Me & Nard April '96 at the Budokan - Bernard's Final Show

Next week I'll head to Japan. I'll be performing at the Blue Note Tokyo. I go there every April to honor the death of my long time partner Bernard Edwards. We did our final show together in April 1996 in Tokyo.

The following documentary has the last footage of Bernard, hours before his death. The film starts with the Lennon/McCartney song "Let It Be," which was their final collaboration and symbolic of my final collaboration with Bernard.

Eighteen months ago I was attacked by very aggressive cancer - it caused me to take another look at my life - and the life of my former partner. When I last posted this, I'd experienced two incidents of déjà vu.

Last night I had a powerful dream about Bernard and I thought I should repost this film. It was a TV special produced by Br@in for WOWOW, that focuses on my life and Bernard's death in Japan. Please watch it. It's in Japanese and English. You may not understand Every word, but you'll understand Every Emotion.

WOWOW TV JAPAN
Documentary: Nile Rodgers
Duration: 43:45
Format: NTSC 16:9

Me and actor extraordinaire Delroy Lindo was in the house

Last night I did Master Class for the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. It was fantastic. It took place at New York University and it was a full house. The people were amazing. I signed books and took pictures late into the night.

I missed my train but I didn't want to miss my blog post time of 4:50 am EDT. I didn't have enough time to write an in depth article but here's a bunch of photos and I Will Show You What Happened.

Le Crib backyard in an Original CHIC '80 Grand Tour t-shirt - It was given to me by my former roadie, Bruce Levine

I've gotten some big surprises over the last few days. It's hard to explain just how much these things mean to me - but I'll try. Think of it as finding a long lost relative and buried treasure combined. Like something you've known, that also feels brand new. I'm truly thankful to have these beautiful gifts. They feel invaluable to me.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the value of an artifact is what the buyer is willing to pay. I'm not sure what I would have paid if I'd found these gifts in a shop but they were given to me by former employees. In America we have a saying, "The best things in life are free." These few simple gifts remind me of some of The Best People, Places and Things in My Life.

Today I had the day off and I went to see the film The Hunger Games

Today I had a day off. In my world that's huge. I went to see the film The Hunger Games. Last week, my charity The We Are Family Foundation's Just Peace Summit was winding down. It was a huge success and one of our Global Teen Leaders was on the last eight pages of The Hunger Games.

The very next day, our foundation held the TEDxTeen talks and later that same day I did a book signing followed by a concert called The Legends of Disco at the Hammerstein Ballroom. All three events were very successful.

I started rehearsing for the Rainforest Fund's Concert at Carnegie Hall the following morning. After three days of rehearsing the concert took place. It was also a huge success.

Now I've started planning to go to Japan in a few days. I make this trip every spring and it's become the official beginning of the Spring/Summer touring season for CHIC.

While I sit here contemplating future possibilities, here's My Last Week In Pictures.

Me, Fonzi, and Luther - This was my last recording session with Luther Vandross

Today is Easter Sunday and I've been reflecting on my life. I got an email yesterday from my long time friend and colleague Fonzi Thornton, who joined the CHIC Organization when Luther Vandross left to do Change, a CHIC inspired band.

Fonzi had been my roommate with Sesame Street, which was my first professional job, and we toured all around the world. We were just nineteen years old and we've been friends ever since.

We're so proud to be part of a group of New York Studio musicians who were responsible for a lot of music. Music that mainly put people on the dance floor, but at the same time touched their souls. So many of them have passed away and Fonzi always tells me we have to Promise to Keep On Doing It!

Honoring the 15th year anniversary of my former partner Bernard Edwards' death in Tokyo last April

I will be heading to Japan soon. I go every spring to honor Bernard Edwards' memory. He was my long time partner, co-founder of The CHIC Organization LTD, and he died in Japan while performing with me about sixteen years ago.

We were doing a mega gig called JT Super Producer. It was a series of concerts that culminated with a 90 minute TV special. The concept was: they'd honor a music producer by telling his story followed by a live concert with many of the artists the producer had worked with. In 1996, I was that producer and Steve Winwood, Duran Duran's Simon LeBon, Sister Sledge, Slash and CHIC were the featured artists.

During the last of the live concerts Bernard Edwards collapsed on stage. He was revived and continued with the three-hour concert. After the show he went back to his hotel room and died on the couch watching television.

I found his body the next morning when he failed to answer his wake-up call. It's hard to believe that It's Been 16 Years.

Playing a song today in my kitchen from a new musical I'm composing

Since being attacked by cancer around a year and a half ago, I've tried to live life to the fullest. Part of living what I'd call a full life is giving back. I wouldn't be where I am if people hadn't given so much to me.

I've had many great teachers along life's road and I cherish those lessons. When I compose or produce, I open a vast bag of tricks that live deep within my brain.

At 7 p.m. on April 10, at NYU's Frederick Loewe Theatre, I'll do a Songwriter's Hall of Fame Master Sessions event. I'm going to share some techniques I've used over the years and even play some of my new work. It's open to the public and it's FREE! I'll cover everything From CHIC to Madonna to Musicals.

The guitar section on stage at Carnegie Hall right before the show

Of course the joke answer to the title of today's blog post is Practice. Tuesday night, we had an amazing performance at Carnegie Hall for the Save The Rainforest Fund. We had to practice a lot before we did the show. There were three days of rehearsals that started at 10 am and went well into the evening. These are some more photos from the last few days that show "How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?"

Meryl Streep and me - She sang great at Carnegie Hall last night

Last night was epic. I love performing at the Rainforest concerts. It's a terrific event and I say bravo to Sting and Trudie for another great night. There are always plenty of interesting people at the show, not only the participants but some of the folks who come to hang out. I've been around stars all my life, even before I became a professional musician, but I must admit I was pretty impressed when President Clinton rolled in.

This year's artists were all very good and the show had something for everybody, an opera superstar, fantastic dancing, and Meryl Streep singing very difficult songs that she nailed. Here are just A Few Random Photos.

Trudie, Elton and Meryl working on the Finale

Yesterday was our second day of rehearsals for the Save the Rainforest concert, a fundraiser for Sting's charity. His wife, Trudie Styler, always produces the concerts and they're always wonderful.

These concerts have become a tradition with me, and I always look forward to the interesting mix of performers and songs. I also get all the artists to sign one of my guitars as a memento of the event because the exact same group of performers will never be together on one stage again.

Every year there are great memories and this year is no exception. I mean, how often do you get to see Meryl Streep sing with an orchestra, or Rita Wilson do a duet with Vince Gill?

This year, Elton John and Bruno Mars are rocking the house along with Esperanza Spalding, Jennifer Hudson, James Taylor, Rosanne Cash, Bryn Terfel, a classy dance number by Channing Tatum and of course the multi-talented Sting.

Every year our music director is Narada Michael Walden and our band and choir are pretty much the same lineup. It's Always Smoking Hot!