Legendary musician Nile Rodgers joins Des Paul on Greatest Hits Radio this evening (Wednesday 6th October) for Back To My Roots - a new documentary series exploring the influence of black music artists on the greatest hits of the last 50 years.
Going back to the roots of black music, the series explores just how powerful it is while asking if it has changed the way we look at the world today. Who better to speak to than one of the pioneers, a man who brought black music to the world with his work with Chic and Sister Sledge and then took these influences into pop music, working with people such as David Bowie, Madonna, Luther Vandross, Duran Duran and many more.
Speaking about how he and Chic started out, Nile shared: “We were studio musicians. The way that we were treated was we walked in and the composer or producer or whatever would have this sheet music and we would learn right there on the spot. We didn’t hear it the day before. We thought that because we were playing and participating in so many records that seemed to be successful, that was the way to do it. Was get the best out of everybody right there on the spot. Aim to please. Look we have to be very, very honest. In America black record deals were nowhere near on the level of white record deals. So we didn’t have as much money… we didn’t know any other way.”
On working with Sister Sledge and paving the way for black artists: “Kathy Sledge and I have been friends right from the moment go. She was 16 years old, she was very, very religious and we had written lyrics that were of the time, for them. They didn’t even know what we were talking about when we wrote the lyric ‘Halston, Gucci, Fiorucci’. First time anybody had ever name checked fashion designers. Now in black music and pop music you can’t listen to a record without them saying ‘Lamborghini’ this and that. We did it one time! Once! Now it’s a thing.”
“We did that because we wanted Sister Sledge to be part of this new black movement which was called the Buppie movement, the black urban professions. We wanted Chic and Sister Sledge and everybody who was attached to us to be a part of that movement. So of course, they would know about fashion, of course they would understand the finer things. We wrote a song called ‘Living the Good Life’ for them. It was an aspirational type of attitude that we had. After the black power days of the 60s and early 70s now we were going to collect our bounty after having demonstrated and having so many of our brothers and sisters killed or beaten or jailed or what have you. Now was the time to celebrate what we believed was a victory. And the victory music and the victory dance was disco.”
On if he believed he achieved what he wanted to achieve in bringing black music to the world - “We were so idealistic that we believed we were getting there. It felt better than where we are today. Where we are today it’s clear that we did not get there. It’s clear that what we thought we were achieving we did not achieve. The world now is more divided than it was then. When I was younger just because I was this left wing, hit the streets black panther, I had so many friends who were right wing and joined the army and stuff like that. Because they felt like they were patriots and had a commitment to America. But most of them were white and most of them had fantastic lives, they didn’t have lives like we had...”
“Our lives were hard. When I left home I actually slept on the subway I was homeless for quite some time. I was taken in by an American heiress. Firestone tire heiress. She let me sleep on her coach. I was in the street. I remember reading her book, she says I met this really interesting kid, Nile Rodgers. He was smart. A nice guy. A good musician. I let him lay on my coach until he could stand on his feet.”
Listen to the interview in full on Greatest Hits Radio tonight at 7pm following the Simon Mayo Drivetime show and listen to the repeat this Sunday 10th October at 9pm.
The whole ‘Back to My Roots’ series will be available ad-free as a boxset on the Greatest Hits Radio app and website. Head to greatesthitsradio.co.uk for more.
