With the news ofAlfa Andersonsdeath at age 78,one of the lasting voices of disco was silenced.
Here, for the first time, is the complete interview with one of the landmark voices of disco.
How did you come to join Chic?It was because of Luther Vandross that I met them.
Alfa AndersonSteven A Henry/WireImage
I have this friend Nile Rodgers who has this group called Chic.
I said, Cool, great.
And he said, Its disco.
And I said, Disco?
Youre gonna dodisco?
Luther and I sang background on the first album and background support for the first tour.
The entire trajectory of my life!
I was a teacher [at Hunter College in New York].
I was an educator.
I didnt even leave that job until after the first tour!
Were you on salary with Chic?Yes.
[Rodgers and Edwards] were the producers and writers and we were signed to their production company.
That was the hierarchy of the infrastructure.
Nile and Bernard seemed like best friends, always joking and very excited.
They had a great rapport.
But it wasnt all fun.
Bernard and Nile were taskmasters in the studio.
You had to come and listen to the song and get it perfect right there.
There were no demos.
People began to long for what everyone perceived as the good old days when times and values were different.
In the studio it was casual Chic [for wardrobe].
But outside, I always wore pumps.
We were backstage very, very nervous about our reception.
My knees were knocking!
We went out and did the Chic Cheer.
There were a few seconds of delay between what we were doing and what the audience was hearing.
It was approval and it was so wonderful.
The audience is going wild and the promoters asked us to go back, so we went back onstage.
That was the acid test that our music was acceptable.
That will be forever etched in my mind.
Nile has said that his drinking began during those Chic concerts to counter stage fright.Thats the way it happens!
Its daunting to be there.
You love being there and you love the adoration, but my knees would knock.
Remember the song they wrote, Stage Fright?
We were all suffering from it.
But we didnt tell each other about it.
What was Nile like at the time?He always wanted to be excellent.
Hes always strove to be that.
Hes never really needed a lot of sleep!
On rare occasions I saw him down or sad, but he was always energetic.
Always upbeat and smiling.
Always working and creating.
They would work at night, all night.
He and Bernard both had that kind of energy.
The audience feedback was great and we were loving what we were doing.
We were like a family.
So it didnt impact me that way.
I knew I loved what I did and loved the music and being onstage.
The backlash didnt hit until the album released after that [1980s less successfulReal People].
That one wasnt received very well, and that became a rude awakening.
Thats when it gotme.
Prior to that, I figured, This is life.
This is what happens.
They were the CEOs of the organization.
They had great diversity of style in writing.
He has his story to tell.
Im not sure it impacted us negatively at all.
I certainly didnt see that.
I just saw continual growth.
But I was never one to do much partying.
I went to Studio 45 one time.
We were treated differently and we were in the VIP section.
It was that kind of vibe.
Im glad I went, but I was not a regular.
What are your memories of the end of Chic?Very surprised and very saddened.
I didnt see it coming.
It was more than sad.
It was very painful.
And impacted far beyond the Chic years.
I was sad for so long.
I almost didnt want to do music anymore.
What exactly happened?I remember getting a letter.
I was hurt and surprised by it.
It came from the Chic organization, and it was signed by them.
And that was like, OMG.
Back then it wasnt OMG!
[Laughs] It was, What?
Thats the only way I can describe it.
What do you mean?
We dont exist anymore.
We were talking to the people … because we had everybody on salary.
They all worked for us.]
What happened?I didnt know it was happening.
I was never contacted and I never auditioned.
So, bullet no.
[Laughs] But the group now [2013] is absolutely incredible and awesome.
I have no issues.
We knocked down all walls Black, white, gay, straight, old, young.
Everyone was dancing to the groove and singing the songs.
