Nile Rodgers: A Man of Music and Philanthropy
by Xaque Gruber
Fresh from winning three Grammy Awards for his work with Daft Punk on their ubiquitous smash, "Get Lucky," legendary songwriter/musician/producer, Nile Rodgers, chatted about life, art and a new honor: his being selected for ICON MANN's "28 Men of Change," a groundbreaking initiative that shines a light on Black male professional leaders and philanthropists, which airs on BET throughout Black History Month. This places Rodgers in the company of fellow ICON MANN honorees Steve McQueen, Nick Cannon, Forest Whitaker, Swizz Beatz and Lee Daniels.
While everyone loves and respects Rodgers' musical contributions, many may not realize the impressive mark he has made in the philanthropic world with his We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) named for the 1979 Sister Sledge anthem he wrote and produced with his late, beloved partner and CHIC bandmate, Bernard Edwards. WAFF strives to solve some of our biggest problems through global projects that promote peace, and appreciation of cultural diversity.
Congratulations, Nile Rodgers!
Nile Rodgers, in his collaborations with Daft Punk, wins 3 Grammys at the 56th Grammy Awards show, held in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 26, 2014.
Album of the Year :: Random Access Memories by Daft Punk
Record of the Year :: Get Lucky by Daft Punk ft Pharrell and Nile Rodgers
Best Pop Group/Duo Performance :: Get Lucky by Daft Punk ft Pharrell and Nile Rodgers
The collaborators on the album, Random Access Memories, won an additional 2 Grammy's for Best Dance/Electronica Album and Best Engineered Album
Daft Punk with Pharrell, Nile Rodgers and special guest Stevie Wonder as well as the cast of musicians that made the record, Random Access Memories, gave a legendary Grammy performance that had everyone on their feet and dancing.
A HUGE congrats to you, Nile, for all that you do and especially the music you bring to this world.
Humbly, your Nile Rodgers Productions Family.
A Tribute to Nile Rodgers
"You probably don't know my name, but I bet you know at least one of my songs," Nile Rodgers says in BBC documentary, Nile Rodgers: The Hitmaker.
Indeed, over the past 40 years Rodgers has penned, played and produced a vast wealth of hit songs, starting with "Le Freak" and "Good Times," the era-defining late-'70s smashes by the band he co-founded, disco powerhouse CHIC.
Duran Duran - "Notorious" Album
The magic of Notorious lies in it's well evolved rhythm section and matured components that Nile Rodgers (producer) brought to the table. The band itself was in a state of transition, in that Andy Taylor (Guitars) was in and out of the sessions, ultimately moving on to his own solo project, leaving the band and team to engage other guitarists for the project, and Roger Taylor (Drums) moved on to other endeavors, ultimately bringing in Sterling Campbell.
Notorious was considerably less densely arranged than the bands earlier work, relying mostly on great melodies, raw musicianship and the CHIC elements that became the Nile Rodgers Sound in the 80's. The synth work was minimal, and strategically placed horns took over the harmonic textures.
The lead single, "Notorious", shot up to #2 on the charts. "Skin Trade" also had a great run on the charts and is a cult classic.
The lost gem on this album is the closing track, "Winter Marches On". A huge departure for DD in regards to song structure and musical approach. It's a must listen.
~ Diego Paul Sanchez
Duran Duran "Notorious" from "Notorious"
DiscoCHIC.com - Interactive Site
Our Warner UK family has created a great INTERACTIVE site to go with the release of Nile Rodgers Presents: Up All Night [DISCO EDITION]
Check it out, share it with your friends, tweet it, post it, pin it, reddit, live it, love it!
Check out
DiscoCHIC.com »
The CHIC Studio Album Collection (1977-1992)
CHIC
Studio Album Collection
1977 - 1992
Release: November 11, 2013
Format: MP3
Release Date: November 11, 2013
Dealer Price: $46.99
ASIN: B00GA7A890
Label: Rhino Atlantic
The Complete Collection
Chic’s ultimate digital music compilation ‘The Studio Album Collection 1977 – 1992’ is out NOW! Featuring all eight studio albums from the iconic disco band – everything from their groundbreaking 1977 debut ‘CHIC’ to the ‘90s sensation ‘CHIC-ism’ – this collection is the essential soundtrack to make you ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’!
Nile Rodgers Digs Deep in Reddit AMA
By Miriam Coleman
November 10, 2013 3:39 PM ET
Nile Rodgers attends an event to benefit his We Are Family Foundation in New York City.
"Been hearing a lot about reddit and decided to come in and have a chat," Nile Rodgers breezily explained in his opening note to yesterday's Ask Me Anything session. The dance music pioneer, whose star has been on the rise once again thanks in part to his prominent role on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories and collaborations with other EDM artists like David Guetta and Avicii, took a moment out from touring in Japan on Saturday to answer fan questions about his time with Chic, guitar technique, future collaboration plans and more. Below, we've collected a few of the highlights.
How do you feel about getting recognized more and more these days following the Daft Punk collaboration?
It's really weird to be in the spotlight so much, but Daft Punk, like Chic, are semi-anonymous and they asked me to do most of the press. Of course I love the guys and wanted the record to be heard, so I took one for the team.
Nile Rodgers Presents: Up All Night [DISCO EDITION]
Nile Rodgers Presents
The CHIC Organization
UP ALL NIGHT
(Greatest Hits)
The DISCO Edition
Release: October 28, 2013
Format: 2CD
Release Date: October 28, 2013
Dealer Price: £8.15
EAN: 825646394739
Cat #: WMTV 209
Overview
Guitar maestro, producer extraordinaire, hippest man on the planet: Nile Rodgers is all of these things and more. The Nile Rodgers story goes back to 1976 when he formed The CHIC Organization with Bernard Edwards. Since that time he has become a one man hit factory. From working with and co-fronting CHIC to branching out with Sister Sledge, Sheila & B Devotion and Diana Ross, Nile Rodgers has sprinkled his magic on musicians from many generations coming right up to date with Daft Punk.
October the 28th sees a special edition of the top 3 album Up All Night: The Greatest Hits. This special Disco Edition coincides with some massive TV shows which include BBC Breakfast and The X-Factor UK on which CHIC will perform a medley of three of their biggest hits.
Release Info
The original edition of the album charted at number 2 and has remained in the charts since its release in June. This new DISCO EDITION features not only the biggest early hits such as 'Le Freak', 'Good Times', 'Upside Down' and 'He's The Greatest Dancer' but later number one singles, Duran Duran's 'The Reflex', Sister Sledge's 'Frankie' and MADONNA'S 'LIKE A VIRGIN'.
In additional to these new tracks the album includes an amazing 'CHIC Minimix' which features 12 of their biggest tracks mixed together for 7 minutes of aural heaven. The new version of the album is completed with an exclusive inclusion of some of CHIC's memorable performances at this year's GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL.
Rodgers may not have performed on the biggest stage at the festival but he certainly turned in the biggest performance with the set that everyone was talking about. The Glastonbury Glastonbury 'Medley' features tracks that Nile produced including 'Lady' (which sampled CHIC classic 'Soup For One'), 'Like a Virgin', DAVID BOWIE'S 'LET'S DANCE', 'Rapper's Delight' and 'Good Times'.
Since Glastonbury, CHIC have been wowing audiences at festivals across the country with 5 star performances. In addition to playing live, Nile has been hard at work collaborating with the likes of Disclosure, David Guetta and Avicii.
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.