(Guitar, b. 1952) In addition to writing, producing and performing with Chic, Rodgers, along with long-time collaborator Bernard Edwards, undertook similar duties for Sister Sledge. The pair worked with Diana Ross on her 1980 Diana album and Deborah Harry’s Koo-Koo (1981). Rodgers went on to helm many high-profile albums – David Bowie’s Let’s Dance (1983), Madonna’s ...
As a session guitarist, co-leader of the smash late-Seventies band Chic and star-making producer, Nile Rodgers (b. 1952) combined genres to create unexpected hits seemingly out of thin air. His funky guitar playing (along with partner Bernard Edwards’ bass) helped make Chic the most successful non-disco disco band, and his innate sense of rock and soul made a ...
(Keyboards, vocals, b. 1942) Maurice Rodgers grew up sneaking into chitlin circuit clubs in his native Chicago and nearby Gary, Indiana. His distinctive songwriting combines funky arrangements with explorations of the metaphysics of the blues, notably on his 1999 debut Blues Is My Wailin’ Wall. He began performing in the mid-1960s in Los Angeles with T-Bone Walker ...
Although routinely – and fairly – described as the father of country music, Jimmie Rodgers (1897–1933) was actually something more. Having established himself in that genre, he gradually moved towards mainstream popular music and, but for his early death, would probably have found a niche there. So far as country music is concerned, though, his ...
(Vocals, 1897–1933) Jimmie Rodgers, ‘The Singing Brakeman’, struggled against poor health and the rigours of the road to forge a new American folk music that would influence country music for generations. Rodgers wrote songs like ‘T.B. Blues’, ‘Travelin’ Blues’, ‘Train Whistle Blues’ and his 13 ‘blue yodels’. Rodgers’ voice and inherent honesty attracted legions of listeners. Rodgers developed ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1976–83, 1990–92, 1996, 1998–present) Chic were a disco outfit built around the songwriting and production team of Nile Rodgers (guitar) and Bernard Edwards (bass), who were originally part of a New York rock band but changed direction when unable to secure a record deal. Chic evolved from demos recorded by the pair that formed the ...
One of the great chameleon figures in rock, David Bowie has also been among the most influential. Born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947, his earliest records with The King Bees, The Mannish Boys and The Lower Third were unsuccessful. In 1966 he changed his name to David Bowie and combined his songwriting with an interest in ...
The most mercurial guitarist of his generation, Jeff Beck (b. 1944) has never conformed to the conventional image of a guitar hero. He has repeatedly left or broken up bands before their commercial potential could be realized. He restlessly changes style from one album to the next, refusing to be tied down musically. And his live appearances are intermittent. ...
Lee Ritenour (b. 1952) began his career as a session player at 16 and grew into an internationally respected guitarist, composer and producer. He has appeared on over 3,000 sessions and recorded 40 solo and collaboration albums. He had a worldwide hit with ‘Is It You’ in 1981. As for his guitar playing, his nickname, Captain Fingers ...
The most successful female recording artist of all time, Madonna also reigns supreme as top female producer and songwriter. Madonna Louise Ciccone (b. 16 August 1958) spent her formative years in Detroit. After graduating from high school in 1976, she won a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan but dropped out after two years to seek a career ...
(Guitar, vocals, b. 1950) As leader of The Tom Robinson Band, this British new wave singer-songwriter first broke through with ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway’ a 1977 hit single that was unrepresentative of the socio-political thrust of many of his songs, such as the anthemic ‘Glad To Be Gay’. After two albums, he formed Sector 27 then went solo ...
The Afro wig. The mirror ball. Platform heels. A pair of lurid flares. The enduring iconography of the mass-market disco era might seem laughable now, but to reduce such a revolutionary social force, and creative musical explosion to a few items of fashion tat would be very short-sighted indeed. As has happened with many other musical forms, the ...
November The Firm Long associated with Paul Rodgers (lead singer with Swan Song signing Bad Company), Jimmy Page bounced back from a recent drug-possession arrest by announcing that his first band venture since Led Zeppelin’s split would be The Firm with singer Paul Rodgers. Page and Rodgers had first collaborated on the ARMS tour the previous year, giving them a ...
Bowie’s mega-success with his artistic low point was followed by what can only be described as a lost decade. A Homeland No. 1 At Last In 1979 Bowie had a non-album UK Top 10 hit with ‘John I’m Only Dancing (Again)’, a song that – the old rascal – bore no relation to his 1972 non-album No. 12 hit ‘John I’m ...
Having previously declared that he would never record outside Tin Machine, Bowie proceeded to renege on both this and, in time, his assertion that he would not play his old hits for live audiences. Nobody seemed inclined to sue him for breach of promise. The fact that he once again engaged the production services of Nile Rodgers hardly ...
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David Bowie
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