Chic (band)
American disco band founded by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards.
Chic, written in all caps, is an American disco group that started in 1972 with guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. From 1972 to 1979, they created major disco hits like "Le Freak" and "Good Times." The band saw themselves as a rock group for disco, fulfilling hippie ideals of peace, love, and freedom.
Quick Facts
- Also known as
- The Boys (1972)
- The Big Apple Band (1972–1977)
- Nile Rodgers & Chic
- Origin
- New York City, New York, U.S.
- Genre
- R&B
- rock
- funk
- disco
- Years active
- 1972–1983; 1990–1992; 1996–present
- Label
- Buddah
- Atlantic
- Warner Bros.
- Sumthing Else
- Virgin EMI
Facts from the source article.
History
Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards first crossed paths in 1970 while working as session musicians around New York City. They started a rock group called The Boys, soon renaming it The Big Apple Band, and played many local shows. Although their demo tapes attracted some interest, they never landed a record deal. Both musicians then joined the band New York City, which scored a 1973 hit with "I'm Doing Fine Now." The original demos were created by DJ and studio engineer Robert Drake, who had first played lacquer records at the Nite Owl, an after-hours club in New York. New York City disbanded in 1976. After Walter Murphy released "A Fifth of Beethoven" under the name Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band, Edwards and Rodgers changed their group's name to Chic.
Rodgers got the idea for a band with a fully integrated sound and image after seeing a Roxy Music concert, also drawing inspiration from the anonymous, makeup-wearing rock band Kiss. In 1977, Edwards and Rodgers brought in drummer Tony Thompson, who had played with Labelle and Ecstasy, Passion & Pain. They performed as a trio doing covers. Thompson then recommended 19-year-old keyboardist Raymond Jones, a former bandmate from Ecstasy, Passion & Pain. To become a full band, they needed a singer, so they hired Norma Jean Wright under an arrangement that let her pursue a solo career alongside her work with Chic. With young engineer Bob Clearmountain, they made the track "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)," which led to Chic becoming a support act. The first song they recorded as Chic was "Everybody Dance," featured on their debut album.
Signed to Atlantic Records, they released the self-titled album Chic in 1977, which expanded on their demo tape. Edwards and Rodgers felt they needed another female vocalist for live shows, so Wright suggested Luci Martin, who joined in late winter or early spring of 1978. After finishing the debut album, the band worked on Wright's solo record, Norma Jean, released in 1978 and including the club track "Saturday." To support her solo career, the band agreed to have her sign with a different record label.
Influences and awards
Chic’s minimalist approach to disco didn’t just refine a genre—it sparked entire new sounds. The Sugarhill Gang built their landmark “Rapper’s Delight” (1979) around “Good Times,” a track that helped launch hip-hop as a recorded format. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five also borrowed that same song for “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel,” which played over the closing credits of the first hip-hop film, Wild Style (1982). Blondie’s 1980 US chart-topper “Rapture” was both influenced by and a direct nod to Chic, and Deborah Harry’s first solo album, KooKoo (1981), was produced by the band’s own Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.
Across the Atlantic, Chic’s fingerprints showed up all over 1980s British rock. Duran Duran bassist John Taylor has said the bassline on their hit “Rio” (1982) came straight from Edwards’ work. The Smiths’ Johnny Marr also named Chic as a key early influence. Rodgers’ guitar style became so widely copied it turned into a standard, while Edwards’ melodic basslines and Tony Thompson’s drumming are frequently praised by musicians. Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” (1980) took its famous bass riff directly from “Good Times” after John Deacon met the band at Power Station studio. Later, French duo Modjo built their single “Lady (Hear Me Tonight)” around a guitar sample from Chic’s “Soup for One.”
Chic also shaped the Italian-American disco group Change, which scored several early-80s hits. The two acts shared more than a sound: Luther Vandross, a former Chic member, sang on Change’s first recordings, and both groups were on Atlantic Records via its RFC imprint. On September 19, 2005, Chic received a triple honor at the Dance Music Hall of Fame in New York, being inducted as artists, for “Good Times” as a record, and for Edwards and Rodgers as producers. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has nominated Chic eleven times—in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2017, Nile Rodgers was inducted for Musical Excellence, though the group itself wasn’t nominated the following year. Today, Rodgers and Chic still tour worldwide under the name Nile Rodgers & Chic.
Frequently Asked Questions
What genre of music does Chic (band) play?
Chic's music is classified as R&B, rock, funk and disco.
Which record labels has Chic (band) released music on?
Chic has released music on Buddah, Atlantic, Warner Bros., Sumthing Else and Virgin EMI.
More in American Disco Groups
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