Nile Rodgers treats electric guitar as a tuned percussion instrument, an approach descending from James Brown. He later went on to write most of the disco songs and eighties pop hits that I like, and helped lay the cornerstone of hip-hop. His Allmusic bio lists various NYC bands he played in before forming Chic, including a new wave rock outfit called Allah & The Knife Wielding Punks. As a teenager, he played with the Sesame Street band, and then with the Apollo Theater house band, where he backed such luminaries as Aretha Franklin and P-Funk. Nile Rodgers has led an action-packed life. He founded Chic along with the late bassist Bernard Edwards, and he’s on Twitter.
As such, this oft-forgotten album track is not just a song promoting desire to transcend one’s social standing, but also a celebration of self-love and beauty.Meet guitarist and producer Nile Rodgers, one of my favorite musicians in the world.
So, what we would do was hide it in our songs.” You Can Get By is one of many examples of Chic’s commitment to what they referred to as “DHM” – Deep Hidden Meaning. As a former section leader of the Black Panther Party’s Harlem branch, Nile Rodgers wasn’t shy of addressing social issues through his music: “Because of my political history,” Rodgers later said, “I couldn’t stand to be in a band that wasn’t about uplifting the race. Tucked away on Chic’s second album, C’est Chic, You Can Get By deftly switches from rousing floor-thumper to a tale of urban aspiration for Black singletons (“Somewhere in the city/There’s someone for you”). Listen to the best of Chic here, and check out our 20 best Chic songs, below.Ģ0: You Can Get By (from ‘C’est Chic’, 1977) Masterminded by the twin talents of ice-cool guitarist Nile Rodgers and rock-solid bassist Bernard Edwards, the best Chic songs hit upon a magic formula of uptempo, exuberant funk which not only got us dancing but also influenced a slew of genres that sprung up in their wake, from hip-hop to New Wave and EDM. Proving disco wasn’t just a passing fad, R&B/soul pioneers Chic left a legacy of funky hits that shimmer like a spinning mirror ball.
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