Chic is a French band, founded in 1978. They have released nine studio albums and sold over 30 million records worldwide. “Chic songs list” is a list of all the songs from their nine albums. Read more in detail here: chic songs list.
Chic was a musical group that formed in Paris, France. The band’s sound explored funk and soul music with influences from Caribbean rhythms. By the time “Le Freak” became their first commercially successful single, they had already achieved relative fame on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
The group released eight albums during its lifetime before splitting up in 1992 to pursue solo careers.,
They reunited four years later for one final album entitled 2320 Jackson Street which debuted at number two on Billboard 200 chart.
Chic was without a doubt the best disco band. They were unmistakably a band, while working in an industry dominated by producers. By the time Chic debuted in the late 1970s, disco had already reached popular saturation and was on the verge of collapsing. Chic defied the trend by reducing disco’s sound to its bare essentials. Chic’s sound was centered by Nile Rodgers’ gritty “chucking”-style rhythm guitar, Bernard Edwards’ memorable, frequently copied, and often blatantly stolen basslines, and Tony Thompson’s powerful drumming, which specialized in elegant grooves with a particularly organic sense of interaction. Rodgers and Edwards, as producers, maintained the focus on rhythm by sparingly using keyboard and string flourishes. Chic’s unique style not only produced some of the era’s best songs, including the number one successes “Le Freak” and “Good Times” (just two of many masterpieces from the platinum albums C’est Chic (1978) and Risqué (1979)), but also paved the way for post-disco funk, dance-pop, and hip-hop. Rodgers and Edwards went on to become two of the most successful pop producers of all time, and the sound they created and refined has stayed relevant for decades, as shown by their admission into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Rodgers continued to lead Chic as a big live attraction in the 2010s, and the band returned to the studio for It’s About Time (2018).
Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers met in 1970, when they were both jazz musicians fresh out of high school. Rodgers’ early career included stints in the folk ensemble New World Rising and the Apollo Theater house orchestra, while Edwards had attended New York’s High School for the Performing Arts and was working in a Bronx post office at the time. Rodgers and Edwards created the Big Apple Band, a jazz-rock fusion band, in 1972. In the aftermath of their 1973 hit “I’m Doin’ Fine Now,” this trio moonlighted as a backing band, traveling with smooth soul vocal group New York City. The Big Apple Band went on the tour with Carol Douglas for a few months after New York City split up, and Rodgers and Edwards chose to go it alone at the end of 1976. They temporarily performed as Allah & the Knife Wielding Punks after switching their ambitions from fusion to new wave, but soon settled into dance music. To prevent confusion with Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band (who’d recently struck big with “A Fifth of Beethoven”), they recruited former LaBelle drummer Tony Thompson and singers Norma Jean Wright and Alfa Anderson, and changed their name to Chic in summer 1977.
Chic recorded the demo single “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)” in the studio with keyboardists Raymond Jones and Rob Sabino, and shopped it around to various big record labels, all of which rejected it. It was eventually released as a 12″ by the tiny Buddah label in late 1977, and as its club success grew, Atlantic stepped in, signed the group, and re-issued the song on a larger scale. Chic became one of the hottest new disco groups when their single “Dance, Dance, Dance” into the Top Ten, peaking at number six. The band rushed to finish their self-titled first album, which produced a modest follow-up success in the form of “Everybody Dance” in early 1978. Wright departed at this time to pursue a solo career (with the help of Rodgers and Edwards), and Luci Martin took her place. It was a fantastic moment to join; “Le Freak,” the first single from their sophomore album C’est Chic, was an out-of-this-world hit, spending five weeks at the top of the charts and selling over four million copies (making it Atlantic’s best-selling single). C’est Chic became one of the few disco albums to achieve platinum, with the follow-up “I Want Your Love” reaching number seven and solidifying the group’s new celebrity status.
Risqué, released in 1979, was another well-crafted album that went platinum, thanks in part to Chic’s second number one pop song, “Good Times.” “Good Times” may not have sold as well as “Le Freak,” but it was the band’s most imitated song: Queen’s number one hit “Another One Bites the Dust” was a clear rewrite, and the Sugarhill Gang lifted the instrumental backing track wholesale for the first commercial rap single, “Rapper’s Delight,” marking the first of many times Chic grooves would be recycled into hip-hop music. Rodgers and Edwards also produced and wrote the Sister Sledge hits “We Are Family” and “He’s the Greatest Dancer” in 1979, their first big outside production job. As a result of their success, they were given the opportunity to collaborate with Diana Ross on the Diana album in 1980, where they wrote and produced “Upside Down,” her first number one hit in years, as well as “I’m Coming Out.”
However, the disco craze had faded by that time, and despite another strong performance by the band, 1980’s Real People failed to chart. Chic’s heyday came to an end due to changing preferences, as Rodgers and Edwards’ outside production work became much more profitable, despite failed ventures with Aretha Franklin and Johnny Mathis. Following many more Chic albums in the early 1980s, with decreasing creative and commercial returns, Rodgers and Edwards dissolved the band in 1983 after finishing Believer. Both recorded solo albums later that year. Both Rodgers and Edwards sought out high-profile production and session work throughout the remainder of the decade, hungry for recognition in the rock mainstream (particularly following allegations that they had stolen from Queen instead of the other way around). Rodgers produced hit albums such as Let’s Dance by David Bowie, Like a Virgin by Madonna, and She’s the Boss by Mick Jagger. Edwards was not a prolific producer, although he was a part of the one-off supergroup the Power Station, which included Tony Thompson, Robert Palmer, and members of professed Chic fans Duran Duran; he subsequently produced Palmer’s commercial success, Riptide. Rodgers’ other credits include the Thompson Twins, the Vaughan Brothers, INXS, and the B-52s’ comeback Cosmic Thing. Edwards also worked with Rod Stewart (Out of Order), Jody Watley, and Tina Turner, while Rodgers’ other credits include the Thompson Twins, the Vaughan Brothers, INXS, and the B-52s’ comeback Cosmic Thing.
In 1992, Rodgers and Edwards reformed Chic with new singers Sylver Logan Sharp and Jenn Thomas, as well as an array of session drummers in lieu of Thompson, and toured and published Chic-ism, a new album. The reformed Chic went on a tour of Japan in 1996; unfortunately, Edwards died on April 18 in his Tokyo hotel room owing to a severe case of pneumonia. Rodgers continues to tour with a version of Chic on occasion. Edwards’ Sumthing Else label released Live at the Budokan, a recording of his last performance with the band, in 1999. Rodgers was also the editor of The Chic Organization Box Set, Vol. 1: Savoir Faire, a four-disc anthology published in 2010. Rodgers’ reputation was bolstered once again by a series of collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran and Daft Punk. He wrote a book, overcame cancer, and continued to perform with Chic, mainly as a touring band. Rodgers finished and released It’s About Time, a long-awaited Chic album, two years after he and Edwards were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Chic is a French band that was founded in 1976 by guitarist and songwriter Bernard Edwards. The band has released 14 studio albums, two live albums, and 24 singles. Their most popular songs include “Le Freak,” “Good Times,” and “My Life.” Reference: chic band songs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of song is Good Times by Chic?
A: It is a disco song.
How old is Chic?
Who were the original female singers in Chic?
A: The original female singers in Chic were a British chanteuse named Nile Rodgers and his partner, the late Diana Ross.
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