CHIC

What can be said about them? They are “Disco Music” itself, and we could stop right there, but regarding the Chic phenomenon, it is time to name the members… Ladies and gentlemen… on bass, Ben Edwards, on guitar, Nile Rodgers, on drums, Tony Thompson… At this stage, they were still known as the “Big Apple Band”, but thanks to DJ Rob Drake, Atlantic Records took notice of them despite their inexperience, and brought them to the top of the charts. How? Few remember that it was this trio, alongside Walter Murphy, who performed the legendary “A Fifth of Beethoven” for the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack. The true peak, instantly reaching number one.

This marked their transformation: they became Chic, and two vocalists joined the lineup, Alfa Anderson and Norma Jean Wright, with the latter subsequently replaced by Lucy Martin.

Their first success as Chic was “Dance, Dance, Dance”… From that point onward, they never stopped, achieving what was highly unusual for the genre: producing and selling complete LPs while other artists struggled merely to release and sell singles.

The group effectively disbanded in 1983, but Ben Edwards (who recently passed away) and Nile Rodgers continued to focus on production work for other artists, a practice they had maintained even during Chic’s most successful period.

Which artists did they produce? Sister Sledge, Sheila and B. Devotion, Debbie Harry, Diana Ross, and others; during the 1980s and 1990s, they produced Duran Duran, David Bowie, The Power Station, and even Queen with “Another One Bites the Dust”.
It is also worth noting that they are largely credited with the birth of rap music, as it was precisely from the instrumental track of “Good Times” that the Sugarhill Gang created the first rap song in history, “Rapper’s Delight”.

Tracks: Dance, Dance, Dance; Le Freak; We Are Family; Everybody Dance; I Want Your Love; Good Times; My Forbidden Lover; My Feet Keep Dancing.