...It's Friday which is Funky, in and of itself but right now I fancy a little more of the boogie with my woogie it's only 10 and I already feel like disco-ing...I know...I know Chic's been played to death, if you're of a certain age, but such was not always the case...In the ’70s Nile Rodgers (guitar) and Bernard “Bernie” Edwards (bass) played together in various groups and eventually teamed up with Tony Thompson (drums) to form a New York City–based act of their own. In 1976 they added Norma Jean Wright (vocals), who was soon followed by Alfa Anderson (vocals), to the ensemble’s fold. In the early days of their long career as a unit, Rodgers and Edwards (pictured above with David Bowie) played with arranger/bandleader Walter Murphy, backing him in his Big Apple Band. Murphy also worked with Doc Severenson’s Tonight Show Band, the house band on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band recorded the hit single “A Fifth Of Beethoven” (#1 pop, #10 R&B) in 1976. Shortly after, Edwards and Rodgers formed their own undertaking, the trio that would grow into Chic in a couple of years.
...Now just throw your hands in the air!: Chic’s contribution to the hip hop genre began with the very first rap group to officially chart in the U.S., The Sugarhill Gang. The group’s seminal “Rapper’s Delight” (#4 R&B, #36 pop), which contains the signature breakbeat loop of “Good Times,” hit the charts only five months after Chic’s original did. Decades later rap acts began to score with tunes from acts that Rodgers and Edwards had collaborated with at the height of their production powers. First the Notorious B.I.G. had Chic-related chart success with “Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems” (#2 R&B, #1 pop), which heavily samples Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out.” That same year, Puff Daddy & The Family hit the U.S. charts with “Been Around The World” (#11 R&B, #4 pop) containing excerpts from David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.” In 1998 Will “the Fresh Prince” Smith hit the charts with the single “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” (#6 R&B, #1 pop), which revamps slices of Sister Sledge’s “The Greatest Dancer,” a testament to their influence on popular music ....when I hear the bells at the beginning of this jam, it always reminds me to keep my ears open for the old stuff...there's funk to be found...this cut comes from, what I think is their baddest proper LP, 1978's C'est Chic...
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