You know you’re talented when David Bowie, Madonna, Diana Ross, Mick Jagger or Daft Punk come to you for help. Nile Rodgers’ magic touch has fascinated us since the seventies. The 66-year-old New Yorker can do it all, from irresistible guitar riffs and unstoppable melodies to efficient productions and delicious arrangements. On his lengthy CV however there are four letters that stand out: C h i c. Alongside his accomplice Bernard Edwards on the bass (who died prematurely in 1996, only 43 years old), Rodgers made the whole world dance and defined the sound of an incredibly influential funky disco. Chic would never be a real band in the true sense of the word, just the association of two passionate musicians who would rather spend hours jamming than climb the ladder of fame. But despite shying away from the limelight, Chic still topped the charts with the hits Le Freak and Good Times, placing the Rodgers & Edwards duo in the same vein as Holland-Dozier-Holland and Gamble & Huff...
The first chapter of the history of Nile Rodgers could be something out of a Dickens novel. When he was born on 19th September 1952, his mother was only 13 years old. Nile grew up in the colourful surroundings of Greenwich Village in the fifties, raised by his black teenage mother and white Jewish stepfather from the Bronx, both of whom were addicted to heroin. He left his home at the age of 15, rubbing shoulders with the Black Panther Party for a while, but mainly he tried to figure things out by playing the guitar. In the early seventies, he regularly performed within the house band of the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, which he would later describe as one of the best schools that he ever attended. It was there that he met Bernard Edwards; it wasn’t exactly love at first sight, Edwards not warming to his unusual look and hippy spirit. The two musicians would nevertheless continue their rather rock-oriented collaborations with drummer Tony Thompson, under the name of ‘The Boys’ and then ‘The Big Apple Band’. They notably toured with the group New York City who released the hit I'm Doing Fine Now. Legend has it that Rodgers found the inspiration for Chic whilst attending a Roxy Music concert in London, seeing how they created an immersive experience. He called up Edwards after the show and said: “Man, I got the concept for our new band.” The emergence of the make-up metalheads Kiss in the United States also fascinated the duo, who until now only perceived themselves as obscure studio musicians, men in the shadows who were surely not destined to become stars…
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