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Chaka Khan

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American R&B singer Chaka Khan (b. March 23, 1953) is best known for her 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel for You," and as a member of the funk band Rufus.

Born Yvette Marie Stevens in Chicago, Illinois, Khan was raised on Chicago's South Side, and at the age of 11 formed her first group, the Crystalettes. While still in high school, she joined the Afro-Arts Theater, a group which toured with Motown great Mary Wells; a few years later, she adopted the African name Chaka Khan while working on the Black Panthers' Free Breakfast for Children. After quitting high school in 1969, Khan joined the group Lyfe, soon exiting to join another dance band, the Babysitters; neither was on the fast track to success, but her fortunes changed when she teamed with ex-American Breed member Kevin Murphy and André Fisher to form Rufus.

Debuting in 1973 with a self-titled effort on the ABC label, Rufus was among the pre-eminent funk groups of the decade; distinguished by Khan's dynamic vocals. With the help of Stevie Wonder, Rufus broke into both the pop music and R&B charts in 1974 with the hit "Tell Me Something Good". Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, the band had a number of R&B hits, including "Tell Me Something Good", "Masterjam", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel?", and "Once You Get Started". the group earned half a dozen gold or platinum albums before she went solo in 1978.

In 1978, Khan recorded her highly-orchestrated Arif Mardin-produced disco smash hit "I'm Every Woman" (a hit over a decade later for Whitney Houston); from the album Chaka. Chaka proved to be a significant hit on the strength of the single however, Khan's success was somewhat tempered by her public rivalry with the remaining members of Rufus, to whom she was still contractually bound for two more LPs. As a solo artist, Khan recorded backing vocals for Ry Cooder's 1979 effort "Bop Till You Drop," then cut her sophomore album, 1980's Naughty; it was not a hit, however, nor was its follow-up, What Cha' Gonna Do for Me.

In 1982, Khan recorded Echoes of an Era, a collection of jazz standards featuring performances from Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, and Lenny White. 1983 saw Chaka return to Rufus to record her last contractually obligated album "Stompin' At The Savoy: Live". The double album contained live versions of Rufus classics, Khan's solo hits and a handful of additional newly recorded tracks. One of these tracks was the hit "Ain't Nobody," which returned Khan to the top of the urban and top 40 charts.

Her pop career was on shaky ground when she released 1984's I Feel for You, a platinum-seller launched by its title cut, a Grammy-winning, hip hop-based rendition of a fairly obscure Prince album track with a harmonica cameo appearance by Stevie Wonder and rap by Melle Mel, which launched her recording career back into full gear. Produced by David Foster, the popular ballad "Through the Fire" also reached the top ten and set a record (since broken) for spending the most consecutive weeks on the Billboard Top 100. "Through the Fire" has since been sampled by hip-hop record producer/rapper Kanye West in "Through The Wire"

Still, while subsequent LPs like 1986's Destiny and 1988's C.K. kept Khan riding high on the R&B charts, her standing in pop's mainstream again began to wane, and at the end of the 1980s, she relocated to Europe. In 1990, she won another Grammy for "I'll Be Good to You," a duet with Ray Charles.

In 1992, Chaka Khan released her album The Woman I Am, which she received a Grammy award for best Rhythm & Blues vocal performance. The album's hit single "Love You All My Lifetime" was penned by German hit songwriter duo Irmgard Klarmann and Felix Weber and was produced by David Gamson. Khan recorded a follow up album, "Dare You To Love Me", which was to be released in 1995. Warner Brothers shelved the project (although several of the tracks appeared on subsequent soundtracks and a career retropsective called Epiphany: The Very Best of Chaka Khan.

Her Prince-produced album, Come 2 My House, appeared in 1998. A collection of pop and Jazz Standards, ClassiKhan, was released in 2004.

On December 3, 2004, she received an honorary doctorate degree from Berklee College of Music. Her EarthSong Entertainment and Chaka Khan Foundation operate from Beverly Hills, CA.

Contents

Trivia

Awards

2002 Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance - "What's Going On" by Chaka Khan & The Funk Brothers

1992 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - "The Woman I Am"

1990 Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - "I'll Be Good To You" (with Ray Charles)

1984 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - "I Feel For You"

1983 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - Chaka Khan

1983 Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal "Ain't Nobody"

1983 Best Vocal Arrangement For Two Or More Voices - "Be Bop Medley"

1974 Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus - "Tell Me Something Good"

Discography

Solo

With Rufus

See also

External links

 

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