ocasek, Duran Duran, and David Lee Roth. Especially with his more notable productions - David Bowie’s Let’s Dance (Bowie’s best-selling album), Madonna’s Like a Virgin, Mick Jagger’s She’s the Boss, and the B-52’s’ Cosmic Thing - he lent a new sonic clarity to contemporary music without sacrificing any of its power. In the late ’90s, Rodgers founded his own record label, Sumthing Else Music Works. In 1992 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy.

The Chic sound reemerged at the turn of the century, with their songs sampled by artists ranging from Will Smith to Sean Combs to Notorious B.I.G.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)