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CHIC, CHIC FREAK, FREAK OUT, CHIC, NILE RODGERS, NARD, BERNARD EDWARDS, SISTER SLEDGE, DIANA ROSS, SHEILA, B. DEVOTION, LE FREAK, GOOD TIMES, DEBBIE HARRY, MADONNA, DAVID BOWIE, POWER, STATION, ARETHA FRANKLIN, SOUP FOR ONE, LUCI MARTIN, ALFA ANDERSON, LUTHER VANDROSS, DIVA GRAY, NORMA JEAN, TONY THOMPSON, SYLVER LOGAN, FONZI THORNTON, MICHELLE COBBS, GENE ORLOFF, THE CHIC STRINGS, ATLANTIC, CHIC, I WANT YOUR LOVE, WE ARE FAMILY, HE'S THE GREATEST DANCER, GOOD TIMES, REAL PEOPLE, REBELS ARE WE, BELIEVER, BACKFIRED, DISCO, 70's, 80's, MUSIC, R&B, BLACK, NEW YORK, RHYTHM, GUITAR, BASS, BRIDGE, VOCALS, 26, DURAN DURAN, INXS, MICK JAGGER, JODY WATLEY, ABC, B52's, LE FREAK, YOWSAH, RISQUE, C'EST CHIC, TAKE IT OFF, TONGUE IN CHIC, CHIC-ISM, JUSAGROOVE, SYLVER LOGAN SHARP, JENN THOMAS, HIGH, CHICISM, MYSTIQUE, FUNK

CHIC was built around guitarist Nile Rodgers (b. 19 September 1952, New York, USA) and bassist Bernard Edwards (b. 31 October 1952, Greenville, North Carolina, USA, d. 18 April 1996, Tokyo, Japan).

During the 60s Rodgers had played in a rock group, New World Rising, before joining the Apollo Theatre house band. Edwards had played with several struggling musicians prior to meeting his future partner through a mutual friend. They both joined the Big Apple Band in 1971, which subsequently toured, backing hit group New York City.

CHIC evolved out of a collection of demos that Edwards and Rodgers had recorded. Two female singers, Norma Jean Wright and Luci Martin, were added to the line-up,    along with Tony Thompson, a former drummer with         LaBelle

Wright later left for a solo career and was replaced by Alfa Anderson. The quintet scored an immediate hit with "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" (1977), which introduced wit and sparkling instrumentation to the maligned disco genre. In 1978, "Le Freak" became the biggest-selling single in Atlantic Records' history, with a total of over four million copies moved.

CHIC's grasp of melody was clearly apparent on "I Want Your Love" (1979), while US number 1 "Good Times", with its ferocious bass riff, was not only a gold disc in itself, but became the sampled backbone to several scratch and rap releases (including the first ever rap hit, the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight").

Edwards' and Rodgers' skills were also in demand for outside projects and their handiwork was evident on "Upside Down" (Diana Ross), "We Are Family" (Sister Sledge) and "Spacer' (Sheila B. Devotion).

Edwards' solo album, Glad To Be Here, and Rodgers' effort, Adventures In The Land Of Groove, were not hugely successful. However, Rodgers" unique work on David Bowie's 1983 album Let's Dance provided much of the singer's newly-discovered propulsive bite.

A year later Rodgers produced Madonna's first major hit album, Like A Virgin, and helped Duran Duran to the top of the US charts with a remix of "The Reflex". Edwards took control of recording the Power Station, the Duran Duran offshoot that also featured CHIC drummer Tony Thompson. Edwards also provided the backbone to Robert Palmer's 1986 hit, "Addicted To Love".

In 1992, the duo re-formed CHIC releasing a single, "CHIC Mystique", and an album, CHICism. Sadly CHIC's revival stalled with the death of Bernard Edwards in 1996, but their huge influence on dance music ensures a place in pop history. Sadly as well, drummer Tony Thompson died of cancer in Los Angeles early on Wednesday morning Nov. 12th 2003 with his family by his

side. Rodgers continues as a popular producer and in 1998 founded his own distribution and record label Sumthing Else.