Nile Rodgers on what finally made him embrace pop and dance music
by Ken Taylor
The dance music world just can’t get enough of Nile Rodgers. And for good reason: the guy has remained constantly relevant since the ’70s, and is riding a tidal wave of attention in the last couple years with his collaborations with Daft Punk, Avicii, Nicky Romero, and more. Dubspot had a chance to sit down with the legendary guitarist recently to roll through a number of his past achievements and get inside the mind that created some of dance music’s biggest hits, among them Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” and his own band Chic’s “Le Freak,” to name just a fraction. But Rodgers wasn’t always a hit-maker; it took being put in his place by a former music teacher to really embrace the dance and pop worlds. See how it all went down in the 10-minute documentary below.
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Nile Rodgers on Working With Michael Jackson: 'We're Weird Guys!'
By David Browne
October 3, 2013 12:20 PM ET
Nile Rodgers performs in London. Burak Cingi/Redferns via Getty Images
In the history of pop second winds, Nile Rodgers may be setting a record. From the mid Seventies through the late Eighties, Rodgers' footprint was all over the charts. First, he was the co-founder of the iconic disco band Chic, the man who co-wrote and played guitar on "Le Freak," "Good Times," and Sister Sledge's "We Are Family." Although Chic disbanded in 1983, Rodgers went on to become one of pop's most ubiquitous producers, helming records by David Bowie (Let's Dance), Madonna (Like a Virgin), and Duran Duran (Notorious) and hits by the Thompson Twins, the B-52s and many more. Drug addiction curtailed Rodgers' life and career in the Nineties, but he's blasted back as EDM's most beloved founding father: in the last year and a half alone, he's worked with Daft Punk ("Get Lucky," "Lose Yourself to Dance") and Avicii ("Lay Me Down") along with David Guetta, Disclosure and other dance producers. Talking with Rolling Stone in his Manhattan apartment, Rodgers clicked through some of the legends and newcomers he's worked with and some of his favorite tales about them.
Add a comment Add a commentiTunes Festival 2013
WATCH »
Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards crafted some of the definitive soul-disco anthems of the 70's, including "Upside Down," "Good Times," and "He's the Greatest Dancer." Equal parts pop genius and pure magic, CHIC can still pack the dance floor.
Pick up a copy of
Nile Rodgers Presents:
"The CHIC Organization -
UP ALL NIGHT" on
iTunes UK or Amazon.
LIVE on Good Day New York
Catch Nile Rodgers & co. on Good Day New York (FOX5) with hosts Rosanna Scotto and Greg Kelly, 9:40am EDT - August 5, 2013.
Or you can tune in via the web by clicking HERE »
Add a comment Add a commentNile Rodgers Presents - The CHIC Organization "Up All Night" (Greatest Hits)
The CHIC Organization - Up All Night (The Greatest Hits)
Released on July 1, 2013.
Includes FREE MP3 version of this album.
The double album features a hand-picked selection of tracks from the CHIC Organization including classics from not only CHIC and Sister Sledge, but also Diana Ross, Carly Simon and Debbie Harry.
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REVIEW: CHIC with Nile Rodgers, Manchester Ritz
May 30, 2013 — by John Anson, Features editor
THE ultimate hitmaker that is Nile Rodgers gave a sold out Ritz a masterclass on the history of pop music over the last 35 years in one incredible night in Manchester.
Surely the coolest man in music, he appeared overwhelmed at the ecstatic reaction he and Chic received from a sweating, ecstatic audience who had danced the night away.
Add a comment Add a commentCHIC - Review :: The Ritz, Manchester
May 30, 2013 — by Dave Simpson
Nile Rodgers with his Hitmaker on stage at Chic's Manchester gig. Photograph: Andrew Benge/Redferns via Getty Images
In the past two years, Chic's Nile Rodgers has beaten prostate cancer, written his autobiography and collaborated with Daft Punk. No wonder he walks on with a smile that never leaves his face all night. "I just got a text telling me that we were No 1 in 79 countries," he beams.
Add a comment Add a commentCharlie Rose :: "Bono on Nile Rodgers"
Nile Rodgers: "I Lived on the New York Subway"
May 15, 2013 — by Andrew Burns
Nile Rodgers - currently enjoying success with Daft Punk - on his tough life on the streets before becoming a global star
Following his reserved collaboration with French megatrons Daft Punk, Nile Rodgers is suddenly a bit of a big deal again.
Disco-funk pioneer Rodgers, 60, is the riff-writing wonder behind Daft Punk’s all-conquering hit single Get Lucky and has stamped his mark all over the duo’s new album, ‘Random Access Memories’.
He found fame in bringing disco to the masses with Chic in the late-1970s and before going on to pen global hits for Madonna and Duran Duran – but it all didn’t start so well for the guitarist after he spent time sleeping rough on the streets of New York.
“I lived on the street and in the New York subway system,” he told The Big Issue. “We were called ‘tunnel rats’.
“Then I lived in a commune, I was a panhandler or what they call ‘spangers’, as in ‘spare changers’. But I always had a guitar. Being a wandering minstrel was how I earned money but also spiritual capital.
Add a comment Add a commentGQ Magazine: The Q New Right Now
May 14, 2013 — by Jen Ortiz
The GQ+A: Nile Rodgers on Playing with Daft Punk
Nile Rodgers is bringing disco—the sound he defined with his icon-status group Chic back in the genre's heyday—back, with the help of two guys dressed as robots. Sort of. He's produced songs for serious industry names like Mick Jagger, Madonna, and David Bowie, but kids these days might best recognize Rodgers as the guy with the dreads playing guitar alongside Daft Punk while Pharrell croons on "Get Lucky." The first single off Daft Punk's Random Access Memories has a dance-y, disco sound—thanks, in large part, to Rodgers and his guitar—that has defined expectations for the twosome's new analog album. Rodgers went back to basics with the digital pair at the iconic Electric Lady Studios in New York City nearly a year ago, taking a decades-old approach to recording that's made a classic sound new again.
GQ rang up Rodgers at his Connecticut studio to hear more about the collaboration, the new album, and what he's learned from the helmeted duo.
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