There can be little argument that Chic was disco's greatest band; and, working in a heavily producer-dominated field, they were most definitely a band. By the time Chic appeared in the late '70s, disco was already slipping into the excess that eventually caused its downfall. Chic bucked the trend by stripping disco's sound down to its basic elements; their funky, stylish grooves had an organic sense of interplay that was missing from many of their overproduced competitors. Chic's sound was anchored by the scratchy, James Brown-style rhythm guitar of Nile Rodgers and the indelible, widely imitated (sometimes outright stolen) bass lines of Bernard Edwards; as producers, they used keyboard and string embellishments economically, which kept the emphasis on rhythm. Chic's distinctive approach not only resulted in some of the finest dance singles of their time, but also helped create a template for urban funk, dance-pop, and even hip-hop in the post-disco era. Not coincidentally, Rodgers and Edwards wound up as two of the most successful producers of the '80s.
Rodgers and Edwards first met in 1970, when both were jazz-trained musicians fresh out of high school. Edwards had attended New York's High School for the Performing Arts and was working in a Bronx post office at the time, while Rodgers' early career also included stints in the folk group New World Rising and the Apollo Theater house orchestra. Around 1972, Rodgers and Edwards formed a jazz-rock fusion group called the Big Apple Band. This outfit moonlighted as a backup band, touring behind smooth soul vocal group New York City in the wake of their 1973 hit "I'm Doin' Fine Now." After New York City broke up, the Big Apple Band hit the road with Carol Douglas for a few months, and Rodgers and Edwards decided to make a go of it on their own toward the end of 1976. At first they switched their aspirations from fusion to new wave, briefly performing as Allah & the Knife Wielding Punks, but quickly settled into dance music. They enlisted onetime LaBelle drummer Tony Thompson and female vocalists Norma Jean Wright and Alfa Anderson, and changed their name to Chic in summer 1977 so as to avoid confusion with Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band (who'd just hit big with "A Fifth of Beethoven").
Augmented in the studio by keyboardists Raymond Jones and Rob Sabino, Chic recorded the demo single "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" and shopped it around to several major record companies, all of which declined it. The small Buddah label finally released it as a 12" in late 1977, and as its club popularity exploded, Atlantic stepped in, signed the group, and re-released the single on a wider basis. "Dance, Dance, Dance" hit the Top Ten, peaking at number six, and made Chic one of the hottest new groups in disco. Chic scrambled to put together their self-titled first album, which spawned a minor follow-up hit, "Everybody Dance," in early 1978. At this point, Wright left to try her hand at a solo career (with assistance from Rodgers and Edwards), and was replaced by Luci Martin. It was a good time to come onboard; "Le Freak," the first single from sophomore album C'est Chic, was an out-of-the-box smash, spending five weeks on top of the charts toward the end of 1978 and selling over four-million copies (which made it the biggest-selling single in Atlantic's history). Follow-up "I Want Your Love" reached number seven, cementing the group's new star status, and C'est Chic became one of the rare disco albums to go platinum.
1979's Risqué was another solidly constructed LP that also went platinum, partly on the strength of Chic's second number one pop hit, "Good Times." "Good Times" may not have equaled the blockbuster sales figures of "Le Freak," but it was the band's most imitated track: Queen's number one hit "Another One Bites the Dust" was a clear rewrite, and the Sugarhill Gang lifted the instrumental backing track wholesale for the first commercial rap single, "Rapper's Delight," marking the first of many times that Chic grooves would be recycled into hip-hop records. Also in 1979, Rodgers and Edwards took on their first major outside production assignment, producing and writing the Sister Sledge smashes "We Are Family" and the oft-sampled "He's the Greatest Dancer." This success, in turn, landed them the chance to work with pop / R&B superstar Diana Ross on 1980's blockbuster opus, diana , and they wrote and produced "Upside Down," her first number one hit in four years, as well as another top-ten smash, "I'm Coming Out."
If you listen closely to Chic's early productions, the strings play a prominent role, especially on the beautiful ballads from the recordings for the band and Sister Sledge. It is also very significant to note the strong background vocalists on those recordings -- many of New York's finest session singers -- among them, one who would soon become a superstar Grammy winner in his own right, Mr. Luther Vandross, who also was a featured vocalist with the studio disco group, Change.
The disco fad was fading rapidly by that point, however, and 1980's Real People failed to go gold despite another solid performance by the band. Changing tastes put an end to Chic's heyday, as Rodgers and Edwards' outside production work soon grew far more lucrative, even despite aborted projects with Aretha Franklin and Johnny Mathis. Several more Chic LPs followed in the early '80s, with diminishing creative and commercial returns, and Rodgers and Edwards disbanded the group after completing the lackluster Believer in 1983. Later that year, both recorded solo LPs that sank without a trace. Hungry for acceptance and respect in the rock mainstream (especially after accusations that they had ripped off Queen instead of the other way around), both Rodgers and Edwards sought out high-profile production and session work over the rest of the decade. Rodgers produced blockbuster albums like David Bowie's Let's Dance, Madonna's Like a Virgin, and Mick Jagger's She's the Boss. Edwards wasn't as prolific as a producer, but did join the one-off supergroup The Power Station along with Tony Thompson as well as Robert Palmer and members of avowed Chic fans Duran Duran; he later produced Palmer's commercial breakthrough, Riptide. Edwards also worked with Rod Stewart (Out of Order), Jody Watley, and Tina Turner, while Rodgers' other credits include the Thompson Twins, the Vaughan Brothers, INXS, and The B-52's' comeback Cosmic Thing.
Rodgers and Edwards re-formed Chic in 1992 with new vocalists Sylver Logan Sharp and Jenn Thomas, and an assortment of session drummers in Thompson's place; they toured and released a new album, Chic-ism. In 1996, the reconstituted Chic embarked on a tour of Japan; sadly, on April 18, Edwards passed away in his Tokyo hotel room due to a severe bout of pneumonia. Rodgers continued to tour occasionally with a version of Chic, and, in 1999, his Sumthing Else label issued a recording of Edwards' final performance with the band, Live at the Budokan.
CHIC has been nominated for inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nine times: 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2014. Rodgers and Chic continue to perform to major audiences worldwide as CHIC ft. Nile Rodgers.
In October 2010, Rodgers began his fight with prostate cancer. In October 2011, he released his autobiography entitled Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny. On July 29, 2013, Rodgers posted on Twitter that he was cancer free.
In 2013, CHIC ft. Nile Rodgers headlined the West Holts Stage on Friday night at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, and played a variety of tracks both from Chic and from Nile Rodgers' extensive list of songs he had worked on for other artists. A compilation album, Up All Night, credited to The Chic Organization and featuring their productions for various artists between 1977 and 1982, was released the following Monday, 1 July, and entered the UK Compilation Albums Chart at number 2 a week later.
CHIC ft. Nile Rodgers played the iTunes Festival in London on September 14, 2013. CHIC ft. Nile Rodgers, opened The X Factor (UK TV series) live show on 2 November 2013 for Disco week. They performed a medley of hits including "Le Freak", "He's The Greatest Dancer" and "Good Times".
Rodgers announced in 2013 that he was working on a new Chic album, based on recently rediscovered tapes of unreleased material from the early 1980s. He also stated that Daft Punk is interested in working on at least one song of the unreleased material with him. Rodgers co-wrote and performed on three songs off Daft Punk's 2013 Grammy Award winning Album of the Year Random Access Memories including the Grammy Record of the Year Get Lucky with the duo and Pharrell Williams.
CHIC ft. Nile Rodgers headlined at the 2014 Essence Festival curated by Prince. Special guests performing with Chic during a segment of the show that highlighted Chic's songwriting and production work for other artists, were Kathy Sledge for Sister Sledge's "We Are Family", Janelle Monae for Sister Sledge's "He's The Greatest Dancer" and Prince for David Bowie's "Let's Dance". CHIC ft. Nile Rodgers headlined Bestival in the Isle of Wight, UK on September 7, 2014. Nile Rodgers played tribute to his guitar technician Terry Brauer at Bestival after learning of his death from cancer.
While chatting with Billboard's Kerri Mason, Rodgers announced a new Chic album and shared a never-before-heard new solo track. The upcoming album is set to feature collaborations from the David Guetta and Avicii. Rodgers described how a lick he played to test a freshly-repaired guitar caught the ear of DJ Nicky Romero, ending as an important part of a "huge song" on the upcoming album. Rodgers assumed "It sounds like a pop record".
A year later, it was announced that Nile Rodgers has signed a new record deal with Warner Bros. with a release of a new Chic album for the first time in in more than two decades this June. The album will be titled It's About Time. The lead single from the record, titled "I'll Be There", will come out March 20th. Beside this, Warner Bros. signed a deal with the label that Rodgers and music exec Michael Ostin formed, Land of the Good Groove. Rodgers decided to officially unveil the track “I’ll Be There” during the vernal equinox on March 20 to signify the rebirth of the Chic Organisation. The star received a box of lost Chic demos back in 2010, and “I’ll Be There” is one of those lost tapes finished for a new generation of Disco fans.
In other news, Rodgers gave an update on his new solo material with a new track called "Do What You Wanna Do" and announced that a Chic-inspired musical is in the early stages of production.
High
Chic Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Music never stops
Makes me
High
Like the feeling
That you're feeling
Don't get played out
Never fade out
'Cause you stayed out
All night long
Stayed out all night long
Gotta have it
Gotta habit
There's a monkey on your back
In the valley of the dolls
Groovin' danceamaniacs
High, high
Music never stops
Makes me
High, high
Take it to the top
Let's get high
On a trip
The natural tip
I don't need no kinda' drugs
Sip with care
But don't be scared
You can never get too much
(Never get too much)
Gimme music, we can use it
There's no turning back for us
All for one, here's to freedom
In groove we trust
High, high
Music never stops
Makes me
High, high
Take it to the top
Let's get
High, high
Music never stops
Makes me high, high
Take it to the top
Let's get
High
Music never stops
Makes me
High, high
Take it to the top
Let's get
Music never stops
Makes me
Take it to the top
Let's get
High, high
Music never stops
Makes me
High, high
Take it to the top
Let's get
High,High
Music never stops
Makes me
High, high
Take it to the top
Let's get
High, high
Music never stops
Makes me
High, high
The song "High" by Chic is an upbeat disco-funk track that celebrates the power of music to elevate one's mood and take them higher, without the need for intoxicating substances. The lyrics describe the feeling of being high on music, comparable to being stoned to the bone or having a monkey on your back. The music is said to never fade out, keeping the groove going all night long, and the dancers are referred to as grooving danceamaniacs.
The second verse emphasizes the natural high that can be achieved through music, without the need for drugs. The chorus repeats the exultant refrain and encourages the listener to take it to the top, to never get played out, and to always have a habit for music.
The song's message of musical freedom and liberation is reinforced by the call and response between lead singer Sylver Logan Sharp and the backup vocalists, who provide a soulful, almost gospel-like counterpoint to her declarations. The propulsive rhythm section, featuring drummer Tony Thompson and bassist Bernard Edwards, creates a pulsating groove that never lets up, keeping the listener fully immersed in the funky soundscape.
Line by Line Meaning
High, high
The repeated phrase indicates the euphoric feeling the song inspires in the listener.
Music never stops
The music creates an endless experience, with no interruption or pause.
Makes me
The music stimulates a specific reaction in the listener.
Like the feeling
The sensation is comparable to the well-known experience of being stoned.
That you're feeling
The imagined state of the listener is in sync with the music and the lyrics.
When you're stoned to the bone
The state of the listener is heightened to the point where they feel invincible.
Don't get played out
The listener should avoid getting tired of the music and the experience.
Never fade out
The listener should maintain the same level of energy and focus throughout the experience.
'Cause you stayed out
The listener is encouraged to remain engaged and present in the experience, rather than giving up or zoning out.
All night long
The experience should last as long as possible, without interruption or cessation.
Gotta have it
The listener has a strong desire and attachment to the music and experience.
Gotta habit
The listener has formed a repeated pattern of engagement with the music and experience.
There's a monkey on your back
The listener may feel addicted or controlled by the music and experience, like a monkey on their back.
In the valley of the dolls
The listener is in a world completely consumed by the music, like they are in a valley full of dolls that all dance to the same rhythm.
Groovin' danceamaniacs
The listener is surrounded by people who are dancing and enjoying the music as much as they are, all caught up in the groove.
Take it to the top
The listener is encouraged to keep the experience going at the highest level of excitement and energy.
Let's get high
The repeated phrase encourages the listener to maintain a state of euphoria and intense experience.
On a trip
The listener is transported to another state of being through the music and experience.
The natural tip
The experience is achieved through the natural high of the music itself, without the use of drugs.
I don't need no kinda' drugs
The experience is created purely by the music, rather than through artificial means.
Sip with care
The listener should take care in engaging with the music to maintain a safe and sustainable experience.
But don't be scared
The listener is encouraged to fully embrace the music and experience, without fear or doubt.
You can never get too much
The listener is free to engage with the music as deeply and frequently as they wish, without reaching a point of overconsumption.
Gimme music, we can use it
The music can be both enjoyed and employed for a higher purpose beyond entertainment.
There's no turning back for us
The experience has taken hold of the listener and there is no relinquishing it.
All for one, here's to freedom
The experience is shared among all listeners as a symbol of connection and liberation.
In groove we trust
The listener expects the music to always inspire a state of flow, trust and spontaneity.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EDWARDS, RODGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind