Nile Rodgers

Information about Nile Rodgers

Nile Gregory Rodgers (born September 19 1952 in New York City) is a prolific and influential musician, composer, arranger, guitarist and music producer, and co-founding member of the seminal multi-platinum hit R&B band Chic, with influential bassist, the late Bernard Edwards.
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Chic in 1992: Sylver Logan Sharp, Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers, Jenn Thomas

Biography

Rodgers began his career as a session guitarist in New York, playing with the Sesame Street band in his teens, and then working in the house band at Harlem's renowned Apollo Theater, backing artists like Aretha Franklin, Ben E. King, Nancy Wilson, and Parliament Funkadelic.

1970s

He met bassist Bernard 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".

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 funk/R&B band Chic (NB: There is a degree of controversy over Chic being referred to as disco), and went on to score numerous top ten hits and helped propel disco to new levels of popularity. Their songs "Everybody Dance", "Le Freak" and "Good Times" remain among the most sampled songs of the late 1970s/early 1980s R&B era.

"Good Times" signals the start of the take-off of hip hop music as its sample immensely contributed to the success of Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight, the first rap hit ever. 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.

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).

In 1981, Deborah Harry worked with both Rodgers and Edwards on the album Koo Koo.

In 1983, they produced David Bowie's album Let's Dance (to date Bowie's best sales album) with several hit singles, and in 1984 produced Madonna's blockbuster album Like a Virgin Madonna's breakthrough album, spawning her two signature hits ("Material Girl" and the 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. He worked with members John Taylor and Andy Taylor on their side project Power Station in 1985, which produced two hit singles.

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 to "Skin Trade", 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.

Let alone unofficially, Rodgers officially produced, or was credited by, or played with, (sometimes all at the same time) and influenced significantly so many major artists and genres that it is difficult to keep an up-to date record. It ranges from Soul with Joss Stone to pop with Britney Spears, to Dance with the Shapeshifters, and even to rock with guitar heroes like Stevie Ray Vaughan or Eric Clapton.

His legacy to the music art and business is of utmost significance, and while this is acknowledged by the industry and the artists, Rodgers remains an unknown to the mainstream public who, however, know about the Chic name, which no individual was fronting. This band, however crucial and influential it remains to the music (while it is difficult to keep counts, it is likely that Chic has been as much sampled as James Brown, or if not comes close second), only describes partially the multi-faceted talent of Rodgers.

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 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 the upcoming Halo 3 soundtrack.

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 over 200 musicians, celebrities and peronalities. Director Spike 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 over 100 beloved children's television characters. The children's music video airs as a public service announcement on Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and PBS 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 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 upcoming Wu-Tang Clan album, 8 Diagrams.

Selected discography

Chic

Solo

  • Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove (1983)
  • B-Movie Matine] (1985)
  • Out Loud (1987)
  • Chic Freak and More Treats (1996)

Official Production (partial)

Soundtracks

Biographical reference work

External links

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composer is a person who writes music. The term refers particularly to someone who writes music in some type of musical notation, thus allowing others to perform the music. This distinguishes the composer from a musician who improvises or plays a musical instrument.
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arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet. If a musical adaptation does not include new material, it is more accurately termed a transcription.
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guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Professional guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres. The guitar is an incredibly versatile instrument, and like the piano, it can play chords, melodies, solos, or help to gel a
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In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering
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A bass player (bassist) is a musician who plays a double bass or electric bass (also referred to as bass guitar). Certain musical genres tend to be associated with each of these instruments.
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Bernard Edwards (October 31 1952 – April 18 1996) was born in Greenville, North Carolina, was a bass player and record producer, both as a member of Chic and on his own. He died of pneumonia while touring in Japan.
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Session musicians are musicians available for hire, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical outfit or who have acquired fame in their own right.
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Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series for preschoolers and is a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment.
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A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. The term can also refer to a group that plays sessions for a specific recording studio.
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Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major black cultural and business center. After being associated for much of the twentieth century with black culture, but also crime and poverty, it is now experiencing a social and economic
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Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous clubs for popular music in the United States, and certainly the most famous club associated almost exclusively with African-American performers.
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Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has been called for many years "The Queen of Soul", but many also call her "Lady Soul," as well as the more affectionate "Sister Ree.
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Ben E. King (born Benjamin Earl Nelson on September 28, 1938, in Henderson, North Carolina) moved to Harlem, NY at the age of nine. He became one of the greatest soul singers of the early 60's.
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Nancy Wilson (b. February 20, 1937) is an American singer with seventy-plus albums, and three Grammy Awards so far in her career. She's been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer.
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For the song see P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)


P-Funk (also spelled P Funk or P. Funk) is a shorthand term for the repertoire and performers associated with George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic collective and the distinctive
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Bernard Edwards (October 31 1952 – April 18 1996) was born in Greenville, North Carolina, was a bass player and record producer, both as a member of Chic and on his own. He died of pneumonia while touring in Japan.
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Rock band (or rock group) is a generic name to describe a group of musicians specializing in a particular form of electronically amplified music. Deriving its name from the musical style which was its immediate progenitor, rock and roll, the type of music played by rock
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Black Panther Party (originally called the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was an African American organization founded to promote civil rights and self-defense. It was active within the United States in the late 1960s into the 1970s.
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Tony Thompson (November 15, 1954 – November 12, 2003) was a session drummer of Trinidadian and Antiguan descent (His father being from Antigua and his mother from Trinidad) with a long list of studio credits. He is best known for his work with Chic.
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Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music.
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Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B or RnB) is a popular music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences, first performed by African American artists.
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Disco is a genre of dance-oriented pop music that was popularized in dance clubs (discothèques) in the mid-1970s. Disco songs usually have soaring, often reverberated vocals over a steady four-on-the-floor beat, an eighth note (quaver) or sixteenth note (semi-quaver) hi-hat pattern
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Disco is a genre of dance-oriented pop music that was popularized in dance clubs (discothèques) in the mid-1970s. Disco songs usually have soaring, often reverberated vocals over a steady four-on-the-floor beat, an eighth note (quaver) or sixteenth note (semi-quaver) hi-hat pattern
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B-side(s) "A Warm Summer Night"
Released 1979
Format 7", 12"
Recorded 1979
Genre Disco, R&B
Length 8:08
Label Atlantic
3584
Writer(s) Bernard Edwards
Nile Rodgers
Producer(s) Bernard Edwards
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sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording. This is typically done with a sampler, which can be a piece of hardware or a computer program on a digital computer.
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