Nile rodgers set to release book

[glencro]

Super producer Nile Rodgers will release his memoir this fall interestingly titled "Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny". Should be an interesting read. Here is a little about the book http://www.amazon.com/Freak-Upside-Story-Family-Destiny/dp/0385529651/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311688133&sr=1-1

[timmyfunk]

Fantastic title. I have to meet this man. Definitely one of my favorite guitarists.

[glencro]

BOOK IN STORES TUESDAY OCTOBER 18th...Order through WWW.AMAZON.COM

[Roberta75]

How is Mr. Niles Rogers doing health wise? Anyone heard?

Roberta

[BobC]

Oooh goody! Talk about a producer who's worked with everybody!

[glencro]

Roberta, Nile writes a daily blog called "Walking On Planet C" about his bout with cancer. Here's a link to it http://www.nilerodgers.com/blogs/planet-c-in-english . Seems like some days are better than others but he's fighting the good fight.

[Roberta75]

Roberta, Nile writes a daily blog called "Walking On Planet C" about his bout with cancer. Here's a link to it http://www.nilerodgers.com/blogs/planet-c-in-english . Seems like some days are better than others but he's fighting the good fight.

Thank you for the link glencro. I am so glad Niles is doing better. I just ordered his Le Freak book from Amazon.

Thank you again.

Roberta

[glencro]

Been enjoying the genius of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards over the past few days. Thought I'd post a few songs from the slammin catalog. Here are a few. Feel free to join in the musical journey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAdmSdYT4iw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKh7-JfXnqc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4d7Wp9kKjA&ob=av2n
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a7cITIfgZs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV8fnuePChw

[glencro]

Let the party continue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAR9I0CIYVA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPc2N-BVc9k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZXa5HJv_mQ&feature=fvsr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6RW-zOriRM

[glencro]

The softer side of Nile [[and Bernard)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyAYNL0doqs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY2yhUb4GoM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzP0SJ0vQNk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4tnJRnDmAw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3go5w7Wadw

[stephanie]

I prefer I just cant Wait Til Saturday over High Society by Norma Jean. Chic put out some monster tunes I cant wait for the book.

[glencro]

I've always loved "Saturday" too by Norma Jean. I always wondered why she left the group after the one solo project. Maybe he will touch on that in the book. Mine should be in the mail early next week.

[tomato tom]

On my Christmas wish list for sure..Paulo xxx

[glencro]

IT'S SATURDAY YALL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjCsCV738TY

[nysister]

Although I am not liking Tavis Smiley right now, I happened to be channel surfing last night and came across his talk show on PBS and he was interviewing Nile Rodgers. It was such a good interview, and Nile was so forthcoming and seems like a really nice person. I now want to get the book sooner than later. You could watch the interview online at PBS: www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley

NYSister

[glencro]

Thanx for sharing. Will definitely check it out.

[Roberta75]

I am currently reading Le Freak on my Kindle and have to say it is a fascinating read. I am only in his childhood years but suffice to say Nile Rogers had a very unconventional upbringing and was surrounded by drugs when he was a child.

I strongly recommend this book.

Roberta

[juicefree20]

Glencro,

Being a friend of Norma Jean & Luci Martin & having spoken with her several times about her career, Ill give you the Cliff Notes version of what happened.

The original plan was never for Norma Jean to leave Chic. She was to record the Norma Jean Lp & continue with Chic. Her LP came out on Warner's "Bearsville" imprint & as we know, Chic was on Atlantic proper. After recording the LP, there was some cockamamie idea at Warner to mold her into the Black Marilyn Monroe with the mole on her cheek & along with the usual inside industry machinations, it led to Norma being pulled from Chic with the idea of her being a solo star.

However, Nile & Bernard were producing Chic, Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, Sheila B. Devotion & Lord knows whom else. And we all what happened to any act whom was regarded as a Disco act after the Summer of 1979, which brought us Norma's great cut "High Society", but no accompanying album.

Without going into other details, that was the primary reason for her exit from the group.

On another note, usually the "last man standing' rule usually dictates that the story that is eventually told to the masses is not necessarily HISTORY, but most often is HIS-STORY [[or HER-STORY), which doesn't often jibe with commonly known facts. Being friendly with Norma & Luci & having spoken with Raymond Jones [[R.I.P.) & more than a little ironically, Sylver Sharpe, I won't read, purchase, much less support this book in any way, shape or form. I'm sorry that the man whom was once a musical hero of mine is sick & I wish him well. Nevertheless, that doesn't negate how he has attempted to damage & stifle the careers of 2 women whom were always portrayed as integral parts of a musical united front against the establishment & played a large part in the imagery of said group.

Nor does that negate how he attempted to stifle the career of yet another member, one Alfa Anderson,by including her in lawsuits to block them from identifying their afiliation with the group by blocking their gigs through lawsuits or threat of lawsuit. All of this while allowing women whose voices appear on NOT ONE of the hits, much less on album cut, to make money off of the songs that Norma Jean, Luci & Alfa originally sang on & people who joined in with the band LONG after the ship had already left the port.

Now if he wants to honestly address that, as well as how he believes that Bernard & Tony would've felt about all of this, I'd love to hear it. Having spoken with Raymond Jones, I know how HE felt about it. But as I said, usually when the last man/woman is standing, you usually get either a white-washed "God bless us everyone", version of the truth as could only be written by Tiny Tim or Bob Cratchet, at worst, or one of those "I succeeded at all odds", which is little more than acknowledging the contribution of their partners by damning them with faint praise.

Hopefully, this one will buck the trend & give us more honesty than we've usually received by these books.

I guess that the world will see.

[glencro]

Thank you juicefree20 for sharing their side of the story. It's very unfortunate that Norma Jean was forced out of the group that way. Very sad that the ladies of CHIC are being banned from benefiting from their contribution to CHIC by Nile. They were definitly the voice and imagery of the group. I received the book earlier this week, just haven't had enough time to even open it yet. Will be interesting to read Nile's version of what happend. There are often three sides to every story. Wishing the ladies the best.

[nosey]

Thanks NYSister. I just watched it at work.

[BobC]

I met Nile back in the 80's--he was very nice and kind of shy, or so he seemed to me.

[BobC]

This book is amazing, guys--I highly recommend it. Lots of stuff on Michael Jackson, Madonna [[yuck), Chic, Sister Sledge, etc.

[stephanie]

Juice,
Without revealing too much since you have talked to a lot of these people and what they have gone through [[although they didnt own the group but were an intregal part) why do people like Nile R, Prince, Berry Gordy, Morris Levy [[although Morris is in another category) and these guys stop the people from using a little bit of the name. I remember when these women were touring as the Ladies of Chic and now they are doing another project I think its with Luci Martin or Alfa Andersons husband its on the net somewhere for all to see. Anyway these guys surely know that the Ladies of Chic, Prince and the Tyme and others will not come anywhere NEAR to making the money these guys have so why dont they let them perform so they can at least make a living. Luci, Alpha, and Norma Jean are not going to have DROVES of people coming to see them the way he does and they are not getting any of the publishing because to my knowledge they didnt write the songs so what is the big beef? Im asking you to give a generic answer not pertaining to Nile Rodgers. Why do these guys not let the little people make a living while they collect their millions or hundreds of thousands? Now pertaining to Nile if there is a personality problem or they just dont get along I dont understand why he couldnt take Luci, Alpha or Norma Jean on tour with him? If you cant answer that I respect that but please give me in your opinion the generic answer is it control or what with these guys?
Stephanie

[juicefree20]

Stephanie,

In my not-so humble opinion it comes down to nothing more than being greedy & lording one's power over folks who simply have less of it. In situations such as this where the people wronged didn't found the group, the courts tend to rule against them all of the time. This isn't unprecedented, as courts have routinely ignored the contributions of group members for years.

This would be like if Al Goodman had tried to stop Kevin Owens from mentioning that he sang with Ray, Goodman & Brown while pursuing his solo career. But Al Goodman & Billy Brown never did such a thing, in fact, they made it their business to mention Kevin's solo career & his stint with Luther Vandross at every show that I attended, which have been several. And when things slowed down & Kevin had to hit the road with Luther, Al & Billy never threatened to kick him out of the group, nor attempted to take food off of his table, but always left the light on in the window for his return.

And you'll likely remember that on a live concert DVD that Luther made it a point to mention Kevin's stint with Ray, Goodman & Brown & Luther fully understood that by doing so, it wasn't going to take money out of his pocket, nor food off of his table.

Simply put, the 15 or 20 shows that Norma & Alfa were offered or actually performed wasn't going to take one cent out of Nile's pocket because they're usually for less money & in venues that Nile was not likely to perform at anyway. We're talking about arenas as compared to clubs. They weren't cheapening" his "brand" because these ladies can blow. So what was the point of preventing them from mentioning their affiliation with Chic, as most of their fans already knew that they were former members of the damn group?

One other thing to be considered is the fact that while he has made his money from songwriting royalties & his various productions, he has the luxury to cherry-pick what offers he wants to take, or work whenever the hell he wants to, or not to work at all. Unless his crew is on salary, that makes it kinda hard to put food on their tables doing other gigs, especially if they have to be ready to do a show at his beck & call.

It's possible that often these things could be chalked up to disagreements or other nonsense which occurred long ago, which simply hasn't been forgotten. Remember, there was a bit of a falling-out with even Bernard & the book will likely confirm what we've already heard to have been behind that. And being quite honest, as many people are awestruck over most stars, they know that they can treat "lesser" members however the hell that they want to & their fans will accept anything that they have to say as though it's the only possible story imaginable & the Gospel. And still other fans simply don't care because the memories & stories of ones youth simply dies hard. Still others will wax poetic about "genius" & how the ladies should be thankful to have had the opportunity to so much as breathe the same air while onstage. Well, if you wan't to, you can have it.

It's called being a hypocrite & where have we seen that before?

Personally speaking, in most cases, I always tended to buy into the group as an ENTIRE entity & in the case of a group such as Chic, while the 2 founders as producers & songwriters deservedly received the lions share of the credit, the ladies of that group helped to drive home the image & their voices were an integral part of the sound. If they weren't, then we'd have heard nothing but instruentals & we know that's not the way that it happened.

And before someone offers up the bullshit excuse that they could've put any other women on stage or record & likely would've gotten the same result, the fact of the mater is that they didn't. They put Norma, Luci, Alfa & Diva up front & as such, those ladies deserve their respect because if they didn't deserve it, then they wouldn't have been on all of those records, LP covers, stages, Soul Train or any other of the many tv shows on which they appeared.

I said it 6 years ago & I say the same thing today, trying to stop those ladies from earning a living from songs that their voices helped to make popular, while allowing other ladies whom had ZERO to do with 1977 - 1984, is total & absolute bullshit & is foul. POINT BLANK! And for those who feel otherwise,I can only hope that one day they find themselves in the same shoes that Norma, Luci & Alfa did & let's see how much bowing down or prostrating they'd do then.

I don't have to be in their shoes in order to be able to imagine how it feels to have the 10 or 20 shows that I am offered per year to be shot down by someone simply because they can. I was a fan of this guy for more than 25 years & have every damn record that Chic has made in duplicate & some in triplcate. But I don't care how great the music was, nor how much I respected his talent back then at all. Due to the way that these ladies have been treated, I'm simply not feeling this brother.

This is the same brother whom was quoted as saying that he co-wrote "Le' Freak" as a cry against the oppressive establishment known as Studio 54 whom refused him admission while playing his songs, quoted as being a Black Panther, who was definitely against this the same type of thing that he did to Norma, Luci & Alfa. Those aren't MY words, those were HIS words as spoken in several interviews & I still have the bullshit quotes from the magazines to prove it. Again, if I can't believe words which he spoke back in 1978 & 1979, why would I believe anything that he says today?

Simply stated, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Or the group, ESPECIALLY when they're the last man standing & no other original to rebut even one of their statements, much less offer a word of support able to speak a dissenting word on behalf of the surviving members whom while not "original" founders, added a great deal to their imagery & success.

[juicefree20]

Stephanie

By the way, I wouldn't use Berry, Morris Levy nor any other label owner in this kind of comparison because as label heads, they have an entirely different relationship with various group members than the actual founders of a group would be expected to have had.

[Roberta75]

I have to agree with BobC, regardless of what Nile did or didn't do to the original ladies of Chic, I am really enjoying his autobiography. it's a great read.

[juicefree20]

I'm glad that it's a good read, just as I'm glad that neither you nor Bob were dragged into court & as screwed out of making a living as were Norma & Luci.

To the average fan, it's a book about a guy whose music that they love which conjures up memories of some wonderful days gone by. To the two ladies of whom I speak, those good times" turned into a bit of a nightmare & it didn't have to be that way. I wouldn't care if he's "nice" & I wouldn't care if he passed gas that turned into a beautiful aria. I never met the man & on the strength of how these ladies were treated, I have absolutely no desire to. I DON'T like what he did to these ladies & if records go gold & platinum, then unless Norma & Luci enjoy some of the proceeds, cellophane or cardboard status is sufficient for me. When your pockets are full, you simply don't try to stop people whom helped you gain success from being able to make a living.

If that's deemed "nice", then the Webster's needs to re-evaluate the meaning of the word.

I realize that for the average fan, enjoying the book is of paramount importance, more so than the ability of former group members to put food on their tables while singing songs that they helped turn into million sellers. Again, something doesn't have to be done to me personally in order to know that it's not right. I read on this forum quite often people making judgements about others because a certain person didn't treat their favorite artist fairly. With that as fact, I'm sure that some whom may very well enjoy this book would have totally different opinions if either of the ladies were their friend. But they're not, so I'm sure that most could give less than a damn about how they were affected by certain things.

But then again as I followed the allegations made in the court case, coupled with the fact that I know these ladies & most whom will read this book don't, I imagine that I would take it far more personally than most others will & I guess that's understandable.

Isn't it always that way :)

[Roberta75]

I'm glad that it's a good read, just as I'm glad that neither you nor Bob were dragged into court & as screwed out of making a living as were Norma & Luci.

To the average fan, it's a book about a guy whose music that they love which conjures up memories of some wonderful days gone by. To the two ladies of whom I speak, those good times" turned into a bit of a nightmare & it didn't have to be that way. I wouldn't care if he's "nice" & I wouldn't care if he passed gas that turned into a beautiful aria. I never met the man & on the strength of how these ladies were treated, I have absolutely no desire to. I DON'T like what he did to these ladies & if records go gold & platinum, then unless Norma & Luci enjoy some of the proceeds, cellophane or cardboard status is sufficient for me. When your pockets are full, you simply don't try to stop people whom helped you gain success from being able to make a living.

If that's deemed "nice", then the Webster's needs to re-evaluate the meaning of the word.

I realize that for the average fan, enjoying the book is of paramount importance, more so than the ability of former group members to put food on their tables while singing songs that they helped turn into million sellers. But then again as I followed the allegations made in the court case, coupled with the fact that I know these ladies & most whom will read this book don't, I imagine that I would take it far more personally than most others will & I guess that's understandable.

Isn't it always that way :)

Yes it it is Juice. And as you say I am just an average fan enjoying a book by a man that made some of my favorite music.

Best to you.

Roberta

[juicefree20]

Roberta,

I understand perfectly, which is why I wrote what I did.

I was a fan of the entire group decades before I met any of them. However, before I'm a fan of a person, I'm their friend & Norma Jean & Luci are friends. And even if I was friendly with the leader, I've have voiced my displeasure with them directly.

And I have walked away from friends whom have mistreated other friends & pulled my support of friends whom have proven to jerk other friends. Right is right & wrong is wrong & the way that I see it is that if that friend could jerk other friends, what's to stop them from doing the same to me?

Hell, we've seen that happen right here on this forum.

Fortunately, it wasn't written about in a book. Just a few forums & certain choice Yahoo pages.

[BobC]

Dude--look. We're just saying we're enjoying the book, if of course that's okay with you. I have zero emotional involvement with the players. I could care less what happens to those anonymous singers--mostly because they don't own the name Chic and have no entitlement to using it. Maybe they oughtta get a real job, like I had to? This whole idea that just because someone is a singer, that they are perennially abused, and "not given their due" is irritating. Go watch a few episodes of "Unsung"--every musician on that show was "ripped off" to hear them tell it.

[juicefree20]

Dude,

Whether you like the book or not doesn't have to be ok with me. If you spent you money on it then I certainly would hope that you get your money's worth from its insights. The only reason that your name came up in my thread is because your name was mentioned as enjoying the book, which is perfectly fine by me.

However, I find it interesting that you seem put off by what I've written, especially considering that in the "Cindy" thread, you seemed to make a point of commenting about how much you enjoyed the book in that thread. As I was the only one who had written a discouraging word about this book, I could only conclude that you made that remark to make that point to me, as Nile's book wasn't being discussed in that thread. Now what the book had to do with Cindy, Flo, Mary, Diana & Berry, I really don't know. But you did make a point of mentioning that in that thread & while I did notice that, I chose not to address it.

Beyond that, my remarks to Roberta was general remarks which were written about the attitudes generally expressed by the average fan about members of a group whom are not the "star[[s)", but rather regarded as "minor" players. I also believe that the average entertainer would be offended by your statement about them getting a "real' job like you did, as most of them bust their butts & the reality is far different than you seem to be suggesting that it is.

A lot of our most famous & most esteemed artists are busting their behinds in order to entertain us. Some take those stages fresh out of sick beds to entertain their fans. And most do it not being able to afford insurance, tethered to some very difficult & unwieldy contracts, a hell of a lot less job security than many regular people enjoy. For a lot of reasons which I won't get into here I'll simply say that if there's anyone who really believes that having the balls to go onstage before thousands of fans doesn't qualify as a "real" job, then I really don't know what to say about that.

I'm not into fiction, I'm into truth & if anyone thinks that they're going to read 100% unvarnished truth from the average autobiography, I'd say guess again. Without naming names, I know of more than a few autobiographies which have played fast & loose with known facts & know of a movie that featured a story & the person who told the story told me that nothing of the sort happened & that he was told to embellish some things because it made for a better story. Music & entertainment isn't about selling reality, it's about selling sex & fantasies. The most honest book that I've ever read was Jimmy Scott's autobiography, as he revealed not merely what was done to him by others, but his own flaws, as well & it took a big man to reveal much of what he revealed about himself.

And consider one other thing...considering how many songs made by lesser-knows which have stood the test of time, if all of those anonymous artists had chosen "real jobs, our musical landscape would sound far different & we'd all be the worse for it.

[luke]

Juice--great thoughts - very well stated-keep tellin it man!

[juicefree20]

Luke,

Thank you for understanding.

I'm just giving my perspective about what I believe to be fair. Everyone always hears & believes either the all-good or all-bad, but rarely do we receive a thing called balance.

Great music can be made by great people. Conversely, great music can also be & often is made by people who don't necessarily do nice things. This doesn't necessarily mean that they're horrible people, it just means that they're human...imperfect people & not gods just because they happen to have made music that we love.

And when such behavior comes to my attention that that happens to be case, my admiration & is greatly lessened. Which is why when people say that a documentary should be made about this person or that person, I say that you just might want to hold off on that documentary.

Especially if its going to contain something called the truth, as truth is never truly a desired commodity, that is unless it directly corresponds to what you believe to be true. I ran across a forum for a deceased artist the other day where people are stating opinions as fact, purely based upon the fact that they're fans of his & perhaps one of them appears to be over the age of 14 & the rest have firmly convinced themselves that how his life played out isn't exactly how it did & everyone else is to blame for his misfortune.

I believe that people want to know more about artists than they have the right to know & more than that, for some, they really wouldn't want to know, much less would they accept the truth because it might be too hard for them to swallow. Frankly, as long as a person is being fair & balanced, the truth is what it is & was.

I just don't like it when someone pees on my leg & tries to tell me that it's raining. If you're gonna tell a story, either tell the truth, warts & all or simply say nothing. Because you just never know who may show up from your past to confirm you as having told the truth, or to label you a liar & be able to back it up.

Fair disclosure doesn't always paint the prettiest of pictures, which is exactly why I believe that documentaries desired by most are best left undone.

[Roberta75]

Beyond that, my remarks to Roberta was general remarks which were written about the attitudes generally expressed by the average fan about members of a group whom are not the "star[[s)", but rather regarded as "minor" players.


Thank you Juice I knew exactly what you meant.

Regards to you.

Roberta

[juicefree20]

Roberta,

Cool.

Fortunately, I've met a lot of very nice people along the way & some of the kindest & most humble stars imaginable. I also have a feeling that many might have been tripping when they were younger & more than likely, there are some whom I wouldn't have liked very much if I'd known them while they were in their heyday. Thankfully, most of those young men & women have grown-up & matured & learned from their experiences.

On the other hand, I've also met a few whom simply haven't & never will. When I first got into this, my very first experience was an event full of nothing but groups whom hadn't seen one another in awhile, whom had the greatest respect for one another, with hugs & kisses all around. Unfortunately, there was also one person whom while having a few hits that really were much ado about nothing, proved to be the nastiest & standoffish individual imaginable & simply a wretch. This person had such an attitude that they even blew off much more accomplished peers.

I've been around hundreds of artists & have never run into anyone quite as bad as this individual & the sad thing is of all of those whom I've met, this person is just about the least accomplished of them all.

Which is why most of these music books are so white-washed, because some truths serve no one well. Which is why I still say that if the whole truth is involved, some stories simply don't need to be told. Sometimes you can learn far more than you may want to know. And as several books in recent years have proven, many things weren't as we were told that they were & those revelations have served to disappoint many a star-struck person. If not that, they circle the wagons & would refuse to believe the truth if Jesus told it to them.

And I don't mean Jesus Fernandez from up the block..

The fantasy is one thing, the reality is usually quite another matter entirely. For those who can't handle the truth, I suggest that they stick with fantasies because they can be much less jading.

[glencro]

Norma Jean Wright & Luci Martin of CHIC on stage with Kathy Sledge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kubQeG6hTJ4

[smark21]

What does Nile Rodgers have to say about working with Duran Duran in the mid 80's? I always thought DD's "Notorious" was one of their best songs and Niles played lead guitar on that track as the band was in between lead guitarists at the time.

[soulster]

I read the book, and, while it does give a few clues to the recordings, he doesn't say very much about the recording [[read: technical) side of Chic, what i'm interested in. he also does not get into the stories behind the hit albums. I guess he doesn't think the fans want to know.