Nile Rodgers (New York City, september 19, 1952) is an American musician, composer, arranger, guitarist and producer, and founder of the American disco/funk band Chic in 1976.
He began his career in the Sesame Street-band and later he worked in the house band at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. In 1970 he met bassist Bernard Edwards and formed a band (The Boiz, later known as the Big Apple Band) with which they performed in New York. Together they formed the end of 1970s the group Chic. This group has his first worldwide hit with the song Le freak.
In the 1980s was also active as a producer , Rodgers among other things by David Bowie's very successful album Let's Dance (1983) and Madonna's breakthrough album Like a Virgin (1984) and the album Notorious by Duran Duran. In 1996, Rodgers honored by Billboard Magazine as a Top Producer In the World. After the attacks of september 11, he started the We Are Familyproject. The eponymous song he had written with Edwards for Sister Sledge was again taken up, now with more than 200 musicians and celebrities.
Like his parents touches Rodgers itself also to the drink and cocaine. Only when he realizes that the narcotics are threaten musicality, he decides to stop. At the end of 2010 at Rodgers prostate cancer detected.
Rodgers granted In 2013 are collaboration with the summer hit of Daft Punk, Get Lucky. On the album Random Access Memories , he can also be heard in the song Lose Yourself to Dance.
Politics[Edit][]
Rodgers in the 1970s was actively involved in the Black Panther Party.