Nile Rodgers
- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
There is nothing you can say about Nile Rodgers that hasn't already
been heard by billions of people, in millions of cities, via thousands
of radio airwaves, in hundreds of countries. The career of Nile Rodgers
is one of the most enduring and prolific in music. Nile's signature is
scrawled across an amazing array of music - from Madonna to Diana Ross,
from David Bowie to Eric Clapton.
Nile first picked up a guitar while still in school and there was no
stopping the evident talent that quickly emerged. At the age of 19,
Nile not only worked for Sesame Street, but was performing nightly as
part of the house band for the world renowned Apollo Theatre in Harlem,
playing with luminaries such as Aretha Franklin, Parliament Funkadelic,
Ben E. King and The Cadillacs. Pretty amazing for a skinny kid with
glasses from New York City, but he wanted more. Nile Rodgers wanted a
band of his own.
Once the decision was made, Nile searched for a partner in crime. He
soon found him in local boy Bernard Edwards, whose precision with the
bass was as close to Nile's precision with the guitar as either of them
could hope for. The two were confident enough in their talent to
introduce the world to CHIC in 1977. "Dance, Dance, Dance", the first
single off CHIC's eponymous debut, hit the Top 10 and they never looked
back. 1978 yielded their second hit, "Everybody Dance", while a third
single, "Le Freak", hit No. 1 and became Warner Brothers' biggest
selling single of all time. The dynamic duo of Edwards and Rodgers
finished off the year by releasing their second album, C'est Chic,
which went directly into the Top 5.
The year 1979 brought the singles "I Want Your Love", "Good Times" and
a third CHIC album, Risque. While they still kept their day job as the
front men of CHIC, Nile and Bernard were not content with just
propelling their own band to the top. They produced and composed the
album We Are Family by Sister Sledge and completed the same duties on
Diana, the best selling album by Diana Ross, featuring their smash
singles, "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out". And if imitation is the
sincerest form of flattery, then surely the Sugarhill Gang's
appropriation of the bass line from "Good Times" as the bass line for
1980's seminal rap song "Rapper's Delight" is an outstanding tribute.
Though the 70s embraced the R&B funk of CHIC, it was the 80s that
secured Nile's place in music history. While forever bonded, Nile
branched away from Bernard in the early 80s to collaborate with David
Bowie. Their partnership may have raised more than a few eyebrows, but
it offered music lovers Let's Dance, the biggest selling record in
Bowie's career, and the hits "China Girl" "Modern Love" and "Let's
Dance". With the success of Let's Dance, Nile proved an R&B guy could
produce pop and rock. So, he followed it up by working with a girl from
Michigan named Madonna, on a little record called "Like A Virgin",
which went on to sell 14 million copies in the United States alone.
Nile then produced Duran Duran's "The Reflex" single, which stayed at
No. 1 for 15 weeks. After more production collaborations with Duran's
the "Wild Boys" single and the Notorious album - Nile went on to work
with a staggering array of musicians ranging from Mick Jagger on his
She's The Boss record, INXS' groundbreaking "Original Sin" single, The
Thompson Twins' Here's To Future Days, Grace Jones' Inside Story, the
B-52s' Cosmic Thing, Eric Clapton's tribute to Jimi Hendrix album Stone
Free, Paula Abdul and of course Beavis and Butthead.
Perhaps there is not a more fitting tribute than the one Nile received
in Japan in 1996. Selected among his peers as Billboard Magazine's Top
Producer in the World, he was honored as JT Super Producer. Nile was
invited to Japan to perform a retrospective of his career, and was
joined by Bernard Edwards, Sister Sledge, Steve Winwood, Simon LeBon
and Slash, as they performed the hits that Nile took part in creating.
To compliment the event, a TV and radio documentary, CD, and a DVD were
released.
Shortly after producing Rai music superstar Cheb Mami's album Dellali
featuring Sting, the events of September 11th prompted Nile to embark
upon the biggest project of his life - The We Are Family Project, A
Celebration of Our Common Humanity. The project encompasses a National
We Are Family Day spearheaded for passage in Congress by Senator Robert
Dole; a re-recording of We Are Family with over 200 celebrities and an
accompanying music video directed by Spike Lee; an unprecedented
recording and music video of over 100 famous children's characters
singing We Are Family that aired simultaneously on Disney Channel,
Nickelodeon and PBS on March 11, 2002; an 80 minute documentary
entitled The Making and Meaning of We Are Family which debuted at the
2002 Sundance Film Festival with a standing ovation; limited edition
prints of an interpretive artwork entitled "We Are Family" by world
renowned artist Francesco Clemente; and a permanent We Are Family
exhibit at The Children's Museum of Utah launched during the 2002 Salt
Lake City Olympics.
Amidst all of his accomplishments, Nile has still found time to win
Grammys for Best Rock Instrumental for his collaboration with Jeff Beck
on "Escape", Best Contemporary Blues Recording and Best Rock
Instrumental Performance with the Vaughan Brothers, add his famous
guitar licks to Seal's version of "Fly Like An Eagle", score films such
as Coming to America, Earth Girls Are Easy and Beverly Hills Cop III,
win a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of
Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), be the Musical Director of the
largest commercial broadcast success in VH-1's history, VH-1's Divas
Live Tribute to Diana Ross, be a Governor and Trustee of NARAS, and be
responsible as either artist, producer or writer of songs that have
accounted for sales of over 100,000,000 records.
History is still in the making. Nile is currently in the studio with
the original members of Duran Duran producing their next album to be
released in 2002. He is also working with famed French artist/producer
Cerrone and finishing the highly anticipated new CHIC album - of which
the single "Let's Bounce" debuted in the hit movie Rush Hour 2.
There is a lot to say about a talent as vast and far reaching as Nile
Rodgers. He has been at the helm of music that has shaped two decades,
and he continues to impose his influence in the next millennium. The
music and genius of Nile Rodgers truly speaks for itself - just turn on
your radio and listen.
been heard by billions of people, in millions of cities, via thousands
of radio airwaves, in hundreds of countries. The career of Nile Rodgers
is one of the most enduring and prolific in music. Nile's signature is
scrawled across an amazing array of music - from Madonna to Diana Ross,
from David Bowie to Eric Clapton.
Nile first picked up a guitar while still in school and there was no
stopping the evident talent that quickly emerged. At the age of 19,
Nile not only worked for Sesame Street, but was performing nightly as
part of the house band for the world renowned Apollo Theatre in Harlem,
playing with luminaries such as Aretha Franklin, Parliament Funkadelic,
Ben E. King and The Cadillacs. Pretty amazing for a skinny kid with
glasses from New York City, but he wanted more. Nile Rodgers wanted a
band of his own.
Once the decision was made, Nile searched for a partner in crime. He
soon found him in local boy Bernard Edwards, whose precision with the
bass was as close to Nile's precision with the guitar as either of them
could hope for. The two were confident enough in their talent to
introduce the world to CHIC in 1977. "Dance, Dance, Dance", the first
single off CHIC's eponymous debut, hit the Top 10 and they never looked
back. 1978 yielded their second hit, "Everybody Dance", while a third
single, "Le Freak", hit No. 1 and became Warner Brothers' biggest
selling single of all time. The dynamic duo of Edwards and Rodgers
finished off the year by releasing their second album, C'est Chic,
which went directly into the Top 5.
The year 1979 brought the singles "I Want Your Love", "Good Times" and
a third CHIC album, Risque. While they still kept their day job as the
front men of CHIC, Nile and Bernard were not content with just
propelling their own band to the top. They produced and composed the
album We Are Family by Sister Sledge and completed the same duties on
Diana, the best selling album by Diana Ross, featuring their smash
singles, "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out". And if imitation is the
sincerest form of flattery, then surely the Sugarhill Gang's
appropriation of the bass line from "Good Times" as the bass line for
1980's seminal rap song "Rapper's Delight" is an outstanding tribute.
Though the 70s embraced the R&B funk of CHIC, it was the 80s that
secured Nile's place in music history. While forever bonded, Nile
branched away from Bernard in the early 80s to collaborate with David
Bowie. Their partnership may have raised more than a few eyebrows, but
it offered music lovers Let's Dance, the biggest selling record in
Bowie's career, and the hits "China Girl" "Modern Love" and "Let's
Dance". With the success of Let's Dance, Nile proved an R&B guy could
produce pop and rock. So, he followed it up by working with a girl from
Michigan named Madonna, on a little record called "Like A Virgin",
which went on to sell 14 million copies in the United States alone.
Nile then produced Duran Duran's "The Reflex" single, which stayed at
No. 1 for 15 weeks. After more production collaborations with Duran's
the "Wild Boys" single and the Notorious album - Nile went on to work
with a staggering array of musicians ranging from Mick Jagger on his
She's The Boss record, INXS' groundbreaking "Original Sin" single, The
Thompson Twins' Here's To Future Days, Grace Jones' Inside Story, the
B-52s' Cosmic Thing, Eric Clapton's tribute to Jimi Hendrix album Stone
Free, Paula Abdul and of course Beavis and Butthead.
Perhaps there is not a more fitting tribute than the one Nile received
in Japan in 1996. Selected among his peers as Billboard Magazine's Top
Producer in the World, he was honored as JT Super Producer. Nile was
invited to Japan to perform a retrospective of his career, and was
joined by Bernard Edwards, Sister Sledge, Steve Winwood, Simon LeBon
and Slash, as they performed the hits that Nile took part in creating.
To compliment the event, a TV and radio documentary, CD, and a DVD were
released.
Shortly after producing Rai music superstar Cheb Mami's album Dellali
featuring Sting, the events of September 11th prompted Nile to embark
upon the biggest project of his life - The We Are Family Project, A
Celebration of Our Common Humanity. The project encompasses a National
We Are Family Day spearheaded for passage in Congress by Senator Robert
Dole; a re-recording of We Are Family with over 200 celebrities and an
accompanying music video directed by Spike Lee; an unprecedented
recording and music video of over 100 famous children's characters
singing We Are Family that aired simultaneously on Disney Channel,
Nickelodeon and PBS on March 11, 2002; an 80 minute documentary
entitled The Making and Meaning of We Are Family which debuted at the
2002 Sundance Film Festival with a standing ovation; limited edition
prints of an interpretive artwork entitled "We Are Family" by world
renowned artist Francesco Clemente; and a permanent We Are Family
exhibit at The Children's Museum of Utah launched during the 2002 Salt
Lake City Olympics.
Amidst all of his accomplishments, Nile has still found time to win
Grammys for Best Rock Instrumental for his collaboration with Jeff Beck
on "Escape", Best Contemporary Blues Recording and Best Rock
Instrumental Performance with the Vaughan Brothers, add his famous
guitar licks to Seal's version of "Fly Like An Eagle", score films such
as Coming to America, Earth Girls Are Easy and Beverly Hills Cop III,
win a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of
Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), be the Musical Director of the
largest commercial broadcast success in VH-1's history, VH-1's Divas
Live Tribute to Diana Ross, be a Governor and Trustee of NARAS, and be
responsible as either artist, producer or writer of songs that have
accounted for sales of over 100,000,000 records.
History is still in the making. Nile is currently in the studio with
the original members of Duran Duran producing their next album to be
released in 2002. He is also working with famed French artist/producer
Cerrone and finishing the highly anticipated new CHIC album - of which
the single "Let's Bounce" debuted in the hit movie Rush Hour 2.
There is a lot to say about a talent as vast and far reaching as Nile
Rodgers. He has been at the helm of music that has shaped two decades,
and he continues to impose his influence in the next millennium. The
music and genius of Nile Rodgers truly speaks for itself - just turn on
your radio and listen.