Nile Rodgers Biography

Legendary music producer Nile Rodgers was born in 1952 in New York City, and began his music career as a session guitarist.  Rodgers partnered up with Bernard Edwards and created the band Chic in 1977.  They burst onto the music scene with their hit single “Dance, Dance, Dance,” and from there enjoyed a steady rise to stardom.

Nile Rodgers and Chic released “Everybody Dance” and “Le Freak” next, the latter of which hit number one and became their best selling single. C’est Chic, their second album, reached into the top five, and Risque followed, with the dance hits “Good Times” and “I Want Your Love.”  Nile Rodgers also produced and wrote material for the smash-hit albums We Are Family, by Sister Sledge, and Diana, by Diana Ross, featuring the hits “I’m Coming Out” and “Upside Down.”

In the 1980’s, Nile Rodgers began to work with David Bowie, contributing to his enormous hit Let’s Dance (both the album and the single), and the single “Modern Love” and “China Girl.” The collaboration marked the start of an enormously successful career in writing and production, which made Nile Rodgers one of the most sought-after writers and producers of the era. Rodgers contributed to some of the most highly successful albums of the next decade and beyond, including Duran Duran’s The Reflex, Madonna’s Like a Virgin, Mick Jagger’s She’s the Boss, the B-52’s Cosmic Thing, and INXS’s “Original Sin.” In the new millennium, Nile Rodgers assisted artists such as Soul Decision, Joss Stone, and Adam Lambert with content for their albums.

Shortly after the 9/11 tragedy, Nile Rodgers created the We Are Family Project, which has as its goal the promotion of multicultural education and tolerance. The expressions of the organization are multi-faceted, and include: a re-recording of We Are Family (to include more than 200 celebrities and musicians); a documentary which was honored with a standing ovation at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival; a recording of over 100 famous children’s characters singing the song, which aired on the Disney Channel; a National We Are Family Day approved by congress; artwork created by Francesco Clemente; and, finally, an exhibit at the 2002 winter Olympics.

Now well into his sixties, Nile Rogers continues to produce, perform, and record, with no signs of slowing down. In recent years, he has collaborated with Daft Punk (and earned a 2014 Grammy for his production work on their album Random Access Memories); released a new album with Chic (It’s About Time – 2016); and produced singles for Christina Aguilera (“Telepathy”) and Keith Urban (“Sun Don’t Let Me Down.”) Most recently, Nile Rogers was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.