Chic

In 1977, Chic hit the Top 10 out of the gate with its debut single, "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)." It was only a hint of the success to come for founders Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. The Chic sound — Rodgers' rock-inflected soul guitar and Edwards' funk-bass anchor studding tenacious beats, slippery strings, and silky vocals — not only defined disco; it helped give birth to hip-hop: that bassline from the #1 smash "Good Times" sound familiar? It should — it's the backbone of Sugarhill Gang's seminal "Rapper's Delight."

Chic didn't coast on its "Savoir Faire" alone. Standing out among a crowd of one-hit wonders, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards had a talent for crafting quality dance music that ran deep — the intricate beats and easy funk flow of tunes like "Hangin'" or the smooth soul of such ballads as "At Last I Am Free," for example, lifted even Chic's secondary output far above the disposable novelty material that often marred disco's reputation.

When guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards joined forces in the late '70s, musical success was high on the agenda. They recruited drummer Tony Thompson and singer Norma Jean Wright, and Chic was born. After their first single hit the Top 10, Rodgers and Edwards were on the fast track to becoming two of the most influential musicians of their era, not only cementing Chic's standing as a defining disco institution, but also establishing Rodgers and Edwards as the go-to producers for everyone from Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, and Madonna to Debbie Harry, Power Station, and David Bowie.