David Bowie (1947-2016)
Dearest David, #RIP - Your life changed my life. LOVE FOREVER
Photo: Peter Gabriel
Songwriters Hall Of Fame 2016 Nominees For Induction Announced
New York, NY – October 6, 2015 - The Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced its slate of nominees to be elected for induction at its Annual Induction & Awards Gala on June 9, 2016, in New York City.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of those composers and lyricists who create music around the world. Eligible voting members will have until December 11, 2015 to turn in ballots with their choices of three nominees from a non-performing category, two from a performing category and one from a deceased category.
For information with which to join or renew as a voting member before November 2 in order to participate in this election, please go to songhall.org/join.
And the nominees are: (*Note that the five songs listed after each nominee are merely a representative sample of their extensive catalogs)
Watch Lady Gaga, Nile Rodgers Update Chic's 'I Want Your Love'
By Daniel Kreps
October 2nd, 2015
Lady Gaga and Nile Rodgers have collaborated on an updated take on Chic's 1978 hit "I Want Your Love," which was then retrofitted to serve as the soundtrack for designer Tom Ford's Spring/Summer 2016 collection. In the Nick Knight-directed video to accompany the Chic cover, models dance down the runway like it was a Soul Train dance line, with Gaga herself showing up to showcase some of Ford's skimpier designs.
Nile Rodgers' Top Ten Greatest Hits
By Ken Simmons
Born September 19, 1952 in New York City, Nile Rodgers is one of the most prolific composers and producers in music history. He founded the trendsetting disco group Chic in 1977 with Bernard Edward, and together they wrote, produced and recorded the dance music anthems "Le Freak" and Good Times." This acclaimed guitarist has collaborated with a who's who of rock and R&B, including Madonna, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Diana Ross, Peter Gabriel, David Lee Roth, Jeff Beck, the B-52's, Luther Vandross, INXS, Johnny Mathis, Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire, Al Jarreau, and many more.
In 2014, Rodgers won the three first three Grammy Awards of his career as a featured artist on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories CD. He received Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Get Lucky." His performance with Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, and Stevie Wonder at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2014 at Staples Center in Los Angeles was one of the greatest in the history of the Grammys.
On February 3, 2015, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) honored Rodgers "for his commitment to excellence and ongoing support for the art and craft of recorded music."
Nile Rodgers to be Named BMI Icon at the 2015 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards
Broadcast Music, Inc. has announced that GRAMMY-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist Nile Rodgers will receive the BMI Icon Award at the Company’s 2015 R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, to be held Friday, August 28, at the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles. Rodgers, a musical architect of the influential band CHIC and perennial hit maker, was selected as this year’s BMI Icon recipient for his incomparable catalog and defining influence on popular music. The star-studded event will also celebrate the songwriters, producers and publishers of the most-performed R&B/Hip-Hop songs of the last year, as well as the crowning of the R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter, Producer, Publisher of the Year and Social Star award winner. BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill and Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Atlanta, Catherine Brewton will share the evening’s hosting duties.
Nile Rodgers Enlists Pharrell, Keith Urban for Diverse FOLD Festival
By Jason Newman
August 6, 2015
Nile Rodgers brought out Pharrell, Keith Urban and Paloma Faith for a diverse, funk- and disco-filled Chic set at FOLD Festival. (Photo: Marc Birnbach)
Of all the impassioned encomiums delivered to Nile Rodgers during Chic's set at the bandleader's inaugural FOLD Festival Tuesday night in Riverhead, NY, Pharrell Williams' words were the most precise.
"This man has been on fire since before I was born. The creativity burned that cancer out of his body," Pharrell told the crowd, referring to Rodgers' 2010 prostate cancer survival. "Thank you for your tremendous genius contribution that's moved and rocked so many generations. Anything you ever need from me in the future, you don't have to ask. You just have to tell me."
