Nile Rodgers Productions
Nile Rodgers
To preview a song, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to buy and download music.
- The Basics
While some disco dons watched their careers go up in flames alongside their albums in the early '80s, Nile Rodgers used his glitter-ball beginnings (as a cofounder of genre icons Chic) as a jump-off point for writing and producing major artists. The first of which was David Bowie, with his makeover of the minute, Let's Dance — a best-selling blend of blue-eyed soul, stylized synth-pop, and shifty funk. To this day, the record remains one of Rodgers' greatest hits, a breakthrough gig that prompted calls from the likes of Madonna and Duran Duran. The chart crawlers and club smashes don't stop coming in our Next Steps, either.
$5.16 The BasicsName Artist Time Price 1 Like a Virgin Madonna 3:38 $1.29 View in iTunes 2 We Are Family (Single Version) Sister Sledge 3:19 $1.29 View in iTunes 3 Material Girl Madonna 4:00 $1.29 View in iTunes 4 Angel Madonna 3:56 $1.29 View in iTunes 4 Songs - Next Steps
Like most songwriters, producers, and/or performers with a platinum touch, Nile Rodgers has a certain sound — a "listen up!" panache other artists can't get enough of. Rodgers' strengths have been as obvious as a disco dance floor since he cofounded Chic in 1977, bringing a looser, live band feel to a scene that was as excessive as it was exuberant. In the decades since, he's draped Depeche Mode in pitch-dark dance grooves, gotten INXS to shake their moneymaker, and kept the spirit of Studio 54 alive with Sister Sledge and a particularly bubbly B-52's. Wanna dance 'til dawn? Don't stop 'til you get enough…of our Deep Cuts.
$5.16 Next StepsName Artist Time Price 1 Dress You Up Madonna 4:01 $1.29 View in iTunes 2 He's the Greatest Dancer Sister Sledge 6:15 $1.29 View in iTunes 3 Shine Luther Vandross 4:50 $1.29 View in iTunes 4 People Get Ready (with Rod Stewart) Jeff Beck 4:52 $1.29 View in iTunes 4 Songs - Deep Cuts
With a new supporting cast, Nile Rodgers returned to his rhythm guitar role with a reunited Chic in 1992. The memory-jarring Chic-Ism album did more than save the plummeting sales of polyester, though; it reminded us just how important Rodgers has been to the music industry for the past two decades — from the freakish, Parliament-gone-new wave side of Thompson Twins to the heady, hardcore hip-hop of Cam'Ron and dashing disco of Diana Ross.
$5.16 Deep CutsName Artist Time Price 1 Language Is a Virus Laurie Anderson 4:14 $1.29 View in iTunes 2 Lost in Music (1995 Remaster) Sister Sledge 4:47 $1.29 View in iTunes 3 Chic Mystique Chic 6:39 $1.29 View in iTunes 4 Reach Your Peak Sister Sledge 4:58 $1.29 View in iTunes 4 Songs - Complete Set
Nile Rodgers began his steady rise to fame at 19, when he took the stage as part of the Apollo Theater's house band. Playing with such legends as Aretha Franklin and Parliament Funkadelic, the guitarist/producer/songwriter-for-hire picked up a thing or three –– techniques he first applied to the ravishing and regal disco-funk of Chic. The group was one of the era's most popular parting shots, yet Rodgers refused to fade away when it was tossed into a time capsule along with bell-bottoms and leisure suits. An active music-industry presence to this day, Rodgers has reinvented David Bowie, sculpted and scrubbed Madonna's Material Girl phase, and left a familiar glittery-grooves impression on Diana Ross and Sister Sledge.
$15.48 Complete SetName Artist Time Price 1 Like a Virgin Madonna 3:38 $1.29 View in iTunes 2 We Are Family (Single Version) Sister Sledge 3:19 $1.29 View in iTunes 3 Material Girl Madonna 4:00 $1.29 View in iTunes 4 Angel Madonna 3:56 $1.29 View in iTunes 5 Dress You Up Madonna 4:01 $1.29 View in iTunes 6 He's the Greatest Dancer Sister Sledge 6:15 $1.29 View in iTunes 7 Shine Luther Vandross 4:50 $1.29 View in iTunes 8 People Get Ready (with Rod Stewart) Jeff Beck 4:52 $1.29 View in iTunes 9 Language Is a Virus Laurie Anderson 4:14 $1.29 View in iTunes 10 Lost in Music (1995 Remaster) Sister Sledge 4:47 $1.29 View in iTunes 11 Chic Mystique Chic 6:39 $1.29 View in iTunes 12 Reach Your Peak Sister Sledge 4:58 $1.29 View in iTunes 12 Songs
Customer Reviews
Great list, but not complete.
As the other review mentioned Nile didn't do the Robert Palmer song. I just finished reading Nile's autobiography and I'm telling you they should make a movie of this guys life. I just wish this list had all of the songs he played on/arranged/producted. The guy is brilliant and it's cool that with his book perhaps people will realize what a musical genius and pioneer he is.
These aren't all Nile Rodgers' tracks . . .
Cool idea for a list, though the Power Station and Robert Palmer tracks included were produced by fellow Chic-alum Bernard Edwards, not Rodgers.
Only 1980-1990 set
Of course, this collection present Nile Rodgers in his most popular heyday. However, this is leaving off his latter productions, including half of Tina Arena's "Just Me," which were some of the funkiest songs he's ever produced, combined with one of the most underrated powerhouse vocalists.
Also, most folks do not know he served as producer for both Halo II and Halo III video game soundtracks, which colors his musical palette even more.
So, this is really just a collection frozen in a particular time, not fully expressing the talent of this extraordinary man.